Life on the Leash

Newspapers can be okay if you’re planning to train a puppy to potty indoors exclusively. But such training is feasible, IMO, only if said puppy will grow up to be a very small dog. And even then, there are better indoor training tools such as doggie litter boxes or even something called the Ugodog (www.ugodog.net)

With everything else, Vic, I’m with you 1,000 percent.

I’m not a trainer or expert of any kind (and please don’t get upset with me trainers, especially you Vic — I totally defer to you guys!!), but in my very limited personal experience, I have had tremendous luck with indoor training/adult pads for my two dogs for BACK-UP in the case of occasional upset tummies striking while home alone (one of my dear pooches will even eat goose pooh if allowed, and she’s fast at it, but enough said there). I think it only works because the pads are a “home alone” option (they aren’t crated, but are limited to one very dog-proofed room while alone) and, even more importantly, because the pups were housetrained with positive reinforcement early and often and are walked at least 4, usually 5, times a day. Every, every day, rain or shine, they are out at least 4 times to take care of business, so I don’t think they’re often at home and feeling the need to go immediately. No newspapers, but a few of those pads have been life (or carpet!) savers for upset tummies once in a while. The “under the feet” thing is very true for the same dog, too, though because she is a grass girl, and there’s no sidewalk/other elimination for her, so I don’t know why it works (What do you trainers think? Am I doing something I shouldn’t here? I feel better that they have an emergency option, and they only use it as such, trust me). But, yes, I think the ad is completely awful all around — those stairs look to be quite the puppy hazard on top of everything else!! Oh, and my husband bought that fake pooh like in the Louie pic too — he got me good with it a few times. He thinks he’s funny:)