A fuzzy puppy laying on a fleece blanket
If you’re struggling with housebreaking your puppy right now or getting ready to bring your new puppy home, this tip is going to save you a lot of time, money, and headaches.
Don’t use puppy pee pads.
Here’s why.
Puppy pee pads are confusing to your puppy. When you use puppy pee pads, your puppy is learning to pee and poo when she feels soft fabric beneath her paws. This results in a puppy that learns that carpet, blankets, and her fuzzy bed are for peeing and pooping on.
A woman lies on her back with her hands covering her face. She is laying on a soft, white blanket.
2. The second reason that I don’t recommend puppy owners use pee pads to potty train their puppies is because your puppy’s feet may be on the pad, but their bum often hangs over the edge, so the mess ends up on your floor. This leads to two frustrating issues for sleep-deprived puppy parents. The first is that the owner scolds the puppy for soiling on the floor, so the puppy ends up more confused, because its feet were on the special pee pad, but now their owner is mad at them. This creates another potty training nightmare, where the puppy now sneaks away from the owner to potty. Now every room in your house is a toilet for your puppy. The second issue is one that I’ve heard about from countless owners who tried puppy pee pads before finding our in-home dog training services. This issue is that any mess that ends up on your floor or carpet that isn’t cleaned up properly acts like a homing beacon to your puppy — they will mark that spot again and again. Be sure to purchase an enzymatic spray to clean up any accidents. These sprays work because they eliminate the odour completely. You can purchase them at your local pet store.
A hand wearing a bright pink rubber glove holds a yellow spray bottle against a turquoise background
3. You want your puppy to learn to potty outside your home. Using a puppy pee pad teaches them to potty inside your home. The pee pads are preventing you from reaching your goal of being able to go to work and not worry about your puppy having accidents all over your home.
Minion painted on a fire hydrant
You’re probably wondering how to housebreak your puppy without using pee pads. The easiest way to housebreak your puppy is to crate train her, supervise her, and take her outside frequently throughout the day to teach her to potty outside.
A brown and white puppy with blue eyes laying in a wire crate with the door open
If you live in Guelph, Elora, Fergus, or Cambridge, and you’re feeling overwhelmed as you struggle to potty train your puppy, our in-home dog training sessions will help.
You’ll enjoy:
-weekly puppy training sessions
-homework that you and your puppy will actually enjoy doing
-email support between sessions to keep you on track
Our Happy Puppy Package is the perfect solution for overwhelmed owners who are struggling to potty train their puppies. This package also helps owners overcome puppy nipping, destructive chewing, and jumping up. Your puppy will also learn how to love leash walks and napping in their crate.
Want more housebreaking tips? Check out our previous blog post for 5 tips to stop your puppy from peeing inside your home. You can read it here: https://beyonddogtraining.ca/news/help-my-puppy-is-peeing-in-my-home
Have a wonderful weekend, Dog Leaders.
Alyssa
About the author: Alyssa Foulkes is Guelph’s in-home dog training specialist who is recommended by veterinarians. She holds an MSc from the University of Guelph where she studied animal behaviour and nutrition.
Photos by: Samuel Sng @samuelsngx (A fuzzy puppy laying on a fleece blanket); Anthony Tran
@anthonytran (A woman lies on her back with her hands covering her face. She is laying on a soft, white blanket. ); Upsplash Images (A hand wearing a bright pink rubber glove holds a yellow spray bottle against a turquoise background); Dorrell Tibbs @whatuprell (Minion painted on a fire hydrant); Ayla Verschueren
@moob (a brown and white puppy with blue eyes laying in a wire crate with the door open)