I need some advice on this one....
Recent events have made me want to change Bella from pottying on pads to going outdoors. Let me start by saying that she does pretty good pottying on her pads at home, but she has serious issues anywhere else but home....including THE CAR!! and friends' and relatives' homes. Originally, I decided to pad train so she wouldn't have to go out when it's raining (and then have to be blown dry each time) or when it's very cold. I know changing her over is going to be a long process, but I have some questions about a few of my hesitations before I decide to just go for it!
1) Do you think I should leave pads down during a sort of transitional period (while we work on taking her out instead) before taking them up entirely? I'm afraid we're going to have serious problems if I just take them up, but I also don't want it to be too confusing for her.....so I thought maybe I should transition the pads until they're gone (maybe I could make it smaller and smaller until it's gone altogether???)
2) I plan to stand at the glass door with a retractable leash first thing in the mornings and when it's yucky out (cold/wet) since I don't have a fenced yard. BUT, I was wondering if I could train her to go on pads on the covered porch OR the garage for when it's yucky out?? (I want to figure out how exactly I want to do this BEFORE I re-train her!) I have a friend that made a very shallow "box" with sod in it for her balcony for her dogs, and I wouldn't be opposed to having something like that instead of the outdoor/garage pads....but I'm not up for cleaning up wood chips, though!
3) Let's say training to go on the outdoor/garage pads doesn't work, or that I'm in a situation (visiting someone) where that isn't an option.....do all of you who have pups that go out to potty blow them dry every time they go out when it's raining??
4) I work full-time, though my bf is usually home some during the day (he's in school), so I'm wondering how long it's possible for her to hold it before she absolutely needs to go out....AFTER she's trained of course (until then, I know she'll need to go out much, much more often)?? Can she hold it for 8 hrs. eventually like most indoor dogs I know (different breeds), or does she need to go out more frequently because she's smaller?? Eventually, my bf won't be home during the day, and I may not be able to come home at lunch every day.
lastly, 5) If I want to bell train her, how do I do that? I'm assuming I ought to just go ahead and do it all at once rather than have to tackle that extra bit later.....
We have crate trained in the past, though we don't use the crate anymore, so I think we'll be able to do that to help with the training. I know that was a lot of questions, but I'm really hoping everyone can help me with this
