House training your Puppy - Wee Pads & Pet Pens

I wasn't sure what to write about today but we have just taken delivery of boxes and boxes of pet wee pads and it got me thinking about how to train puppies!

When Benson arrived in October last year I hadn't a clue what to do with dogs let alone crazy, playful, energetic, daft puppies! My husband has been brought up with dogs and Benson was most definitely his idea so I was happy to let him get on with the toilet training. What I hadn't reckoned on was being the one that actually spent most of the time with him.

Benson as a puppy - Wee Pads saved my sanity!

I quickly decided that for the sake of my sanity all training would be conducted in the hall and kitchen where we have wipe clean floors rather than carpets. We installed a pet pen for Benson to use as a place to sleep and to give him a little safe heaven from our young girls. They can be shaped to fit all sorts of spaces so we popped ours under the stairs. Away from this area we put down the pet wee pads. Every time he had a drink we put him on the wee pad. Every time he missed, we put him on the wee pad. And every time he got it right we went into ecstatic's to praise him. Slowly but surely it worked.

Soon we had set up a pet pen across our patio so he again had his own safe place (with a gorgeous wooden kennel that he never goes in but has eaten one side of) and for a couple of warmish days I left the doors open and put the wee pads outside. Benson did a wee where the pads used to be, I moved him and he caught on straight away. We haven't looked back since.

The pet wee pads were especially useful at night time though. Some evenings he just didn't wee before we went to bed and we knew what that would mean. Having a wee pad down meant that the madness of the school run and getting ready for work were not interrupted to clean up little widdles all over the place. I could just scoop the pad up and stick it in the bin. The waterproof backing meant that nothing was left behind and his urge to scent on my floor or furniture was taken away with the wee pad.

Having never had a dog before I'd say for me some of the best items to have when our puppy arrived were the pet play pen and wee pads and if I were to do it again they would be first on my list....not that I'm saying I'd do it again (shh, I might, don't tell my husband though!)

Right, time to count all that new stock......

Laura