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My puppy has accidents indoors. How to train him to use his pee pad?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Toy Poodle | Male | 2 months and 16 days old

PLEASE HELP! I have bought my puppy a toilet tray for indoor use as hes not allowed outside yet (unfinished vaccinations) but he is having accidents everywhere in the house. His crate is in a different room, as i don't want to teach him to pee in his crate. What can i do to teach him to use his tray in the tiled bathroom instead of the carpet? i have left some of his urine in the matt to encourage him to pee there but its not working and hes too young to reward with treats!! I am at a loss :(

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Emily Luisana DVM

Veterinarian

Published on September 1st, 2017

I am sorry to hear this, how frustrating! I am unsure of how your immediate geographical area is, but most puppies can still go outside even without being fully vaccinated. You do want to avoid going around lots of other dogs and the areas where other dogs use the bathroom however. Ideally you would start training Teddy to go outside now, as teaching them to go inside and then trying to change at a later date can be confusing and sometimes unsuccessful. If you are ok with Teddy using pee pads indoors longterm however you can certainly use them. I would actually not leave pee on the pad as some animals prefer to go in a clean area. If he is otherwise crate training well, make sure you take him out as often as possible and take him straight to the area you want him to go in. Wait patiently (hard to do!) for him to go and then reward him with a treat and lots of excitement! I would not allow him to be anywhere unsupervised- even for a few minutes- that you do not want him to go. It is best to set him up to succeed and then reward him like crazy! Negative feedback (yelling no, spanking, etc) usually has the opposite of the desired effect! I hope this helps!

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    Answered By Anna M., DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on November 13th, 2017

    Hello, and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. If your pup has already been trained to use the potty pads inside, it may take some work to teach him not to use them. If they're still around and available, he may continue to use them. For the next step, I recommend taking one of the soiled potty pads outside after he has urinated on it, and put it in the spot outside where you'd like him to go. When you take him outside to go potty, let him see and sniff the soiled potty pad there. He already associates the pads with going potty, so it may help him transition to going outside if he can smell the urine and see the pad outside. Once he is going outside consistently, then I'd remove the pads from house so that stops being an option. Make sure you're taking him outside frequently to minimize accidents. Hope this helps!

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