[mysugarbears]

I want to start training my furkids to use potty pads instead of going outside when they have to potty. With the oil spill the future of my husbands job is up in the air (works with a resort company and depends on the tourists) and he may be taking a job to help with beach cleanup and that means more hours away from home. I'm being jerked around with my schedule now (due to a new front end manager) so i won't be home as much as i was (15 years and hard work doesn't count anymore) and now my son has a permanent job. So noone will be home as much unfortunately and i don't want the pups to have to hold it so long. I ordered a top for our expen since Noelle can climb out of it and the pups will be spending time in there while we are at work. My question is how do i start training them to use a potty pad? I will be ordering the washable pads from personnely paws using the 24"x36" size. I just don't know how to go about it. TIA

 

[mysugarbears]

I keep forgetting about the search feature and read some old threads. I'm on day 3 now and it's really difficult, i hope i still have hair left by time they're trained. What i've been doing is putting each one in the pen for 10 each. If they potty i make a huge deal of it and give a super yummy treat, it they don't i put them back in their crate and set the timer for 2 hours and then start over. When they do potty i keep them with me on their leash so i can keep an eye on them. So far it's 10% going in designated area 90% not going at all. When they do go it's mostly just peeing and i keep them with me so they don't poop in the house. When my husband is with the and they pee in the designated area he lets them run around and they are going potty other places. I think i finally got it in his head that we can't do that even if they peed, they will go elsewhere also. Am i on the right track and will this get easier? Is their a "Potty Pad training for Dummies" book out there, i just don't feel like i am going about this correctly for some reason.

 

[mysugarbears]

You are right. My "Forest Gump" Lady caught on to indoor training in about two days. She had no choice after I had my car accident because I couldn't take her outside for walks.

She would always go the the back door and bark when she had to go out so that helped a lot. I put the pads there and would circle my Seabreeze pen around her until she pottied. I did the same thing after meals, when she got up from a nap, etc. She would bark and scratch at the door to go out until the poor thing just couldn't hold it anymore. As soon as she pottied, I did the happy dance (well, as much as I could with all those broken bones!). I gave her a treat immediately and praised her with "good potty". Lady is very food motivated so she caught on very quickly.

I also scented her pads with her own urine. Each time I changed the pad, I blotted a bit of the urine up with the new pad. That helped, too.

Thank you Marj for posting, i had read your post and mine just aren't getting it. Can i send them to you and you can send them back when they are trained? Lol.

They are super stubborn it seems, but i'm determined to get them trained.