Wee wee pad training can be a wonderful way to help disabled or elderly small dog owners.
When deciding what route to take in housebreaking and wee wee pad training, consider your lifestyle. If you are planning to have a four pound dog who may have more difficulty holding its urine or bowel movements, wee wee pad training is a great option. Most dogs understand where you want them to relieve themselves.
Consider placing a physical reminder such as an X Pen or baby gate around the edge of the pad. This will distinguish the area as well as keeping your dog centered on the pad, preventing accidents. For those who travel or have multiple homes or spots they frequent, the X Pen will serve to distinguish the spot where your dog should relieve himself.
For young puppies or dogs that tend to mouth or teeth on things, use washable rather than disposable pads. Encourage your dog into the area and close off the pen. Treat the pen as if it is a yard. Having the fence and the physical boundary around the outside of the pen is critical to teaching the boundary of the pad in the same way a physical fence teaches a dog to stay within the confines of the yard. Do not put food, toys or water in the pen if you are using it solely for wee wee pad training.
If you are you are planning to place a bed or crate along with a bowl or water, make sure to place the pad on the opposite side of the area. The pad should take up no more than half of the total space so that the pup has adequate room to sleep or drink without the pad being right next to the bed or bowls. Make sure to change the pad as frequently as possible. This is not the time to economize and see how many times your dog can urinate and deficate on the pad. Doing so and changing the pad less frequently may cause detrimental effects in housebreaking or pad training; they need a sanitary space. Placing a tiny bit of your dog’s urine on a far back corner of the pad to encourage using the area is excellent, but asking your dog to step on a squat over a soiled pad is unfair and unwise.
