puppy missing the pee pad

Question
QUESTION: We have a 15 week old maltese/shih tzu puppy that we are traing to go on a pee pad that is in a large litter box.  The question is he does fairly well with going to the room and place where the pad is located but about 25% of the time he will go in front of the pad instead of on it. How can we help him become more accurate? Also he will have an accident in an other room about 4 times a week. I'm wondereing if he is doing about what is expected for training with this history.  Thank you,  marcia

ANSWER: Hi Marcia,

It sounds like your puppy is making good progress! You have to give him an "A" for effort! The fact your puppy is using the house training pads for pee most of the time is an excellent sign that little guy is really trying to do the right thing. So, please be patient with him and don't scold or punish him for house training mistakes.

If your puppy ends up very close to the pad, he may simply not have enough room on the pad to pee the way he prefers. Some dogs need to circle or walk back and forth before they can finally squat, and that may be what your puppy needs to do. If so, he could easily miss the pad and pee (or poop) on the floor in the same general vicinity, but not quite hit the target.
If this sounds like your situation, try making the potty pad area at least twice as big as it is now. Put down a few more pads, or spread newspapers around the area and put the target pad in the middle.

As far as having accidents in other rooms, that's a simple case of not watching your puppy closely enough. Until he is reliably house trained, he can't have the run of your home. That means, when you aren't able to watch him like a hawk, he needs to be contained behind a child-gate in a "puppy safe" room, or in a crate.

When accidents happen, don't scold your puppy. If you don't catch him right in the act of soiling, punishing can lead to behavioral problems, which can mean more house training accidents. Instead, clean the mess with an enzymatic cleaner, such as Nature's Miracle and promise yourself that next time you'll watch the puppy closer. It's not his fault if you weren't watching him!

Also, many puppies are confused about house breaking pads. One minute you're encouraging him to use the pad (in your home), the next minute you're upset because he soiled behind the sofa (also inside your home). To a young untrained puppy, there isn't much of a difference. It's only with consistent supervision, and plenty of praise that you can teach your puppy right from wrong.

I hope I've been a help.
Best of luck,
Patti






---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Patti,  Thank you so much for your help regarding our pup. We are getting confused because he will run into the room where the pee pad is but then when we think he has it down he will pee or poo right next to us in the next room.
also, we were giving him treats after he would go on the pad but our pup was having 5 bm's a day so our vet recommended we stop giving him treats whenn he goes on the pad. What I do now is praise him then pick him up and play with him to distract him from wanting a treat.  Do you think this could make him have more accidents because he is especting a treat and not getting one?

Answer
Hi Marcia,

No, your puppy isn't upset over not receiving an edible treats. To a puppy, your love and kind words are a welcome treat all by themselves.

The simple fact is, you have an untrained puppy that is having too much unsupervised time and that is why he is able to have these accidents. House training will take longer if you do not supervise your puppy, and continue to give him these opportunities for soiling in the wrong area.

Your puppy still does not know right from wrong, that is why he's not using the pads. If he runs into the room where the pads are kept, you must follow him to that room. Encourage him to use the pads using whatever phases you choose (be consistent in using these same phrases).  When he's not in his crate, following him from room to room is what supervision means!

If he doesn't "go" on the pad, put him in his crate, let him sit there for about 15 minutes, and then bring him back to the pad (or take him outside). Use the phase you always use to encourage your puppy to "go".

Best of luck,
Patti