# Pickles and the PeePad



## veridea (Apr 26, 2012)

Hi everyone! I just want to relate my experience with housetraining my new pup. I'm hoping some of you can relate!

I'm training Pickles to use both peepads and outside. We live in an industrial area, and it's a bit of a production to get him in and out, and the breeder recommends it for our situation. He's been with us a week, (turned ten weeks old yesterday!), and so far he's 100% peepad trained in his pen, and about 60% to the pad in the play area. His pen is about 2x3 feet and has just enough room for his bed, water, and peepad, and his play area is basically our living room. (We live in a loft, so it's the main open space on the first floor.) He'll go two or three days with no accidents at all, and then a day or two with about two or three accidents. They seem preventable - he has two feet on the peepad and two feet off, or he runs too far from the play area and decides he has to go, or sometimes he just doesn't make it there on time and stops just short. Outside, he does his business like a pro, but that's pretty uncomplicated.

Is this pretty standard for such a young pup? My breeder says we're doing just fine, and it could just take a few months to get him 100%. I have no previous experience with dogs at all, only cats, so I'm not quite sure what to expect.

And on another note - does anyone have any advice for teaching him how to be alone for an hour or two? Eventually, I'd like him to be okay with staying home alone in his pen for a couple of hours once or twice a week. 

Thanks everyone!


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

veridea said:


> Hi everyone! I just want to relate my experience with housetraining my new pup. I'm hoping some of you can relate!
> 
> I'm training Pickles to use both peepads and outside. We live in an industrial area, and it's a bit of a production to get him in and out, and the breeder recommends it for our situation. He's been with us a week, (turned ten weeks old yesterday!), and so far he's 100% peepad trained in his pen, and about 60% to the pad in the play area. His pen is about 2x3 feet and has just enough room for his bed, water, and peepad, and his play area is basically our living room. (We live in a loft, so it's the main open space on the first floor.) He'll go two or three days with no accidents at all, and then a day or two with about two or three accidents. They seem preventable - he has two feet on the peepad and two feet off, or he runs too far from the play area and decides he has to go, or sometimes he just doesn't make it there on time and stops just short. Outside, he does his business like a pro, but that's pretty uncomplicated.
> 
> ...


The reason he's 100 per cent in his pen is because he can't miss. In the play area he's less reliable because there's more area to miss the pads. Here's an article I 've saved. 
Get an 
ex-pen and set it up on a tarpaulin, in a location where you spend lots 
of time in your home. In the ex-pen, put a crate with a comfy bed in 
it, and if possible, put the crate up so that it is a few inches off the 
floor. Also make a bed for him that is a few inches off the floor. You 
are putting beds higher because dogs often like to sleep higher than 
their surroundings and with dogs who are not housebroken they 
will sometimes take the height as a salient criteria for not soiling a 
bed. Then on the floor, cover 100% with pee pads. When you cannot 
directly handle him, that is where he should be. Don't worry about 
urination and defecation in the ex-pen cause the whole thing is covered 
and on a protected surface. When he has been on this successfully for 
three weeks, take away a pee pad. If he is successful on this surface 
for three weeks, take away another pee pad. Continue in this way until 
he is chooses pee pads.

Here' s a home alone training article http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/home-alone


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## veridea (Apr 26, 2012)

I wish I could set up an ex-pen in the way you suggest, but for a lot of reasons, it wouldn't work in our space. (Short story - it's a live/work environment...I want to move into a house, but it's crucial to our business). Today I put more peepads down, especially in areas he has had accidents in, and he's hit the spot every time since! I'm reassured that the breeder thinks we're doing a good job, but I still get paranoid that I'm not doing it the "right" way. I love my pup, and cleaning up his lil messes isn't even near as gross as cleaning up cat litter, but I just want to make sure he has a great experience with house training.


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## Missy (Nov 6, 2006)

10 weeks is still very young. I think you are doing great. Two things that helped us was first... For a few days write down every single time your pup pees or poops, you will notice a pattern. And then be sure to lead the pup to the pads at those times... Even if they are playing with you out of the pen. For the half off/ half on, I found a tray with an edge worked well for that. It defined the space. The trays I used were for rabbit cages. And they come in all sorts of sizes. Bigger is better. After a year, my boys chose to hold it and wait to be taken out. I don't think they would use a peepad now, but it sure helped us get through the first year. Good luck.


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