Potty Training

Question
My vet said we cannot bring our 7 week old Chocolate lab outside yet until his second round of shots which will be Jan 21st. We have been trying to train him on the wee wee pads but are having some problems. When we first got home with him Saturday he would go on the pads but now it seems like he is going less and less on the pads. Are we doing anything wrong, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Answer
Where do you live?  If outside has many strange dogs around, your vet may be right.  Pads sound like a bad idea to me and I have never tried them.  If you have a lot of snow, the viruses may be buried under it.

Also it won't suddenly become safe once your puppy has its second shot.  See http://www.avma.org/animal_health/brochures/canine_parvo/parvo_brochure.asp

The period between 6-12 weeks is a dangerous time.  One sniff where a sick dog relieved itself in the last 6 months can bring on parvo or another life threatening disease.  Fail to expose it to strangers, including men, women, children, noise, etc. and you could end up with a misfit you can't take out in public.  They also need continuing contact with other dogs, but it must be limited to ones you know are getting good care.

See http://www.apdt.com/po/news/docs/Messer_Nov06.pdf