The key to using wee wee pads in your puppy housetraining process is to introduce them correctly and offer them frequently.

Many of today’s wee wee pads are already pre-treated with an odor to encourage the puppy to use them.  If you purchase pads that are not, you would want to purchase a special spray to spray on each individual pad until your puppy has the hang of it.  Puppies are always more likely to go somewhere that smells like another puppy already has.

The pad should be placed in the same location each day.  If you intend to wean your puppy off the pad and would like him to eventually go outside instead, you should place the pad next to the door to outside you will use.  In an apartment situation, try to place the pad in an obvious and readily available location in the beginning.  When the dog is older, it could be placed in a more inconspicuous location out of sight.

You will need to bring your puppy to the pad many, many times throughout the day.  He won’t simply just get it and start using it.  Instead, just like someone would walk their puppy outside, multiple times throughout the day, ‘walk’ your puppy to the pad.  Remember to use the key times for all puppies:

• After mealtimes or drinking a lot of water.  You should begin taking him to the pad within 15-30 minutes.

• Immediately after waking up whether from deep sleep or a short nap.

• Before, during, and following a heavy play session.  All puppies forget to go when they are busy playing, so you will need to monitor how long it has been.

• Routinely several times an hour.  Very young puppies and very tiny dogs may only be able to wait 15-30 minutes in between each potty break.

Remember to praise heavily each and every time your puppy uses the wee wee pad.  Don’t ever get angry or scold the puppy for accidents near the pad or for destructive chewing of the pad.  Since the wee wee pad is this puppy’s method of puppy housetraining, any negativity associated with the pad might cause the puppy to stop using it altogether.

Be forewarned that many puppies by the age of four to six months view wee wee pads as potential play toys, so you might find yourself in the situation of not leaving one down all the time and only placing it for the actual potty time.

If you would like to transition your dog outside, begin placing a pad outside too.  Most wee wee pad dogs don’t understand to use grass at first.  Get a few successful potties on the pad placed outside.  Then, begin cutting the pad to smaller and smaller sizes until before long your dog is using just the grass.

Doing your puppy housetraining using wee wee pads can sometimes be the easiest thing for certain kinds of dogs or in certain situations.  It can be done successfully as long as you maintain patience and fully demonstrate to the dog what the pads are for.

Crate training a puppy is the classic way to do it.  For most puppies, this is really one of the best ways.  The idea is to use the crate any time you will be away from the puppy or overnight.

The crate should only be as large as required for the puppy to sit up, stand, lie down, and turn around in.  Luckily, today many crate manufacturers make dividers so that you can purchase a crate that can grow with your puppy into adulthood.
The reason crate training works is because most dogs do not want to go the bathroom where they sleep.  In theory this is very true, but it doesn’t mean you won’t have accidents at all.  Puppies should not be excessively crated or forced to go for too many hours before being walked.
Tethering

This is a newer theory used for housebreaking a puppy.  This is where you use a leash, attached to the puppy, and the puppy is always a leash-length away from you at all times, until housebroken.

What is good with this system is that it keeps the puppy where you can see it.  This does aid the housebreaking process and allows you to limit accidents.  The main trouble with tethering is that most puppies are not even leash trained yet so they might find the tethering system a little concerning.

Wee Wee Pads

This is the least desirable method for long-term usage, but for extremely tiny puppies or apartment dwellers, it might be the only way to go in the beginning.
Wee Wee pads are disposable pads that are placed on the floor for the dog to use.  They are clean, hygienic, and simple.  It also does give a puppy easy access to a restroom at all times.

There are a few big problems with them.  First, once you train your puppy to go the bathroom in the house, you might find it a hard habit to break.  Some times these puppies don’t go the bathroom outside easily. Second, many a puppy has found other uses for the pads by shredding them apart and playing with them.  Lastly, there are some dogs that begin to view all sorts of items on the floor (like newspapers, blankets, etc.) as likely places for the potty, creating a bit of a housetraining nightmare.

Indoor Grass Potty

If you want to have an indoor, easy access potty, there are indoor grass potties (like the Mini Loo) that are easy to use.  They are similar in concept to the Wee Wee pads except it is not disposable at all.

It is a plastic box that is compartmentalized.  The top layer holds either real grass or artificial grass.  Any liquid drains through into a compartment that can be emptied quickly.  Grass is easily cleaned as well.

These grass potties make housebreaking a puppy a snap, but they can also be used for very small adult dogs, in apartments where it is a long walk to the restroom, older dogs, or for handicapped dogs.

Whatever method you choose, you need to be very, very consistent when housebreaking a puppy.  Don’t allow too much freedom, keep them close and supervise them, give them frequent access to the restroom area, and remember the cardinal rule of housebreaking a puppy: Accidents are always our fault!