Peeing on a pad issue...

[Lia]

Ok as some of you may already know Bella is 8wks old. I've been trying to potty train her by peeing on a pad... Well I have put a pad down stairs in the kitchen and another one in the upstairs bathroom (in our room) for the middle of the night and the morning. She sleeps in a crate and also hangs out in there when I can't keep an eye on her. Anyway, she has peed a few times on the pillow, in her crate, and has tried to pee on the carpet. when I see her getting ready to squat I pick her up immediately and run her over to the pee pad. I've sat there with her for like 20 min and she just won't go. I even tried turning away, maybe she doesn't like to be watched?! She just ends up trying to sneak off the pad! Finally I will let her off, cuz I feel bad after she starts to fall asleep on the pad. So there she goes smelling around the floor, I watch her cuz I know she has to go. Then of course, I catch her trying to squat.
This all happened last night, well this morning I happened to wake up before she did and woke her up to put her on the pad in the bathroom while my son showered. I closed the door and walked out ( I've tried sitting in there and waiting but she never goes pee). Well when I walked in, she had done her business on the pad! Yay! As the day proceeded she played and then took her nap on the couch next to me. When the other dogs woke up she also did, so I picked her up and put her on her pad, btw I brought the pad to the living room bc I thought that maybe she didn't like going to the kitchen by herself, anyway she still didn't go. So I folded the pad in half put it on one side of the crate and placed her inside. Much to my surprise she pottied on the pad! Of course I praised her so much and gave her a treat!
I really thought she was going to potty on the pillow because it seems to be that when she wakes me up by crying or barking, that by the time I wake up to get her out she has already wet her pillow/cushion.
So I have to questions... Should I set my alarm and wake up before her so I can catch her before she wets her pillow/cushion? My other question is why will she pee on the pad if she is placed in a confined area with it? Is this a good idea?

Ok, one more thing, I thought that little babies were supposed to pee like every 3 hours? Well Bella only goes #1 like 3 or 4 times a day and then does #2 once in the morning and once at night. Is this ok?

[GeorgieMama]

oh my, 8 weeks is quite young and so potty train will be a challenged. when maddie was 9 weeks old(brought her hm at 9wks) she'd sleep in her crate, but, when does she needs to potty, she'd cry and let me know, and i'd take her out and bring her to her potty pad. as for during the day when i m at work, she's in the play pen, w/the potty pad (same pad) in one corner. when i m home she's free to roam, but only in the living where i can watch her like a hawk. and as soon as she start sniffing the ground, i bring her to her pad, and tell her (everytime) 'go potty'. i think part of your problem is too many pads, u should try just to get her to go on 1 pad, pick an area and stick to it. i wouldn't put a pad in her crate and they are not supposed/encouraged to go in their crate anyway. if she is, then maybe the crate is too big for her. fr. 9-12 weeks, i would pick maddie up every hour or so, regardless of whether she sniff or not and put her on her pad and say 'go potty' sometime they get too busy playing and forgets and by the time they need to go it's too late. hope this helps, and u really just need patience and consistency. good luck on your baby!

[bchgirl]

You need to confine her. Get an x pen...line it entirely with pee pads...then you gradually reduce the number of pads inside until she is using just one pad. At that time...you can begin leaving her in a larger area...with the pad remaining and she'll use it.

[TIA DALMA]

My Tia Dalma is 20 weeks old, when I got her at 10 weeks she was already taught by the breeder to go on the pad (am I blessed or WHAT!) Well, my dilema is similar. She goes into the crate at night and will bark in the middle of the night - inside the crate is only her pillow and blanket. She barks, I take her out of the crate to the pee pad and she goes. She is then returned to the crate and goes back to sleep.
I think it is pretty stupid that I get up to let her out but think, how many times do people get up in the mid night to go to the bathroom! I thought if she is smart enough to tell me she has to go, the least I could do is take her to the bathroom!
I do have alittle problem now as I switched to Foster & Smith pee pads that have a little frame tohold it down and Tia doesn't seem to like them so much, she will still go over to the cheaper ones onthe blue plastic and go.
Good luck, I think the system is great. I do find that during the day if she is running around with my other 2 dogs, about every 20 minutes or so I will put her in the pet playpen with the pads and see if she will go. I also keep an eye on the water bowl and watch for when she drinks and also return her to the playpen/pads every 20 minutes.

[lucirbc]

Coral has a big crate with a pad in it. We tried the whole x-pen thing with a pad at one end and the bed on the other, but she figured out she could jump it pretty early on. She also figured out that when she cried in her nighttime crate (a travel crate) she would get out to go potty, so she started to do it 3-4 times a night. I finally had to get her a crate large enough to have a pee pad and her bed in it and it seems to work well for her. She will even go back into her crate to use the pad if i wait too long between her outside potty breaks....

[Lia]

Thanks everyone! You all gave some really good advice. I'll have to see what works best for my baby girl. What would I do with out YT!