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Pee pads, potty pads, or puppy pads (depending on who you ask) are very popular these days, and understandably so.
Many dog owners are gone for a chunk of the day, and reason that they’d prefer their dog have a mess-free way to eliminate while their owners are away at school or work. It also stands to reason that the convenience of not having to helicopter on your dog during the potty training process (because they can just go on the pee pad) must make the whole thing easier.
But while they may seem like a new dog owner’s dream, the truth is that pee pads (or potty pads/puppy pads) tend to create more problems than they solve.
I tend to advise my clients to avoid using pee pads if possible and focus on the potty training protocol I detail in my article, How to Potty Train Any Dog, for a number of reasons.
Why Shouldn’t You Use Pee Pads?
Choosing to use pee pads for your dog is entirely a personal choice based on what your lifestyle is and how you are willing to manage your dog long-term. However, as dog trainers we tend to advise against them for a number of reasons. These reasons range from puppy development concerns to behavioral goals and even some very serious veterinary risks for your dog.
There are a lot of reasons why you might want to reconsider having your dog on pee pads, or trying to transition out of it sooner rather than later.
They can be ripped up and ingested.
Potty pads are often a casualty of boredom for dogs left home alone. Even when provided with a chew toy, or some other means to entertain themselves, few dogs can resist the satisfying ripping of a defenseless potty pad.
Very quickly, pee pads can end up in pieces all over the house or looking like confetti inside a crate.
Sometimes dogs will even ingest puppy pads, which can be dangerous. The plastic lining of the pad can get wound up and cause obstruction, impaction, and other bowel issues, while the absorbent material can increase in size when introduced to stomach fluids.
If a potty pad is ingested it can get stuck and even require surgery. I talk about this (as well as other digestive obstruction issues and how to avoid them) more in my article, Is It Bad If My Dog Eats Rocks?
They can set back other housetraining efforts.
When your dog has potty pads, they can do their business whenever they want. This may seem like a dream at first, but what this actually leads to is a dog that never has to learn to “hold it” or think about their bladder or bowel control.
Dogs (especially young dogs and puppies) need to learn not only where it is appropriate to eliminate, but also how to hold it until they have access to the proper place to do so. For young puppies, this can mean taking them out very frequently, and increasing that time as they develop.
More on this in my article, How Long Does It Take to Potty Train Your Dog?
Essentially, though, dogs need to be able to develop that physical ability through progression and practice in order for them to have a fair chance at the behavioral side of things.
Potty pads remove the need for a dog to ever have to hold it. In fact, urinating the moment they feel the need can actually reduce a dog’s ability to hold it by lowering their physical bladder tolerance.
This means that access to pee pads not only prevents a dog from getting better at potty training, but can actually directly make them worse at it.
They are a difficult habit to break.
Because of this, weaning a dog off pee pads can be incredibly challenging, if possible at all.
On top of never having to develop any sense of control over their elimination, dogs that had pee pads through their developmental years have a very strong association for what a pee pad is for.
Essentially, all the association that could have been built around an outside potty spot is instead directed to the sight and smell of pee pads.
If you’ve ever had a fully-housetrained dog, imagine for the sake of argument trying to train that dog years later to go eliminate in the house. It would be incredibly difficult to break that long-held association and understanding. It’s the same for weaning a dog off pee pads, especially if they’ve used primarily pee pads.
The association is there, and transitioning a dog to going exclusively outside can be a huge endeavor.
They allow the crate to be a toilet.
Usually, the crate (or other confined space, depending on personal preference) is meant to be a no-potty zone. It’s the dog’s “den,” their personal space that is meant for rest and calm. Most dogs will naturally not want to eliminate in their den.
But when we provide pee pads inside the crate, play pen, or other confined space, we diminish that natural instinct that works in our favor. If a dog is taught that their crate can be for eliminating, they may continue to do so in the long run whether a pee pad is present or not.
So, even when the pee pad is removed from the crate, the dog is likely to choose eliminating in their crate over waiting to access the pee pad or outdoor potty spot.
Can You Train Your Dog to Use Pee Pads and Go Outside?
You can, if you’re set at it from the start, train your dog to go both outside and indoors on pee pads.
However, many of the same issues already mentioned will likely still surface, and a few others can come up when taking this approach.
For example, finnicky dogs may refuse to go outside to potty when the weather is cold, wet, windy, or otherwise inconvenient for them, because going on a potty pad is going to be more appealing. This can make it difficult to transition off of them in the long run.
Bladder capacity can also diminish, because dogs who have access to indoor potty never really have to learn to hold it.
Dogs may never learn to go outside in the absence of a potty pad, such as when traveling, because the pee pad option is usually available to them at home.
At the end of the day, choosing to include puppy pads at home is a personal choice, and dog owners should simply be aware of the drawbacks when making that choice.
They all tend to boil down to one main concern: if you include potty pads, you may end up being dependent on them long-term whether you want to be or not.
Alternatives to Pee Pads
While I tend to really advise against relying on pee pads for housetraining, I do think there are some similar alternatives that can help mitigate the drawbacks of puppy pads and even help in the outdoor-only transition if you’re already on your journey in that direction.
PetSafe Pet Loo
The PetSafe Pet Loo is a fake grass dog potty that has a designated collection reservoir for urine. It’s great for apartment dwellers who need a lawn for their balcony or porch, or for helping move your dog from potty pads to a designated turf potty that can then be transitioned to outdoor-only.
In the Pet Loo, the look and feel of grass can help reinforce the must-pee-on-grass association, while the special system underneath helps solidify collected urine into a mess-free and smell-free gel that can be easily tossed out and replaced.
Bark Potty
Bark Potty is the self-proclaimed “dog park in a box” that provides special lined pet potties on a subscription basis. Bark potties are made of real bark and contains the same outdoor smells that encourage dogs to do their business.
This is a fantastic alternative to puppy pads because it will give your dog a means to eliminate mess-free inside without ruining the association of outdoor smells. It’s also all-natural, and doesn’t pose the same danger to your pup if torn up or ingested compared to a puppy pad. It’s all-around safer for your dog, and better for long-term behavior goals.
Bark Potty is designed to be eco-friendly, biodegradable, and is meant to be tossed when a new box arrives.
Doggie Lawn
Doggie Lawn is a real grass option for dog owners looking for an indoor potty mat for their dogs. What makes Doggie Lawn awesome is the real grass portion of the mat that can be reused or replaced on a subscription basis.
Like Bark Potty, Doggie Lawn provides some of the same sensations a dog will experience outside, which helps to reduce the unique associations of a puppy pad. When using a Doggie Lawn, a dog is going to see, feel, and smell real grass when the “go.”
Fresh Patch
Fresh Patch is a subscription-based disposable turf potty for dogs. Like Bark Potty, Fresh Patch comes in a set cadence and is meant to be set down complete with the lined box in which it’s delivered.
Fresh Patch is meant to be disposed of entirely, so unlike Doggie Lawn (which comes with a plasic base in which you can put absorbent pads underneath the grass) Fresh Patch is meant to be used and discarded and may smell after some time.
However, it may be a great option for dog owners looking to eventually transition their dog to outdoor-only elimination, because the entire Fresh Patch can be tossed out without that plastic base.
DIY Dog Lawns
When I was a dog walker years ago, I had a client that had done an impressive job of making his own lawn box for his dog in a nook of his apartment that he’d set up as a puppy pen. From what I could see, he’d put together a wood box, lined it, put down dirt down, and laid some turf over the top.
The materials must have surely costed him less than purchasing a real grass potty for his large boxer-mix puppy, because it was just huge compared to some of the options available online. He was able to size it perfectly for his dog, and just pick up some extra turf to lay down whenever it suited him. Definitely a great budget-friendly option.
However, the one drawback was that his DIY dog lawn wasn’t made to drain or remove urine properly like the options already listed. I always noticed a strong ammonia smell that sometimes stunk up the whole apartment.
That smell can not just be unpleasant, but it can keep attracting a dog to prefer going inside rather than getting better at going outside. Additionally, if the dog owner ever wanted to transition his dog in adulthood to outdoor elimination only, he would surely struggle with relocating or removing the homemade turf potty.
So, if you decide to go the DIY route, make sure you create a solution for the inevitable urine smell, and plan your long-term plan appropriately!
