Pad training our dog

[Pendrench]

Hello -

Because my wife and I are gone a good portion of the day, we have been pad training our 7 month old Bichon (named "Dash") rather than crating him...we figured that if we crated him while we were at work and at night, he would be spending about around 18 hours a day in a cage (and that seemed too much).

Anyway, we haven't had any problems with Dash using the pads, its just that when the pads becomes saturated, he tracks wet and sticky footprints through our downstairs.

So my question is, does placing a rug (or two) in front of the pad (to absorb the wetness)sound like the best solution, or are there other alternatives we haven't thought of yet?

Many thanks -

Tim

[China_cat]

1. Have you thought about a doggy litter box?

http://www.doglitter.com/GetPage.aspx?ContentID=234

[Pendrench]

3. First of all, sorry for the delay in responding!

Sorry it took me so long to reply to your message (after work we had to take our daughter to dance class and our son to soccer practice).

Anyway, thanks for your suggestion - have you used one of these doggy litter boxes? It seems like a good idea - I'll have to show the website to my wife to see what she thinks.

Thanks again!

Tim

[China_cat]

5. No, I haven't used it

My dogs are way too big...approx 100 lbs. But a friend of mine used it for her elderly cockapoo when the dog had problems with wetting in the house and it worked wonderfully for her.

[CornField]

2. We're also pad training Belle

I bought some of those really inexpensive rugs from the dollar store and put them around the pad. In the evenings, I toss the ones from that day into the washer and put a fresh set out. They are so inexpensive (about $1 each) that I have enough for three days.

They also make different sizes of the puppy pads. Some family friends use blue medical pads (like hospital maternity wards place under laboring moms) for their rottie.

A question for you: Does Dash consisently use the pads for pooping? We're having a difficult time teaching Belle to both pee and poop on her pads.

[Pendrench]

4. Thanks!

As I mentioned to China_cat, sorry for the delay in responding (it was one of those nights!)

I like the idea of the inexpensive rugs and the medical pads - I'll just need a way to secure them (Dash is infamous for tearing up rugs and dragging the through the house!)

To answer your question - yes, Dash does poop and pee on the pad, but I notice that if the pad gets too wet for him he'll try to poop as far away from the wet spots (and when that happens he sometimes misses the pad).

So, again, thank you for taking the time to respond - I'll have to let you know how things go!

Tim