So, as a few of you know, I just got a little mini dachshund just the other day and has been used to goin on puppy pads at her previous home. Well, Since she has been with me she has not made any "oopsies" on the floor which is GREAT! She has been going on her puppy pad. The thing is, I hvae not been taking her outside to go, not once yet cause she just goes to her puppy pad. Well, I live in an apartment on the top floor and I dont have a yard but there is a grassy area around back a ways away that I could take her to..I guess. It would just be apain in the butt to have to walk that far with her every few hours, you know. So if I just let her keep goin on the puppy pads and potty train her that way..is that a bad idea? or should I start taking her outside?
As long as you're okay with it of course it's fine. Keep in mind though that if you ever move to a house and have a yard you will face potty training all over again (if you go that route).
You may also consider litter box training her.
Do you have a patio? Posted via Mobile Device
Well, I live in an apartment on the top floor and I dont have a yard but there is a grassy area around back a ways away that I could take her to..I guess. It would just be apain in the butt to have to walk that far with her every few hours, you know. So if I just let her keep goin on the puppy pads and potty train her that way..is that a bad idea? or should I start taking her outside?
I started/stopped writing this a few times. I've kinda read-into your question - is it a bad idea - and split it into some other questions that might have an impact on your decision...and I'm not trying to be rude - just honest.
Is it possible to just let her empty her bowels and bladder inside your home on a puppy pad? Yes.
Will it smell, regardless of how fast / often you clean it up? Yes.
Is it Sanitary? Not particularly.
Is it unhealthy for the dog? Not specifically the location of where she's going, but this:
...concerns me. Your dog does need exercise - even though it's a smaller breed - it will require walks on a daily - maybe even a few times a day basis. If taking your pet outside to use the bathroom is "a pain in the butt" because you have to walk "that far", I'm more concerned that the dog will become frustrated from being inside all the time, not being able to really exercise, and - well, it's just not natural for a dog to potty where it lives...
My own personal opinion would be to immediately begin potty training / house training your dog - go for that long walk, pain in the butt it might be - that's what you signed up for, whether you knew it at the time or not...
My own personal opinion would be to immediately begin potty training / house training your dog - go for that long walk, pain in the butt it might be - that's what you signed up for, whether you knew it at the time or not...
I disagree. I think it is perfectly reasonable to litter train in an apartment for smaller sized dogs, or even puppy pad train (although litter training would be better IMO.) I don't think she was saying she wasn't ever going to to go on walks but when the dog is a puppy it would be very time consuming taking a puppy outside while living in an apartment. Not to mention the dangers of not having a fenced yard and the dog doesn't have all vaccines yet.
I think that's fine-I think taking her out and then letting her potty inside could be confusing while training. I wouldn't want poop in my house (Well ok their is bunny poop in my house...) BUT if I lived in an apartment I think I'd do that. I have a friend who's dog poops in a litter box instead-more absorbant/less gross then a pad-but I'd maybe train that once the dog definitely is pad trained
I agree, however I lived in an apartment and I trained my dogs to go on puppy pads at first and then worked them onto the patio. So....my patio had a puppy pad or two on it and they went there...when we got our house we had no issues with them learning to go outside.
I also have to state that our dogs went on daily walks, but not until they were fully vaccinated.
onder: ...so I thought about it - I may have read more into the statement than was there about exercise.
Litter-train...maybe I could let that go, but even the best odor-blocking litters don't mask the smell entirely...
I'm not even a neat-freak...and here's where I put my own personal opinion into my previous response - but I'd MUCH rather spend 2-3 hours taking my dogs in and out than to let them go in the house...on a pad, in a litter-box, or otherwise.
All 4 of my dogs are trained to do both (pee pad and outside) Since we had our fence built almost 2 years ago, they mostly go outside but I have a special area in the laundry room for them, incase of emergency. They go for walks every day, even in 40 below weather and most of the time, the pee pad remains unsoiled for as much as a week but I still feel more comfortable leaving them down. I had no problem at all transitioning my pups to going outside. They weren't confused at all, by it.
I think it's a great method with very young puppies, who are in apts or who aren't fully vaccinated yet, especially if you are diligent about training them to evacuate outside as well and just leave the pad down as a back up plan.
Cleaning and disinfecting the area is pretty important too.
I have multi dog household but you'd never know it
I think whatever works best for you
Either way you chose, having a dog is going to be time consuming.
Enjoy your new puppy and try to remember that all the training, sacrifice, time and effort is very much worth it. Pain in the butt, or not
3 of my 4 have been trained to go outside and also to use a potty pad. They know to ask to go out when I am home. However, they also know to use a puppy pad when home alone.
At this point, I only put one down for them if we are going to be gone longer than normal during the day. Even then, they don't use it too often. They are really good at holding it. I put down pads because, I deffinately perfer that they go potty on a pad instead of on my nice hard wood floors!
I am not saying I wont walk them ever. I was just saying that sicne puppies potty so often that Its a lot of work to have to take 2 puppies out on a pretty far walk to let them potty every hour or so, Expecially since its so hot here (100+) and the puppies will usually be dieing from the heat by the time I get to the grass and all they do when I get there is whine or flop over and lay.
I think I am going to peepee pad train them for now since there bladders are so small but one they can start to hold it for longer, Ill try to take them outside more and more.
I like the idea of moving the peepee pads to the padio outside, I think Im gunna try that coming up here real soon.
Oh,
I did take them to the lake the other day to play in the water and on the beach to get some excersize while they could stay cool from the water. They loved that!
Thanks for everyones ideas and oppinions on this.
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