Are puppy pads a good idea?

July 13, 2022

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Puppy pads can be found in every pet store you walk into. With the usual puppy essentials.

They’re a common item;

your breeder uses puppy pads

your friends have them for their new puppy

you even spot them whilst mooching in the pet aisle during your weekly food shop!

So, you’d be forgiven for thinking they should be on your shopping list for your new puppy.

Adverts for puppy pads promise stress free toilet training. They sound great and exactly what you‘ll need!

And teaching your puppy where you’d like them to do their business is one of the first things you want to work on.

But, are puppy pads really a good idea?

In this blog post we’ll answer the question, define how puppy pads work, share a few examples of puppy pad alternatives, and provide 10 tips to help you get started with toilet training your puppy.

Please note: There are affiliate links in this post. If you click a link and make a purchase I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only give recommendations for items I feel will truly benefit my audience. Thanks for supporting our blog!

Are puppy pads a good idea?

In my opinion, no.

Here’s why;

puppy pads are nice and soft. Nice and soft like a rug, mat, or carpet. You can understand how this can cause confusion for a puppy.

And they’re learning to do their business indoors.

I like to compare puppy pads to the pull up nappies for toddlers.

Pull up nappies don’t teach toddlers to use a potty no more than puppy pads teach puppies to toilet outdoors.

How puppy pads work (or don’t work)

The idea of puppy pads is to provide your puppy with an indoor toileting area and you with a convenient solution to toilet training with less mess.

They’re absorbent. Some are designed to remove the smell and some are specially scented. Claiming to encourage your puppy to revisit the area.

But, placing a puppy pad inside their safe space or next to the door isn’t going to magically teach them that’s where you’d like them to wee and poop.

You’d still need management in place and a solid schedule and routine. You’d take your puppy on lead to the pad, wait for them to do their business and reward them with praise or a tasty treat.

So, the selling point, ‘convenient’ is totally flawed.

In fact, it’s more convenient taking your puppy straight out into your garden.

And, there’s going to be less mess in your home if your puppy is learning to wee and poop outside.

When you take your puppy to their outdoor toileting area they’re going to know they’ve visited it before. They’ll be encouraged by the scent they left behind.

They’ll make an association with weeing and pooing outside, not inside. On a surface such as grass, gravel or bark.

Puppy pads are a cleverly marketed gimmick.

Often when a client is struggling with toilet training their puppy, they’re using puppy pads. The puppy is confused because they’ve not been taught where to go. And the guardian is frustrated.

The Canine Training Centre agree and adds, “the problem comes when the owner is ready to move potty pads, and they realize that their dog has been trained to use the bathroom inside the home. When they remove the pads the dog simply does what they were trained to do. Pee or poop on the floor”.

In my opinion, puppy pads encourage a mindset of the equipment doing the work.

And just like the pull up nappies for toddlers, it isn’t going to be puppy pads that teaches your puppy where to go. It’ll be you.

Should puppy pads be used at night?

Again, no. For exactly the same reasons as I’ve mentioned above.

It’s going to cause confusion for your puppy and frustration for you.

I promise you, getting up with your new puppy in the middle of the night in the short term, is going to give you long term gain.

3 puppy pad alternatives

If you don’t have access to a garden or require an indoor area, consider these alternatives to puppy pads.

1. Doggie Lawn

Doggielawn describe their service as, “environmentally-friendly dog grass patches for dogs of all sizes”. It’s a subscription service of “fresh dog potty grass”. They can be placed anywhere inside or outside.

Visit their website to find out more.

2. Hompet Dog Toilet Indoor Puppy Training Pad

According to Homepet this is an “odour resistant, antimicrobial grass, it looks and feels just like real grass while being completely safe and non-toxic for your pet”.

Click here to learn more.

3. DIY Garden Tray

Imagine a cat-like set up. You need a low level tray that’s a suitable in size for your puppy. If this is going to be a long-term solution, think about how big your puppy grow.

Then decide what surfaces you’ll want your puppy to toilet on when they’re outdoors. This might be turf, artificial turf, pebbles or paving slabs.

10 tips for toilet training your puppy

1. Start right away.

2. Take your puppy to their toileting area after they’ve had a nap, a drink, food or playtime. And before you go to bed. Carry them or attach their lead to prevent them from getting distracted.

3. Teach your puppy to love their crate or safe space. You can find out how to do this inside our FREE Puppy Start Right Workshop, where you’ll find a step-by-step video tutorial. Using a crate can help to speed up toilet training as puppies like to do their business away from their bed.

4. When your puppy is not in their confinement area, actively supervise them. Watch for sniffing or circling behaviours. Signs they need the loo.

5. Have a solid schedule and routine in place.

6. Set a reminder on your phone for every 30 minutes to start and take your puppy to their toileting area. Being in the right place at the right time increases your puppy chances of success and decreases the chances of accidents in the home.

7. If you wish to use treats to reinforce your puppy when they get it right, have treats handy next to the toileting area in a weather proof container. Lots of praise works well for most puppies.

8. Have poo bags, baby wipes and an enzymatic cleaner ready too.

9. When an accident does happen. Don’t make a big deal about it or tell your puppy off. Clean up appropriately with your enzymatic cleaner.

10. Be proactive. Don’t wait for your puppy to let you know when they need to go.

In this blog post, I’ve answered the question, are puppy pads a good idea? And have explained why, how they work, given you puppy pad alternatives and 10 tips for toilet training your puppy.

I’d LOVE to know if this blog has helped you! Please leave a comment below.

In my FREE Puppy Start Right Workshop you’ll get an example of a puppy schedule and routine, a crate and toilet training video tutorial. Click the image below to watch now!