[dottiesyrky]

Hi.
Glad you are having good success with the pad training. My boy is 8 now and was never pad trained before I adopted him, but when he went to a sitter for a week, he came back seeming to know how to use pads. All the advice for training given above sounds great and certainly praise and treats are helpful. I never scold him if he misses.
My dog is taken out often but sometimes he will go on the pads on his own if his needs are not when I take him out. I see that although he hits the pad most of the time, he can pee off the pad, perhaps as his aim is off, as he does it at the edge. He appears to poop on a pad different from the ones he pees on. ( I lay out about four pads next to a sliding glass window.). He also does not seem to care if the pads are used and not fresh. But I do change them when they get a few pees on them. It is interesting that in the early morning, after several sleeping hours, he needs to pee badly after eating (which always comes first however badly he wants to pee!!!). If I don't take him outside immediately after he has eaten his food, he will pee on the pad and move towards the door for me to take him out for some more smells and pees! Unlike most humans one pee is not enough! I think his first mini pee is just to tell me to take him out as he prefers to do that.