2 years ago we got sibling golden retriever pups in the wintertime -
I said I would never get another pup in the winter -
Um, I brought Mayzie Feb.
LOL Anyway, after dealing with the potty every 20 mins, many. many big messes (big dogs, big poop) and getting up in the middle of the night with them--I opted for pee pads. I am sooooooooooo glad I did too! Mayzie has had a few accidents but honestly, I "trust" her unlike the GRs. They would just cop a squat where as she just doesn't seem to go as often. She sleeps with me/hubby and she has slept the entire night since the get go and has only peed in the bed once (the very first time she was on it). She pees before bed and that is it until my husband gets up around 5 AM sometimes not until 7!!!! Woohoooo! Now she can get up and down off the bed so I am not sure what time she does her thing but she consistently leaves me a couple little tootsie rolls and a puddle on her pad. We have one in our bathroom upstairs and I have 2 downstairs at opposite ends of the house. I am going to get rid of one of them though. When we travel I keep a pad or 2 in her backpack and I will take her to the bathroom lay it down and tell her to go-she does, and I fold it up and put it in a ziploc bag. I wouldn't try this with the cheaper pads though. When I first got her, I had a cardboard box with no bottom or top with a pee pad in it. I would put her in there and tell her to potty and she learned pretty much to do it on command which is a very helpful skill! My first yorkie went outside, I would just open the door for her and out she went. We live in the country and far off of any roads. She was much bigger than Mayzie is. I am scared to let Mayzie out alone due to hawks and eagles.
I might perhaps encourage her on her walks to go potty but I am not going to really push it. I think the pads will be really conveinient when we go camping too.
Sorry this got to be so long.