[Sisses Momma]

I have read constantly about "pee pad" training and how great it is. I have a hard time understanding why anyone would want their pup to go in the house, period. I'm not putting anyone down, please don't take it the wrong way, but I just don't understand. I am new to owning this particular breed of dog. All the other dogs we ever had were house broke within a few weeks. Why would you not train a pup to go outside?? I have also read about how difficult it is to "housebreak" the Maltese, is it a breed characteristic? I purchased the "pee pads" for use for the first few weeks, but only to protect the new carpet, (yes, I know how stupid it was to get the carpet BEFORE the puppy). I plan on outside potty training, am I in for a big surprise or what?? What are the benefits of "pee pad" training other than so you don't have to take them out in the cold??

 

[Mystify79]

Tuffy was trained to paper when I got him so it was definitely easier to train him to pee pads at home. He has his own bathroom to use so the pee pad is out of the way from everything. It was the best choice for me because we live in an upstairs apartment and having to drag him out to do his business a couple of times a day just isn't practical. I also like not having to worry about the weather, it would stink to have to haul him out in the rain. Around my place it gets really flooded when it rains so it just wouldn't work to have him go outside. What I like about pee pads too is that I never have to worry about him having an accident because he can go use the bathroom whenever he wants. And if I'm not home for a while, he's free to go when he wants. I know a lot of people worry about the smell, but people that come over don't even know a dog lives here, let alone goes potty here, unless I tell them.. or Tuffy comes running at them. I'm anal about keeping his areas clean. I buy my pee pads in bulk so they get changed at least once a day so they never smell. I also flush his poopies whenever I see them so they don't just sit around. Changing the pads isn't a big deal either, I just pull the frame off, chuck the pad in a lidded trash can and make sure to take the trash out every couple of days. Tuffy wasn't hard to potty train at all.. the only snag we hit was when I had two pee pads in different places and decided to just have the one in the bathroom.. he got confused a couple of times but after that he was great. I think it's all about consistency, indoors or outdoors. I think that even if we did have a fenced in yard, I'd still have go on pee pads, they just work for us.

 

[mee]

im korean and we never wear shoes in the house, we like our indoors clean, so even for a dog having dirty feet and walking around the house is considered a no-no for our culture, also ive never heard any koreans potty training their dogs outside, everybody i know papertrain their dogs since most all koreans live in apartments , korea is such a small country theres not enough land for houses, so theres a lot of 20 floor apartments where ppl live (also apartments arent for renting in Korea) , so even considering to potty train outside is out of the question

i think its just convenient having small dogs paper trained since they dont pee a bucket of weewee and poop

 

[Quincymom]

I've had both outdoor trained Maltese, and pee pad trained Malts. I will take the pee pads anytime, for the same reasons others have already stated. It is so much easier on the dog! I work and I know the boys are okay at home and can go whenever they want to. Clean up is simple, and I use Clorox/water on the floor, never have had an odor problem. And my mother in law visits--she would be the first to tell my husband about it!
Quincymom

 

[MalteseJane]

I have had dogs all my life and they were all trained to go outside. Like you I could not understand why people would want to have their dogs go on paper inside. Well I changed my mind when I got Alex. I first started training him to go outside. But I am not an early riser. Hate to get up at 6 am. I read about the wee wee pads and thought I would give them a try. I have a laundry room and space to put the pee pads there. So I bought a puppy john (plastic tray) to put the pads in and started training Alex to go there. Believe it or not, he was housebroken in 4 days. I love the convenience, Alex can go pee and poop when ever he has too. He has never had an accident in my house. It does not stink. The laundry room is his private place and the pads are changed daily if not twice a day. The poop is picked up and flushed right after he has done them and his butt checked and cleaned if necessary. My laundry room is tiled that makes cleaning the area easy too when some poop ends up on the tiles because getting caught in his hair.

You mention that you put down wee pads on your new carpet for the first few weeks. I want to warn you that sometimes the wee pads leak, they are not 100% leak proof. It happens rarely, but it has happened and you have new carpet. The purpose of the plastic tray is to avoid this. My tray is a big one, it takes a size 30 x 36 inches pad.

 

[msmagnolia]

When we got Sadie in October I felt the same as you. I couldn't imagine having a dog that didn't go outside. We live in the deep south so weather isn't that big of a problem though we do have some serious rain at times. My bichon goes out always. So we got Sadie and off I went to train her outside. She was doing pretty good, as long as I took her out every hour. If I missed by much she went in the house. Then comes Sassy (Sadie's littermate) who has lived at the breeders for nearly six months and never went outside at all and was totally pad trained. I got wee pads thinking that she would use them at first and then I'd move her outside. She went outside with Sadie the first week and never used a pad. She did have a few accidents, though. So now I have two dogs who are each having about one accident a day. And I notice that all accidents are by either the front or back door. I started putting a wee pad at those doors and I stopped having to clean my sisal rugs. And then I find out that I kind of like not having to go out every single hour with two dogs. I live in a house on the water that is raised on pilings and my yard isn't fenced because of the view. Between three dogs all I was doing was trotting up and down a flight of stairs. (The little dogs don't go down the stairs and have to be carried.) So now they go out every few hours but the times in between they use the pads and I kind of like it. I change them every time I see two pees on the paper. I pick up and flush the solids. I roll the pads up and put them in plastic bags and tie them so they won't smell. I also have those airwick plug-ins in the general area of the pee pads.

I 100% understand your concerns. 3 months ago I felt exactly the same way. Today I sort of like the wee pads (in moderation). I also notice that my two puppies won't go in the rain. Since we can have monsoon-like weather here, I'm kind of happy to have an alternative.

 

[k/c mom]

I'm like a lot of others... I use the potty pads for my two. I wouldn't have it any other way. With the pads, I'm not involved in their pottying. When they have to go, they just go to the laundry room and "go". I change the pads about twice a day. I have a counter in my laundry room with a sink and cabinet at one end. I left the other end open on purpose as it holds a couple potty pads perfectly and keeps them out of the way. I have a toilet on the other side of the wall of that room, so it is easy to flush the solid waste.

And by feeding a premium food their stools are nice and firm and have hardly, if any, smell.

And like, Mee, I love having them clean. If they were in and out they would definitely be wet from the morning dew, rain, etc. This way, we only go out on pretty and dry days. If they were larger dogs, then no way... but at under 10 pounds their waste is so small that it isn't a problem at all. I love having it this way.

Oh, and one more advantage... You can see their waste and make sure all is A-OK. My first Maltese often had bladder infections and if there was blood in her urine, I'd see it right away. I don't know how I would have noticed if she had "gone" outside.

 

[Brinkley & Neyland's Mom]

I had never heard of wee-pad training until I was researching a maltese, and decided right away that I would like it!! We don't have a fenced in yard and the thought of having to stand in the cold/rain etc. just didn't thrill me...when I found out that wee pads were an option I was SO excited!

We have cats in the house with 2 litter boxes, this is no different-(actually easier and cleaner than the cats!)

I am very anal about them and keep his boxes/pads clean. I buy mine in bulk so I don't feel bad about cleaning them all the time...I flush the solids too. I have one box in a traffic area that I would like to eliminate...I have already eliminated one to a different corner...but this one is not working as smoothly...anyway...I am working on it.

I understand your concern/question, but for our purposes, these work great, and no different than inside cats in my opinion.

 

[ButterCloudandNoriko]

Mine are trained on both. At first we trained them outside. Then we trained them strictly inside...I guess out of laziness. But then I just could NOT stand the smell of the house nor could I stand them MISSING the pad 50% of the time, so I trained them to go outside. It wasn't easy, but I'm so glad that they can do both.

 

[Puddles Mom]

Puddles is trained to go outside. But on these cold and rainy days, I wish for the pads. He is not allowed outside with out a leash and sometimes its hard to stop what your doing to take a walk. Plus, hes here during the day, holding him self until we get home, hate that part for him.

Hes now 9 months old and I would love to switch him over to the pad, thinking its to late to try. Don't dare want to confuse him.

Is it to late to pad train him ??

 

[jmm]

Jonathan came to me wee wee pad trained. With Mikey, I knew I was going to show him so wanted him to use the pads when it was wet outside so save some coat. With him, it has ended up being a life-saver since he has health problems that make him urinate VERY often throughout the day and night. We only use them in my house and he goes outdoors any other time.

I'd never consider it with the bigger dogs. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't do it with any other dog unless I was anticipating growing show coat as that is my personal preference.

 

[Toby's Mom]

 

[Ladysmom]

Being a "big dog" person before I got Lady, I also couldn't understand why people trained their Maltese to use pee pads. Lady was outdoor trained when I adopted her and that's what we did for a year & 1/2.

When she was diagnosed with diabetes, I realized how great it would be to have her also use pee pads. I was able to cross train her and it's been wonderful! If she has to go while I am at work or in the night, she will use her pad. She will also use her pad if the weather is really miserable.

I don't know if I'd want a dog who was completely indoor trained, though. Even though Lady is a pampered little diva girl, I do try to remember that she is still a dog. She loves to go out in the fresh air, sniff the smells, and go for walks. I think it's good for her mental health to be able to act like a "real" dog. She very quiet and calm, well socialized and rarely barks because she is exposed to so much outside.

 

[kodie]

This is my first Maltese also... so I never knew you could train a dog to go to the bathroom inside either. Kodie is trainned inside for a few reasons.. the vet advised me to because of his size, he is too delicate, and he goes to the bathroom too many times during the day for me to keep running in and out with him (plus while i'm at work he does not hold it for 8hrs... so he can go to the bathroom in his pen while i'm not home). Kodie learned to go on his puppy pad so fast! Within the first week that I had him he was already going on it himself (he was about 9 weeks old then). I honestly think Kodie learned where to go to the bathroom faster than our Beagle learned to go outside. I do understand why people question the paper trainning thing... because if your dog is not as delicate as Kodie you would see no reason not to train to go outside. I agree, If I had a bigger maltese I would train it go outside and in the house (incase of really bad weather). I also agree that I wouldnt train any other dog to go in the house.

 

[nataliecmu]

We have the dogs pee-pad trained, and for the most part I really like it. It's so nice when we are at work that they have somewhere to do their business...
However, even with the spray and if I take a pad with me, I get so nervous when Tini has to stay anywhere but my apartment. Because they can go whenever they want at home, I find that they don't have much bladder control. She will hold it if she is in her carrier, but even at my parents (where we are a lot) she is only gets to the pad about 50% of the time.
I think I may start to move the pee-pad towards our deck, and eventually had the pad outside. This way once I have a house, she will still have use of the pee-pad, but I will keep it in the garage...

This is the over-all plan... we will see how it goes!

 

[Sisses Momma]

I can't thank you all enough for all your comments!! I can see now the advantages and disadvantages to pee pad training!! You all have such varied and different reasons!! Some I would never of thought of.....Sisse will be coming to live with us here in the next week or so and being an anxious new "momma" I just want to get it right !! Don't know what I would do without you guys!!

 

[MalteseJane]

Even tho Alex goes on pee pads at home, he won't go on them somewhere else. At my daughter's house he will go outside and we have to open the door many times. I suspect it's not only to go and pee. He likes the weather there. When we stop at the motels on our way to Arizona, I wish he would go on the pad because most of the time it's cold close to freezing. Even trained on the pads and being able to go whenever he can he can hold it. He can hold it 10 hours without going. When he is home alone, he does not pee, 99% of the time the pads are dry when we come back. He won't eat either. And the funny thing ? He will make his round in the garden, go put his mark along the fence where other dogs are living, come back in and pee on his wee wee pad. Go figure.

 

[dr.jaimie]

i have parker trained to go outside...and i'm glad b/c he goes everywhere with me and can't bring the pad everywhere. he knows what a door is, and when we r in a strange place he finds a door and gives me a grunt, telling me he has to go. but i can also see the advantages of the potty pads, and would probably consider it if i lived in a very cold area.

 

[k/c mom]

Another plus for the pads... when I was bringing Catcher home from the breeder's, I put a potty pad on the floor of the car (I have rubber mats) and he squated right there. He had not yet had all his shots and no way could he go at a rest stop so this was great.

Another nice thing is indeed if a dog is sick or has taken medicine that causes a lot of urination, it's nice that they can go as needed.

Kallie will "go" outside if we happen to be there. She marks all over the back yard.

I can see advantages and disadvantages to both pads and outdoors. I think having a good place in the house for the pads is important to deciding on pads. When I was choosing a house plan, I made sure there was a place for pads!

 

[FannyMay]

Fantasia knows how to go outside and on her pad. When we are in a strange house (like my brothers for Christmas) she usually went outside (I didn't know how they felt about her going inside). But I had a pad down in our room "just in case" and I am glad I did. She peed on it once. The rest of the week it stayed dry. Now her poops was a different story. She went twice on the floor right next to the pad. What a snot. Twice in a week is pretty good though so I was happy. Actually we were there for like 14 days.
My point is that cross training is best if you ask me. They have smaller bladders than bigger dogs and if you have to work late your baby will not have to worry about having an accident on the carpet. They can just go to their pad. But if you want to outdoor train then you can take them out when they need to and they can use the pad in emergencies.