# PTPA



## unjugetito (Jan 2, 2011)

http://www.youtube.com/user/PottyTrainingAPuppy?v=IPQAazegMQg&feature=pyv

Thoughts? I have never tried to paper train a dog. I usually do outdoor only but this new puppy will be my first winter puppy and I'm thinking of trying something like the above for cold weather. Good idea? Bad idea?


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

unjugetito said:


> http://www.youtube.com/user/PottyTrainingAPuppy?v=IPQAazegMQg&feature=pyv
> 
> Thoughts? I have never tried to paper train a dog. I usually do outdoor only but this new puppy will be my first winter puppy and I'm thinking of trying something like the above for cold weather. Good idea? Bad idea?


Well there are a couple of things I don't like about it, and wouldn't have worked for Kodi. First, he thought pee pads were chew toys, so by the time he had needed to pee on it, it already would have been destroyed. Second, I tried something very similar when we first started taking him camping with us in our travel trailer. (they didn't have this product at that point, so it was my own idea) I got a too-large crate, put his bed in one side and his litter box in the other side. Even though he was FULLY litter box trained at the time, this didn't work at all. For him, the potty space was too close to his bed to feel like it was an "OK" place to go. So he'd simply try to hold it until he couldn't anymore, at which point he'd pee where ever he was, whether it was in his bed or the litter box. This was the ONLY situation where he made this mistake, so I am sure it was because the potty area (in our case, a litter box) and bed were too close together. We then set up the ex-pen inside the trailer in a 1x3 configuration, which gave him just a little more room between his bed (inside his crate) and the litter box and he had no further accidents.

The last thing that would REALLY keep me from using this system is that, although it's a rare occurance, puppies have strangled while fooling with crate dividers during the night, and getting their head stuck between the top of the divider and the top of the crate. I, personally, just wouldn't take a chance.

The advantage of using an ex-pen with a potty system (whatever you decide to use) and a small crate for sleeping inside it, is that it is so much more flexible than this "apartment" system. You can start with it folded up very small to give them the same experience as the "apartment", but then, as they become more reliable, you can give them more space, so that instead of just learning "bed vs. potty", they learn to seek out their potty where ever it is.

This is certainly a better option than just "winging it" the way some people do, and I whole heartedly endorse the idea that life with a little dog is MUCH easier if you have an indoor potty option for them long-term. I just think there isn't any magic to this particular system. Read some of Tom King's posts on potty training. He's the master, IMO.:biggrin1: His puppies are reliably using their litter boxes at 4 or 5 weeks old. By the time the puppies go to their new homes, all their new families need to do is to continue to reinforce the good habits he has started.

There is one person on the forum who bought one of these systems, but I remember her posting in frustration over the accidents her puppy was having in the house. So this system doesn't "automatically" potty train the puppy either... you STILL have to watch them and set them up for success by limiting their movement until they've proven they can handle larger areas of the house. We found that when Kodi was younger, he did MUCH better if we had several litter boxes in various areas of the house, so he was never too far from one. I know Tom does this too. Now we just have one in the kitchen. Kodi knows where it is, and as a (young) adult has the control to get there in time to do his business.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

unjugetito said:


> http://www.youtube.com/user/PottyTrainingAPuppy?v=IPQAazegMQg&feature=pyv
> 
> Thoughts? I have never tried to paper train a dog. I usually do outdoor only but this new puppy will be my first winter puppy and I'm thinking of trying something like the above for cold weather. Good idea? Bad idea?


If you know how to do outdoor only, go for it. Don't let the weather decide. Puppies are adaptable if you let them adapt.


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