To each his/her own. We don't use potty pads, but I have absolutely no problem with people who choose to use them. :)

I prefer for Levi to be outdoor-trained -- but we are fortunate to live in a pretty mild climate, and someone is available throughout the day to at least come home and take him outside to potty. If we lived somewhere cold or if he were alone for 8 hours straight - you can bet I'd be considering pee pads.

Why I don't have cats. LOL. ;) HATE litter boxes! Ugh. Stinky. I just hate picking up poop in general. Thank goodness I don't have to do it much. We live on 3 acres so Jackson never poops in the same spot, and I guess it just desinegrates or gets mowed over or something.

Jackson was never the kind of dog who would go in a small space anyways. I doubt I could ever get him pad trained even if I wanted to. I tried for like a week after bringing him home, he would look at me, like HUH? He won't even go in a tiny backyard (like a townhouse backyard, for example). He needs lots of room to sniff and explore, LOL. I tried to get him to go in the garage during a hurricane and again, he looked at me like I was crazy. He chooses to hold it during bad rain/etc. I try to let him go, but he won't, so I know it can't be that bad for him. He also voluntarily will sleep for 10-12 hours overnight so I know he can hold it. So I'm not too worried about it.

I wouldn't mind trying them for my dads dog, actually. She goes in the house almost EVERY day because my dad and stepmom are too lazy to WATCH her go outside and do her business - they just let her out expecting her to go, and she got tons of free reign very young, just never trained. I think she may take to having a pad in the house. Or maybe not, I don't know.

Pee pads are great for small dogs. (We use a litter box with washable pads and an indoor grass potty.) If someone has a problemo with it, oh well. ;) I have never liked forcing my dogs to hold it for a long time if I am late getting home due to unforseen circumstances, I want them to have the opportunity to relieve themselves.
My first two dogs (25 lbs and 5 lbs) were outside trained, and i decided when I was adopted by my first Yorkie, to pee pad and bell train her.

Pee pee pads were a life saver for my senior Maltese who was outside only trained, but at almost 14 years old when she started her kidney decline and limited bladder control, I was able to train her to use the pee pee pads in about 2 months time.

All three of mine are outside trained as well, but when I am not home, they will use the box or pad if needed.

To each his own for sure, but there is nothing wrong with using indoor pottys (for the smaller guys, lol. I don't know if I'd want a great dane pooping inside, lol)

I live up many flights in the back corner of a building right in the middle of the city, here in DC.... and it is not all that safe to take a little dog outside after dark and we have had some horrendous rain storms in the past year. Riley is trained to use the pads if he really needs to, but will also go, outside. It also makes it convenient when staying with some of my friends who live way way up in some of the taller buildings, in New York. :thumbup:

Now that would definitely be a deal breaker!!!! LoL Ewe. Yorkie's are so small, if you pick up the poop & flush it immediately & give them a clean pad each day there is no smell at all.

I've dealt with this with my kids. You never let the other dogs poop in the house. Bella will go out to pee and when we get in she'll run to the bathroom and poo. Too funny. I had to deal with this with my husband in the first year also. But he's come around. It's my house, if others don't like, they don't have to come here. Their loss, not mine. LOL

Absolutely we use potty pads! No way am I taking my babies outside when it's 100+ degrees 24/7 :eek: with acres and acres of asphalt!

I have tried and tried to get Kobi to use the pee pads. He just looks at me like Huh! We have cold cold weather here in Tn, and it would be soo nice to use them. He wants me to take him out 4-5 times a day. I have to bundle him up and myself and go down our street until he finds his place. I would love it if Kobi would use them.

Ok...I have to post on this one. This past weekend Copper was in the hospital as some of you may remember....

Well, I always put potty pads down when I run to the store or am gone for a few hours, upstairs and downstairs.
Copper never uses them as he holds it until I get home and waits to go outside. I wondered if he even knew what they were for anymore.

When he got sick... (I had to run out and pick up my granddaughter from preschool), when I got back he had peed and pooped on the pad 3 times. The next day when he threw up, he did it on the pad upstairs and pooped on the pad downstairs. I was amazed. When your little one is sick, you don't really expect anything...but I have to say he was consistant.

I'm glad to know that he knows what they are for. When the rains come here, the yards are a soggy mess. Hope he remembers then!:)

Well it's good to hear I'm not the only one. Thanks for sharing your experiences. Im a huge neat freak and personally my house is a lot cleaner this way and so is my Mollie. She doesn't have to go outside get dirty or me either and track it back in especially when the weather is bad.

Good boy Copper and happy to hear he is doing better.

I personally prefer disposable pads because they are more sanitary. I can't imagine washing wee pads in a machine that I use to wash kitchen and hand towels. BTW, I have two washing machines (don't ask -- I am a clean freak). Romeo's wee pad trained and won't go anywhere but on those pads, and then again only at home. Even if we are out for an extended period of time and I try to get him to use the pad in a rest room, the suv trunk, the ground, he just sniffs, walks away and waits until he gets home.

The disposable wee pads are convenient for both Romeo AND me.

Not trying to change your mind, but for others who freak out about this, urine and relatively sterile, in other words, a healthy dog should not have bacteria in its urine. Feces while loaded with bacteria, should be firm if the dog is on the right diet, and it should be flushed away, not washed. There should be no contamination of your washer when washing pee pads.

Both my girls are special needs. My Miss Mini had MAJOR surgery at 3lbs. and could not go out. My Miss Mia has a heart condition and we live upstate NY. It is too cold.

I am presently home during the day because of shoulder surgery. I will not leave my girls in a crate all day, they are just too small IMHO to have to wait on me all day. I work 15 mins from home; however, its not easy to leave (bad parking situation) for lunch. So my girls are home from 745 a.m. till 4:15 p.m.

I never have a problem with them. Frankly, I can attest to the fact that peepads are far less noticable then cat litter pans....

And as for leaving them alone all day, even if I am home my girls sleep all day and play time starts at 415 till 11pm!!!

I don't have pee pads all over the house, I have them in litter boxes in 3 areas of the house.

I can't imagine why anyone would have a problem with pee pads, they are a convenience for furbabies and furparents!

hmmm, also can I add, I had two children 9 months apart in the same year! (long story- don't assume anything!) I dealt with wall to wall poop, pee and puke for quite a few years. Add to that all the guinea pigs, hamsters, turtles, snakes (glad thats over), 5 large dogs a yard with a pond, every kid in the neighborhood, and more bacteria and germs then I care to remember..I washed their clothing and blankets and all the animals too in the same manner I would anything.

My children have grown to be healthy and intelligent...just sayin!