Puppy pads are a great alternative to more traditional methods of housebreaking a puppy. Some of the reasons to use puppy pads in lieu of other methods may be location, temperature, lack of a yard, schedule and size of a dog. Running a new puppy up and down several flights of stairs to make it outside is not the best way to train him. A small dog may not be able to wait long enough and may be more reliable when trained to use a puppy pad.
Confinement
Dogs do not want to soil their living area, so keep your puppy confined to a small area that he will associate as his den. Puppy pads typically have a scent that triggers dogs to use them as their potty area. Place the puppy pad away from food, water, sleep areas and play areas. This will continue to teach the puppy where his den is.
Whenever you cannot keep a very close eye on puppy, be sure to put him in his confined area with a fresh puppy pad. Keeping a puppy pad inside a kennel is not recommended as a puppy will either tear it up when he is bored or he will learn to potty where he lives.
Puppy Pads as a Tool
If your goal is to train your dog to go potty outside, then place the puppy pad away from play and sleep areas with the goal to eventually move it near the door. When a puppy starts his pre-potty dance, quickly take him outside or place him on the puppy pad. The pre-potty dance can be fast sniffing, frantic searching, squatting, tail raising or other signs of distress.
Be sure not to scold your puppy at this time or he will run away from you. Instead try to be encouraging and tell him go potty and put him on the pad. Praise your puppy after he soils the puppy pad. Offer a treat and pet him for a job well done. If it is a small amount of urine it would be okay to leave it as a reminder of where the puppy should potty. However, replace heavily soiled puppy pads right away. Many brands of puppy pads have trays that go under the pad to prevent odor stains. Once a puppy soils a surface it is important to remove the odor with a specially formulated cleaner. If puppy cannot find the pad or cannot get to it soon enough he may potty in a place that smells the same as a pad. This can be prevented by using a tray and by using proper cleaning solutions to remove the odor.
Long-Term Puppy Pads
Depending on your living situation, using puppy pads as a long-term method for housebreaking your dog may be a great idea. Very small dogs have small organs that cannot wait long to be taken outside. Once your puppy has successfully started using the puppy pad, put it somewhere that he can find it. Try not to move the puppy pad as this could confuse him once he has learned where it is. If your schedule does not allow you to let your puppy out often then a puppy pad can be a permanent solution.
Be careful not to leave papers or anything similar to a puppy pad lying around until housebreaking is well-established. Even though you can tell the difference easily, your puppy may not realize that a newspaper is entirely different from a puppy pad.