# Pee Pad vs Outdoors House Training



## Boss (Feb 26, 2011)

I was wondering what everyone chooses to use when it comes to housetraining their Chi's we do not believe in pee pads as then we feel they think they are "allowed" to pee and poop in the house so our Chi gets sent outdoors ONLY but since we live in Alberta and it can sometimes get as cold as -50c or colder we bring him to the garage to do his business. Boss is 9 weeks old and has only ever had 2 accidents since we have had him and when we send him to do his business he goes right away maybe its because its cold lol but our last Chi took forever and then would go in the house so we are proud of him


----------



## foggy (Oct 12, 2009)

Mine both go outside too, I am not a fan of pee pads. When it's cold and snowy I just shovel a path for them and they go quickly. No problems at all.


----------



## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

Brody goes outside only too. I do as Paula does and shovel him a little spot by the door and he will run and out and do his business, even when bitterly cold, raining, or snowing.


----------



## cherper (May 8, 2009)

I do both for Leila. she has a potty pad with tray in her pen area for when she needs to go peepee. I also take her out a few times a day. But obviously with her being small she needs to potty more than i am taking her out so she has the pad to use for that. She only poopies outside though. She doesn't like pooping on the pad for some reason. lol
This works well for us, especially if we are gone for the afternoon. I don't have a doggy door and I don't let her go outside without being on a lead.


----------



## flippedstars (Dec 16, 2009)

I train them to pee pads first, then to outside. It's really easy to know when they have to go and re-direct them to the door. Now, they only use the pee pads when we aren't home, they walk to the door first, and wait and dance around and will only go to the pee pad if we ignore them (which we don't). I have found at least with mine, they ain't waitin'. So...either...they have somewhere to go, or, they go anyway haha.


----------



## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

I made the mistake of 'scolding' Brody when he missed the pad and peed on the edge of it and it went on the carpet. I showed it to him and then put him ON the pad and he must have thought I was really mad and associated it with the pad because after that he wouldn't use the pee pad any more! Period! He'd walk wayyyyyyyyyy around it like he was scared of it. So we just got rid of the pad and he's been going outside ever since.

Just be aware that chi's are VERY sensitive so be careful and don't do as I did or he may associate the pad with mama being disappointed and decide he'd rather not use it at all!!!


----------



## jesuschick (Dec 5, 2010)

My girls have been with us since it has been winter. Got one at the end of November and one the end of December.

Hope came pad trained, bless her breeder. Ruby came "paper trained" and in her case there had to be papers EVERYWHERE because she pottied EVERYWHERE. She got the pad idea within 2 weeks (she was 14 weeks when we got her), thank goodness.

Because they were so small (one was 1.5 lbs., one 2 lbs.), neither had been outside and we have been covered in snow, they have remained on the pad.

Once the weather breaks, we will start taking them outside and move the second pad holder to their room where they stay when we are gone.


----------



## svdreamer (Feb 20, 2010)

Most of mine use outdoors as we have a doggy door, but it has no flap so when it's cold, I close it, so sometimes I do have accidents. They wait until I leave the room so I don't even know who's doing it. I have been trying since I got it to get a flap for it, but it doesn't have the name of the model of sliding glass doggy door, so trying to find the right one has been a pain. But I do also have a pee pad as Tico will use it during the winter (He's old and arthritic and the cold bothers him) and so does Twiggy and Lexxi. They are pretty good about going outside as long as they are locked in the dog room with the door open. If they are in the rest of the house, all bets are off.


----------



## KayC (May 3, 2005)

We use the Ugodog for Zoey to pee on, she only poops once a day around 5PM when hubby takes her out (she dosen't like to poop inside) after he gets home. She will pee outside too but mostly pees on the pad in her Ugodog.


----------



## Boss (Feb 26, 2011)

Brodysmom said:


> I made the mistake of 'scolding' Brody when he missed the pad and peed on the edge of it and it went on the carpet. I showed it to him and then put him ON the pad and he must have thought I was really mad and associated it with the pad because after that he wouldn't use the pee pad any more! Period! He'd walk wayyyyyyyyyy around it like he was scared of it. So we just got rid of the pad and he's been going outside ever since.
> 
> Just be aware that chi's are VERY sensitive so be careful and don't do as I did or he may associate the pad with mama being disappointed and decide he'd rather not use it at all!!!


I will NEVER use a pee pad we run a dayhome so someone is here pretty much 24/7 and if we do so happen to all go out he stays in the kennel while we are gone as we had a Chi before and he was HORRIBLE with house training but would not go outside and would only use pee pads or well anything else he wanted lol so we decided NEVER to use a pee pad with a small dog again but again we are home pretty much 24/7 so have the time to spend taking him out every half hour or so for now until he can hold it a little longer he sleeps with my son on his bed in his kennel they go to bed around 10:00pm and dont wake up till 7:00am he doesn't whine the whole night and never has an accident as soon as he wakes up he goes outside and goes right away


----------



## Boss (Feb 26, 2011)

Zoey's Mom said:


> We use the Ugodog for Zoey to pee on, she only poops once a day around 5PM when hubby takes her out (she dosen't like to poop inside) after he gets home. She will pee outside too but mostly pees on the pad in her Ugodog.


What is a ugodog by the way she is VERY cute and very small how old is she and how much does she weigh


----------



## Boss (Feb 26, 2011)

jesuschick said:


> My girls have been with us since it has been winter. Got one at the end of November and one the end of December.
> 
> Hope came pad trained, bless her breeder. Ruby came "paper trained" and in her case there had to be papers EVERYWHERE because she pottied EVERYWHERE. She got the pad idea within 2 weeks (she was 14 weeks when we got her), thank goodness.
> 
> ...



I live in Alberta and it gets REALLY cold here sometimes as cold as -50c or colder our Chi is 9 weeks old and only 0.12kgs so is not even a pound yet and he goes outdoors ONLY I am glad you were able to pad train the 2nd one as we were never able to pad train our last Chi. Boss is very good at going outside and we are very greatful he goes very quickly as well which is good as it can get so cold here. 

PS: I love your 1st dogs name mainly becuase it is my daughters name lol


----------



## Boss (Feb 26, 2011)

svdreamer said:


> Most of mine use outdoors as we have a doggy door, but it has no flap so when it's cold, I close it, so sometimes I do have accidents. They wait until I leave the room so I don't even know who's doing it. I have been trying since I got it to get a flap for it, but it doesn't have the name of the model of sliding glass doggy door, so trying to find the right one has been a pain. But I do also have a pee pad as Tico will use it during the winter (He's old and arthritic and the cold bothers him) and so does Twiggy and Lexxi. They are pretty good about going outside as long as they are locked in the dog room with the door open. If they are in the rest of the house, all bets are off.


I think if my pup had arthiritis I would not send him outside anymore either sorry to hear about your doggy door hopefully you come accross one soon or maybe just take the size and get a new one installed  It must be hard trying to make sure accidents dont happen when you have that many are you a breeder or do you just like Chihuahuas alot


----------



## tricializ (Jun 1, 2010)

I have 2 chis and (used to have 3) one goes outside and one goes in her grass litter box. I wish the other would go inside on the litter box as it was so easy to train. Plus, they get the whole grass thing then if you aren't home and take them outside for their business. How long have you had your chi? He is really young at 9 weeks as most breeders keep them a bit longer.


----------



## Boss (Feb 26, 2011)

tricializ said:


> I have 2 chis and (used to have 3) one goes outside and one goes in her grass litter box. I wish the other would go inside on the litter box as it was so easy to train. Plus, they get the whole grass thing then if you aren't home and take them outside for their business. How long have you had your chi? He is really young at 9 weeks as most breeders keep them a bit longer.


We have had Boss since last Monday. Breeders here in Canada let puppies go at 8 weeks old I have never heard of a breeder keeping them longer although I don't see any harm in it at all. I think she even got some in a new home at 7 weeks old but in Canada you are not supposed to home an animal cat or dog until at least 8 weeks old it even says so in our local classified rules and regulations


----------



## KayC (May 3, 2005)

Boss said:


> What is a ugodog by the way she is VERY cute and very small how old is she and how much does she weigh


Thank You, the Ugodog potty system I use. 
Zoey is 3 years old today and weighs 4 lbs. 


UGODOG Dog Litter Box Toilet | Indoor Dog Potty | Pee Pee Pad


----------



## KayC (May 3, 2005)

Boss said:


> We have had Boss since last Monday. Breeders here in Canada let puppies go at 8 weeks old I have never heard of a breeder keeping them longer although I don't see any harm in it at all. I think she even got some in a new home at 7 weeks old but in Canada you are not supposed to home an animal cat or dog until at least 8 weeks old it even says so in our local classified rules and regulations



This article explains why a chihuahua is different and should stay with the mother longer then other breeds


http://www.chihuahua-people.com/chi-chat/49563-why-should-breeders-keep-puppies-12-weeks.html


----------



## svdreamer (Feb 20, 2010)

Boss said:


> It must be hard trying to make sure accidents dont happen when you have that many are you a breeder or do you just like Chihuahuas alot


I am not a breeder. I seemed to have fallen into rescuing chihuahuas that need a home.


----------



## Chihuahuasloveme (Jan 8, 2010)

outdoors all the way I live in Ontario Canada and it is freezing here some nights too but they have got warm jackets and had better learn to hurry the heck up if they don't want to freeze haha I cannot STAND the smell of urine or feces even if it's on the paper for 5 minutes it makes me ill lol! if something was medically wrong with my chi or they needed to use them because they couldn't walk far anymore then fine but I say outdoors all the way lol!


----------



## KayC (May 3, 2005)

.............


----------



## Ivy's mom (Feb 15, 2008)

Pee pads and outdoors, but most of the time pads. I change them as soon as they go so it never smells in my house. I will let the girls out when I'm outside, but since Ivy and Fern are only 3.5 lbs the hawks scare me, so better safe than sorry.


----------



## LadyJ (Aug 20, 2010)

Mine are potty pad or newspaper trained. I worked up until five years ago and my Bichons were paper trained so they didn't have to wait all day to go outside. I live alone and don't intend to go outdoors after dark or late at night and I don't intend to go outdoors in all kinds of bad weather. I don't have a fenced yard. I didn't want to deal with wet or snow coated Bichons either. Lavender was potty pad trained when I got her. It has worked well for me for about 15 years and I will never train one to go outdoors. 

Jeanette


----------



## pdensley (Feb 16, 2011)

we are happy to use puppy pads with Daisy, its suits us all in this cold weather!!! She is 14 weeks now and has mostly good days which we are so pleased with. As the weather gets better we will start taking her out more.


----------



## Boss (Feb 26, 2011)

Zoey's Mom said:


> This article explains why a chihuahua is different and should stay with the mother longer then other breeds
> 
> 
> http://www.chihuahua-people.com/chi-chat/49563-why-should-breeders-keep-puppies-12-weeks.html


Thanks I read that last night very interesting it is a good idea I guess he is doing pretty good then so far from what I read but I agree with the 12 week rule


----------



## Boss (Feb 26, 2011)

svdreamer said:


> I am not a breeder. I seemed to have fallen into rescuing chihuahuas that need a home.


I see well they are all very adorable you must have lots of laughs when they play together they can be so funny sometimes.


----------



## Boss (Feb 26, 2011)

Chihuahuasloveme said:


> outdoors all the way I live in Ontario Canada and it is freezing here some nights too but they have got warm jackets and had better learn to hurry the heck up if they don't want to freeze haha I cannot STAND the smell of urine or feces even if it's on the paper for 5 minutes it makes me ill lol! if something was medically wrong with my chi or they needed to use them because they couldn't walk far anymore then fine but I say outdoors all the way lol!


I used to live in Ontario as well "Windsor and Thunder Bay" its a different kind of cold out there not so dry like here in Alberta so it gets right down to the bone lol I feel the exact same way about going on a pee pad but like you said if there was something wrong with the Chi I would not make it go outdoors.


----------



## Boss (Feb 26, 2011)

Ivy's mom said:


> Pee pads and outdoors, but most of the time pads. I change them as soon as they go so it never smells in my house. I will let the girls out when I'm outside, but since Ivy and Fern are only 3.5 lbs the hawks scare me, so better safe than sorry.


lol wow I newver thought about birds we live in the city so should be ok "I think" the only birds I see around here are magpies


----------



## Marley23 (Sep 16, 2010)

Marley uses the pad & goes outside! During the cold winter months she uses the pad more as she hates going outside she is only 2.5lbs so her tiny little body gets soo cold sooo quickly I worry! Once it warms up she goes outside all the time she loves it outside!


----------



## kimr (Nov 14, 2010)

Outside only for mine...I don't like the pee pads and would not want urine or feces sitting in my house until I got home!


----------



## miasowner (Jun 3, 2009)

When I first got Mia I trained her using pee pads. During the spring and summer she does go outside more often. She get cold easily.


----------



## Boss (Feb 26, 2011)

I never have a problem "so far" with Boss getting cold fast although it is -40C here tonight he goes quickly in and out and does get cold but is not ever out there long enough to do any harm in this kind of weather I would not leave him out there longer than a minute or two though as he is so tiny and I would be afraid he gets frostbite on his feet and ears.


----------



## Terri (Aug 21, 2009)

I live in a flat with a shared back garden, but i dont trust the back garden as all kinds of animals come and go, plus the neighbours have noticed rats at the bins so put poison down recently, so no way would i take mine out there.

I have used peepads since day one with the chis and they never miss.
The 2 i had as pups took to them very quickly too.

We are hoping to move soon to a house with a garden and then i think i will try to train them to only go there, but i imagine it will be no easy task.


----------



## rocky scotland (Jun 15, 2008)

Rocky is trained for indoors and outdoors, he uses a Ugodog system for indoors, it is the best!!!

When we first got him we 100% trained him to use it and then gradually got him doing his business outside too but taking him a walk when I knew he needed to go lol. He totally does not get confused at all and works well for us.

At the moment we moved into a new built house and our 'garden' is a mud bath so Rocky is totally using his Ugodog all the time at the moment.


----------



## amyalina25 (Jan 10, 2011)

i use pee pads with my girls.. I live in a top floor aparment with no garden and with doing shift work its been easier for me to have them trained on the pads.. They always go on them and never do it any where else in our home so im happy with that! 
They do also go out through out the day though like any other dog would do, but mainly during the night and the day when im working they will use the pads.


----------



## omguthrie (Oct 13, 2009)

Outdoors only for me. I have not only the chihuahua but 3 border collies so I can't have potty pads sitting around, it would confuse the daylights out of the bigger dogs. Also, I would not be able to handle coming home from work to the smell of dog poop in my house on a daily basis. It's one of the reasons I won't ever have an indoor cat, can't stand an animal using my house as a bathroom. 

Lilo is fine with going outside. She holds it with no problem for 8 hours or so while I'm at school and at night. She doesn't love going out when it's raining or cold but she gets no sympathy, the quicker she potties the quicker she gets to come back inside. She learned that pretty fast and now scoots out, does her business and then paws at the door to come in. If it's cold she gets a sweater but she normally isn't out there long enough to need it.


----------



## Yoshismom (Jul 6, 2005)

Mine are pee pad trained only when we are at home. I do this due to the predators as we live in the middle of the woods.


----------

