Are you getting ready to put a new puppy through the potty training process? If so, you're going to need to practice patience early and often.
There are some puppies who will learn to wait to pee outside within just a few weeks. But generally speaking, it's going to take between four to six months for a puppy to be fully potty trained to the point where you won't have to worry about them peeing inside anymore.
One way to speed up the process is by utilizing puppy training pads. By using a pee pad in the right way, you can teach your puppy where they should be going to the bathroom and eventually eliminate indoor accidents altogether.
We've created an in-depth guide that will allow you to make the most of puppy training pads. Here is how to make them as effective as they can be.
Start by Purchasing a High-Quality Puppy Pee Pad
Do you realize that the puppy pee pad market has blossomed into a billion-dollar business over time? Well, it has! And it's led to quite a few companies throwing their hats into the mix by trying to produce the best puppy training pads.
You might be under the impression that you can invest in whichever puppy pee pad you come across first and do just fine with it. But rather than taking this approach, you should look for a high-quality puppy pee pad since it'll produce better results for your puppy.
Gotta Go Grass sells some of the very best puppy training pads around. You'll be able to use them both when you're potty training your puppy and in the future when you want to provide your dog with a place to pee outside all the time.
Pick the Right Place to Put a Puppy Pee Pad
Once you get your hands on a great puppy pee pad, the next thing you'll need to do is find a good place to put it. This is going to be the place where you'll bring your puppy for potty training all the time, so it should be a place that's easy to get to fast.
Puppies and dogs in general are creatures of habit, so they're going to naturally come back to the place where you put a puppy pee pad over and over again once they're trained. As a result, you don't want to put a puppy pee pad in a place that's going to be in the way or difficult for your dog to get to when they're in a hurry.
Introduce Your Puppy to a Pee Pad
After you find a good place for a pee pad, it'll be time for you to introduce your puppy to it. This is a very important part of the process because it's going to be on you to make sure your puppy's first introduction to their pee pad is a good one.
You should bring your puppy to their new pee pad and put them down on it so that they're able to get familiar with it. Let them smell the pee pad, paw at it, and do whatever else they want to do to it.
There is a chance that your puppy might not be all that excited about the pee pad at first. They might even jump right off it and refuse to spend more than a few seconds on it.
If this is the case, you might have to get down on the pee pad yourself for a few minutes to show them that it's okay to be on it. This should make them a lot more comfortable with the idea of going on the pee pad by themselves.
Take Your Puppy for "Walks" on a Pee Pad
From the moment you first bring a puppy home, you should try to get into the habit of taking them for walks all the time. It'll put you in a position to teach them how to go for walks on a leash.
It'll also put you in a position to use your puppy's walks to your advantage when it's time to potty train them. You can help them make the connection between peeing outside while they're on walks and peeing on their puppy training pads by taking them on "walks" on a pee pad.
Begin by putting their leash down on a pee pad so that they can see it and recognize what's going on. Then, put their leash on them and take them for a "walk" on a pee pad.
With a little luck, they should start to connect the fact that they're supposed to pee when they're on their pee pad.
Praise Your Puppy for Using a Pee Pad
In a perfect world, your puppy will pee the very first time you put them on a pee pad, and you'll go lose your mind as you go wild with praise for them. It'll jumpstart the potty training process and (hopefully!) help them get the hang of peeing on a pee pad.
But even if they don't start using a pee pad immediately, it shouldn't take them too long to pick it up. As long as you're diligent about putting them on a pee pad early and often, they're eventually going to pee on it.
When they do, you shouldn't be shy about showering your puppy with praise. You should use all the positive reinforcement you can so that they understand how happy you are with the fact that they used their pee pad.
Your puppy might not immediately show they can comprehend what's going on. But your puppy will begin to crave the praise you give them when they use a pee pad. It should help lead to them getting potty trained in no time at all.
Provide Your Puppy With a Treat for Using a Pee Pad
If you want to take positive reinforcement to the next level when potty training a puppy, you can also incorporate treats into the mix. You might want to leave a box of treats near a puppy pee pad so that you can pull one out right away when your puppy uses it.
The key is providing your puppy with a reward almost as soon as they're finished peeing on a pee pad. This will allow them to form a stronger connection between their action and your response.
Just like with the praise you're giving them, your puppy will come to expect a treat when they pee on their pee pad. It'll encourage them to find this pee pad and pee on it when they have to go.
Repeat This Process With Your Puppy and a Pee Pad Regularly
There are some puppies that will pick up the potty training process fast and get potty trained quicker than others. But more often than not, you're going to need to work your way back through all the steps we just laid out repeatedly until they get it. You won't be able to potty train most puppies overnight.
This is where your patience is going to have to come in. You'll need to be patient enough to help your puppy make their way to their pee pad when it appears as though they might have to go. You'll also need to be patient enough to accept the fact that they might not always hit the mark every time.
Avoid Moving Your Puppy's Pee Pad
One of the biggest mistakes you can make when you're using puppy training pads to potty train a dog is moving their pee pad around. It's inevitably going to create a lot of confusion for your puppy. In some cases, it might even force you to spend months trying to potty train your puppy.
It's why it's extra important for you to consider where you're going to put a pee pad from the beginning. You shouldn't just blindly pick a spot without putting any thought into it since it could come back to bite you later.
As we alluded to earlier, dogs are creatures of habit and are going to get into a groove when it comes to things like potty training. If you do anything that could confuse them, it's going to lead to a regression, and in some instances, it might even set you all the way back to square one.
Take Good Care of Your Puppy's Pee Pad
If you buy low-quality puppy training pads, taking care of them is going to mean throwing them away after they've been used and replacing them. This can turn into a tedious process before long.
It's one of the many reasons why you should invest in high-quality puppy training pads from Gotta Go Grass. They're made with all-natural products that will perform just like the grass in your backyard.
You will want to do some maintenance to our puppy training pads to keep them fresher for longer. For example, you'll want to let our pads get some sunlight and fresh air when you first open them. You'll also want to water and trim them as necessary.
Additionally, you should clean up any dog poop that will end up on a pee pad. You won't have to worry about cleaning up any pee, but poop will need to be removed or else your puppy might not want to go back on a pee pad later.
You should also get yourself into the habit of replacing a Gotta Go Grass pad every few weeks. You should only have to do this a few times before your dog is potty trained. But it'll be worth replacing a pee pad to ensure it's as fresh as it can be for your puppy.
Look for Signs That Show Your Puppy Needs a Pee Pad
As time goes on and your puppy recognizes what a pee pad is for, they should start to go and look for it when they need to pee. But at first, you will need to know which signs will show that your puppy needs to pee.
Here are several signs that could indicate your puppy is getting ready to pee, regardless of whether or not they're near a pee pad:
- Walking around in circles sniffing
- Scratching at an exterior door
- Whining for seemingly no good reason
If you see any of these signs, you should either grab your puppy and bring them to their pee pad or, better yet, walk towards a pee pad and instruct your puppy to follow you.
There will be times when you'll pick up on your puppy's signs a few seconds too late, which might result in them peeing in the wrong part of your house. But you should be able to get them to their pee pad fast when you pick up on their signs right away.
Contact Us to Order the Best Puppy Training Pads Around
Potty training a puppy can be fun at first. But it can also turn into a frustrating process if you don't see the right results in a timely fashion.
Gotta Go Grass can set you up with the puppy training pads you'll need to make potty training easier than it would be otherwise. Both you and your new puppy will benefit from these pads in a big way. They'll have you wondering how you would have potty trained your puppy without them.
Reach out to us today to order the puppy training pads you need for your new four-legged friend.
