Joined
·
495 Posts
And here's another post while I try to be patient about being on a waiting list for a future pup! Apologies if this is dumb... I just tend to research, research, and overthink things. 
So, currently the husband and I live in an apartment. We're lucky in that our complex is very dog friendly. Most folks here have at least one dog, if not two. However, I also see this as being problematic, especially when Future Pup is newly home and not fully vaccinated yet. An additional problem is that we're on the second floor, and I know sometimes it's a "get the pup out NOW" situation with housetraining.
Buut, we also have a balcony!
So, I'm wondering if it's possible to do the initial housetraining with one of the turf pad type things out on the balcony (sliding glass door from the living room) until pup is older and better able to hold it and also more ready to be out and about with other dogs. Since dogs don't necessarily generalize well, am I going to run into issues with then switching to going out several normal doors, down stairs, and out onto "real" grass? Different location, different process, different texture, etc etc?
My own personal guess is that, depending on the dog (obviously!) I'll likely face a bit of regression but that it'll be totally okay to basically have two different "phases" to housetraining. Or am I just way overthinking this and I should stick to going all the way downstairs, even at first?
Thanks ahead of time for any responses. I apologize again if this is a silly question.
Edit: Oh, and the reason I don't want to exclusively use the balcony is that, while it would fit a potty area, it's still fairly small and I'd prefer it not be a permanent installation, but I'd be okay if it ended up being that way, too, if it proved necessary!
So, currently the husband and I live in an apartment. We're lucky in that our complex is very dog friendly. Most folks here have at least one dog, if not two. However, I also see this as being problematic, especially when Future Pup is newly home and not fully vaccinated yet. An additional problem is that we're on the second floor, and I know sometimes it's a "get the pup out NOW" situation with housetraining.
Buut, we also have a balcony!
So, I'm wondering if it's possible to do the initial housetraining with one of the turf pad type things out on the balcony (sliding glass door from the living room) until pup is older and better able to hold it and also more ready to be out and about with other dogs. Since dogs don't necessarily generalize well, am I going to run into issues with then switching to going out several normal doors, down stairs, and out onto "real" grass? Different location, different process, different texture, etc etc?
My own personal guess is that, depending on the dog (obviously!) I'll likely face a bit of regression but that it'll be totally okay to basically have two different "phases" to housetraining. Or am I just way overthinking this and I should stick to going all the way downstairs, even at first?
Thanks ahead of time for any responses. I apologize again if this is a silly question.
Edit: Oh, and the reason I don't want to exclusively use the balcony is that, while it would fit a potty area, it's still fairly small and I'd prefer it not be a permanent installation, but I'd be okay if it ended up being that way, too, if it proved necessary!