Train 3 yr old dog to use puppy pads??

[magicre]

Ya that is one thing even I forget sometimes to tell people! You don't know if the dog "went" unless you're out there with them. Also, if someone is working on getting the dog to "go" outside and the dog enjoys the outdoors don't have him "go" then take him right back in. The dog will learn to hold it to prolong the out door experience. After he "goes" walk him around for 5-10 minutes or play a brief game of fetch/tug or let off the leash, being outside becomes a reward to "going".

However those bit's didn't seem pertinent to the thread "How do I teach my dog to "go" inside" :)

true, but i'm kind of trying to talk the OP out of doing that...teaching a dog to go inside to me, is a recipe for disaster down the pike....

[xellil]

I am sorry to say that I do watch them outside, but when it's cold I stand on the deck under the roof and let them go out there in the cold, freezing wet weather all alone.

[maplewood]

LOL Yeah, however if they are going to use an indoor potty area, they should have all the info they need for it. I guess after spending so much time trying to "talk" people out of it I just tell them once they do it they will alway's need to allow it and then how to go about it.

[MollyWoppy]

How about one of those pad things that has the artificial grass? Thats what I'm going to use when/if we can ever go back cruising. Well, not me use it personally, but you know what I mean.
My plans are to teach Mollie that is has a specific name, such as green mat (haven't thought that far ahead), so sometime before we leave, I'd teach her to 'go pee on your green mat'. She knows what the word pee means and I think she's right capable of putting two and two together, given time. I'd also start teaching her with it outside and then bring it indoors and then on to the boat.

[maplewood]

How about one of those pad things that has the artificial grass? Thats what I'm going to use when/if we can ever go back cruising. Well, not me use it personally, but you know what I mean.
My plans are to teach Mollie that is has a specific name, such as green mat (haven't thought that far ahead), so sometime before we leave, I'd teach her to 'go pee on your green mat'. She knows what the word pee means and I think she's right capable of putting two and two together, given time. I'd also start teaching her with it outside and then bring it indoors and then on to the boat.

If she goes outside I wouldn't use it in the house unless I planned on keeping one in the house for forever. You could teach her it's ok at home in the yard, watch her to figure out where she goes the most in the yard. Or teach her to use it while she's on-leash someplace she doesn't generally have access too. When you put it on the boat "seed" it with some poo and a bit of urine (if possible) from home so it smells like the right place to go.

[magicre]

I am sorry to say that I do watch them outside, but when it's cold I stand on the deck under the roof and let them go out there in the cold, freezing wet weather all alone.

i know it sucks, believe me. at night, when it's raining and my pug is still looking for that perfect blade of grass....i've got treats, still, even after two years of house training...to give him.

if i just let him out, then he doesn't get the immediate gratification....so during the day, both dogs can go out as and when, but early morning and before bed we walk them....even it's just around the block...or up to the pee spot.....

when we lived in our house, we would leash up our reluctant blockhead shih tzu and walk her to the back yard and walk her around until she peed....same thing....the power of the leash and us being right there.

[cprcheetah]

I tried every method known to man to get Ziva to 'house' train, and she is still bad....she spent 4 months of her life at a puppy mill/pet store. So I have a litterbox with potty pads for her and she does quite well with that method. Zoey was on a lifetime of steroids up until a year ago, so I potty pad trained her as I couldn't always be home to let her potty 12 times a day. It worked well for her as well. Ziva still goes outside potty with Shellie, and Zoey will potty outside too, but they have the luxury of using the potty pad if needed, which in a lot of cases they do. For me it was taking them to the potty pad in a box so they couldn't 'jump' out when they had to go potty then gradually removed the box. I gave lots and lots of treats/praise when they did go potty where they were supposed to.

[Midnight]

Wow, THANK YOU for all the comments and ideas. From the sounds of it all, the "potty box" or "litter box" sounds like the best ideas for my situation.

I wouldn't use it all the time, especially not during decent weather, and certainly wouldn't want him using the box all the time so this may require some forethought before I jump into it.

BTW, I live in an apartment and so quick acess to the outside is not possible, which is why the idea of the "puppy pads" seemed like such a good idea in the first place. Plus, I also suffer with the affects of a serious back injury that cold weather just makes all the worse. Even so, the ideas and thoughts presented here are something to give thought to.

[xellil]

BTW, I live in an apartment and so quick acess to the outside is not possible, which is why the idea of the "puppy pads" seemed like such a good idea in the first place. Plus, I also suffer with the affects of a serious back injury that cold weather just makes all the worse. Even so, the ideas and thoughts presented here are something to give thought to.

If I lived in an apartment and had to go out a door, down a staircase, around a sidewalk, etc. etc. etc. to get to a potty place there is no way in heck I wouldn't be training my dog to pee inside.

I would figure when I moved to a place where outside access was easy it would be easier to re-train than trying to re-train from the same location.

[magicre]

if i lived in an apartment with, let's say, a balcony, i'd put the potty thing out there and i'd walk the dog to it...even though it means just opening the door to the balcony....

same thing with a front door or back door with a little overhang....those grass things look intriguing...is it possible to put it right by the door and leash up the kid and take the dog to it?

we've had shih tzus who would just stand there in the freezing rain, getting soaked and looking like drowned rats....until it finally occurred to us to put a leash on them and just take them outside the door.

i wish we had those fake grass things....that would have worked too..but use the leash.....and lots of treats..