The Necessary Evil of Wee Wee Pads
Housebreaking your puppy is probably the first thing you want to work on when you bring the little fuzzball into your life. You go online excited to get some answers, but all you’re finding is to “let them in the backyard every hour.” Great, but what about on your fifth floor walk-up apartment with no yard? You can’t expect to be able to let them out every hour, especially at this age when they haven’t had all of their shots! We’re here to help you answer your pee pad training questions!
Getting a quick myth out of the way, pee pad training will not make it harder for you to train your dog to go to the bathroom outdoors.
Also, you are not lazy for using a pee pad. Some people need that extra backup if they don’t have a walker during the day while they’re working, if they don’t want to go outside in inclement weather, or if they would prefer it! To each their own.
Starting off, look for pee pads that have an added pheromone, like these from BarkBox.
Pheromones are a natural chemical released by animals that affect other related animals.
They are what dogs (and other animals) use to communicate nonverbally. This isn’t just for intact versus fixed dogs, but mothers also emit pheromones to help calm their puppies. With pee pads, an added pheromone lets your dog know “someone else has been here and says it’s an okay spot to relieve yourself.” Think of dogs that pee on other dogs’ pee spots.
So you’ve got your pads, what do you do now? You’ll want to choose a spot to stick to, whether near the door to start working towards going outside, or in the bathroom, or in their space they stay when you’re gone.
Dogs naturally don’t like to pee where they sleep, and having to squeeze in next to their pads can be stressful!