# Help - my chi stopped using potty pads!



## *Tricia* (Dec 1, 2007)

Holly is just over 1 year old and has been totally trained to potty pads since I got her at 3 months. I use a pop-up kennel and put 2 potty pads in the bottom of it -- it works great to keep the pads in place and gives her a nice private spot to do her business. Everything has been great, but all of a sudden she has decided that she's almost afraid to use them. Pooing is no problem at all, but peeing is a nightmare! I believe the problem to be that when she urinates first thing in the morning, the large amount of pee doesn't soak in instantly, and it has a tendency to get on her feet. Therefore, I clean her feet, and she hates it! The only way I'm saving my floor now is putting her in the potty box and making her go when she starts showing signs. She gets very nervous when I put her in there, but she always gets a treat afterwards and then everything is fine until a few hours later when it's time again. I certainly don't think it's anything medical, but rather totally mental. My last dog was a cocker with chronic UTIs, so I'm very familiar with the signs and Holly has none of them. She has no urgency at all -- the accident on the floor happened after she ran to her pads and then turned around and ran the other way and peed. Any ideas? This has been going on for about 2 weeks now and I'm about to go crazy! I've never experienced such a regression in behavior before. She's absolutely great in every other way. Thanks!


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## Jen (Sep 13, 2005)

welcome to the forum :wave:

i've never had that problem before so i'm not much help i'm afraid 

someone here will have some good advice for you i'm sure :wink:


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## Jayne (Jul 8, 2005)

Im sorry I dont have any advice either  But just wanted to say welcome


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## Toni_Leigh1 (Oct 28, 2007)

heyy .. i dont really know either maybe if you just try and move where she usually goes?.. hmmm good luck though xx


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## Pauline Leland (Oct 9, 2006)

I don't use them, but I've read that different brands work better/worse. What brand do you use? Maybe someone here can recommend a better brand. Some folks even use human bed pads.

Wild thought - could she have a sore on her feet that's irritated by urine? Pro'ly not.


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## feistypup6 (Dec 12, 2005)

I use the washable pads (human bed pads) and the urine soaks in very quickly with them. There is no puddle at all. Maybe try that. And maybe just maybe you should try putting and extra set of the pads outside of the pop up tent. Maybe she had a bad experience in there that you are unaware of......like a bug bite??


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## Jen (Sep 13, 2005)

if you did want to try a different brand the nature's miracle ones worked like a charm when i had to pad train woody  he was 6 months old when i got him and he had never seen paper/pads before. he was using the pads 100% of the time in just a few days. i think he liked to copy teddy :wink:


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## tonysmom (Jul 19, 2005)

Tony has stopped using his potty pads also. Now that it is cold outside, he hates going out. He usually is so good about telling us when he need to go outside. Since we got the new puppy (Daisy) he thinks anywhere downstairs or on the stairs is OK. So now not only is it cold but we have a new baby. Daisy uses them with no problem.. Do we go back to kennel training? I probably overclean these areas that he is using to prevent any remaining smell. I clean with pine sol first then hit it with steam. Tony is 3yr and Daisy 16 weeks.


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## DlTobin (May 15, 2007)

Mabelline goes everywhere with me including work (thanks Boss) She uses pads there and I also have them at home....so when we are not there she sill use them.
To start her out I used a spray that you put on the pad that encourages them to use it.
For example years ago I had a german shep when he was a puppy I used a pee pole. What it was, was a treated wooden stake that encouraged them to use it they smell it (YOU DONT there isnt a smell to you...just to them) you could ask any pet store they should have some and you lightly spray the pad.


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## *Tricia* (Dec 1, 2007)

*Holly's doing great!!*

Just to post a follow-up...Thanks so much for all of your suggestions. Things definitely got worse before they got better. Monday was a terrible day, but Monday night we made a break-through with her (thanks totally to my husband who has much more patience than I). She began walking into her potty box while he was hiding behind it and peaking through the mesh sides to make it like a game. After walking in a bunch of times, she finally peed!! Since then, she's only gone in there to pee once on her own, but when she starts hiding under the couch (which means it's time), we go behind the box and she runs in and goes. I feel confident now that she'll soon get back to not even thinking about it and just run in on her own all the time. Once she gets back to normal, I am going to try the washable human bed pads because I think they would be way more absorbant than the thin potty pads I'm using now, and hopefully I can keep her from getting pee on her feet and starting this nightmare all over again!! Thanks again for the comments and the well wishes. I'm sure I'll be asking for help again since I'm a first-time chihuahua owner!


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## vegaschi (Oct 9, 2007)

I'm just curious, won't those washable pads also make them want to go on blankets and such? DO they feel the same?


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## *Tricia* (Dec 1, 2007)

The washable pads from the pet store are nothing like a potty pad. As soon as I saw them, I knew there was no way she would use that. It doesn't even have a cotton-like top to it -- it's slick on both sides (the one side just has holes in it so the pee can be absorbed). I did get a human pad which is much more like what I was hoping for, but I haven't used it yet because it's huge and I need to cut it in two and sew it back up so they will fit in her box. In Holly's case, I'm not worried about her confusing them with blankets on the floor because she knows her spot is in her box. The human pad has a quilted top, so I guess a pup could confuse it with a comforter or something. But I think as long as you always had the pad in the same place, they would know that's the spot.


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## cat (Dec 18, 2007)

Hi!
I think someone mentioned human bed pads. I work at a doggie daycare and that's all we use there. For some reason the dogs are really good at going on those pads. I think you can purchase some off ebay for a great deal.


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