I think your perception of how you are training should be shifted. Rather than think that you want to train your puppy to go on pee-pads, think that you want your puppy to go in a "designated" area. This should be the only place you take your puppy to go potty. So if you are pee-pad training, and you have an x-pen with peepads in it, make the x-pen the only place your puppy goes. So everytime you want to take him to go potty, don't place him on a pee-pad, place him in his x-pen. (make sure it is wall to wall peepad) Don't let him out until he does his business. But stay there and watch him, so when he goes you can praise him. But the fact that he is in the x-pen and is covered with pee-pads, will ensure that he goes on the pee-pad. Eventually you can reduce the amount of pee-pads to one or two, but it will always be in the x-pen. At some point you will have to keep the x-pen open so he can go in and out of it at will to relieve himself. (but only when he catches on and has more freedom in your household).
If you eventually want to move the peepads to another area permanently for him to go on, you will have to move the x-pen in small increments until you get the peepad moved to where you want it to be.
Just remember - you are training your puppy that there is only one place to go, and that is in the x-pen, and just coincidently there is a peepad in the "designated area"! You are not specifically training it to go on the pee-pad.
Of course you don't have to use the x-pen, it can be the bathroom, or some other contained area, but the area must be contained, so he can reference it in his brain as the "potty" area.
Eventually he will only go on the peepads, because you have created a habit and preference of the surface of which he likes to void.
Also, limit your puppy's freedom. Keep him in the x-pen or crate when you cannot watch him. And when you can watch him, keep him in one room at a time. And keep him off the bed. He should only sleep with you, when he has "earned" the right to do so. Part of that is to be fully house broken. (Don't worrry, You'll have many years to sleep with him. So help him now, by not allowing him to create bad habits, so you can enjoy him in the future)
Its hard but well worth the effort. |