Our Top 5 Reasons we are Still Using Pee Pads (after 14 years!)
As much as we tried to get our Maltese to go outside to potty, she had been trained with the indoor pads by her previous owners. Please see my wife’s post explaining this process and how we coped with it. Eventually we came to realize pee pads had some perks, and actually work quite well for us for 5 important reasons.
1. Perfect for Tiny Bladders
Maltese are toy-sized dogs, which means they have incredibly small bladders.
- The Reality: A Maltese puppy or senior dog may simply not be able to hold it for 4 to 8 hours while you are at work.
- The Pad Advantage: Having an indoor spot eliminates the physical stress on their bladder and prevents the inevitable accidents on your rugs.
2. Weather Immunity
Maltese are notorious for hating bad weather. Because they lack a dense undercoat, they get cold easily and absolutely despise rain, snow, or heavy winds.
- If it’s pouring outside, a Maltese will often refuse to go, or will hold it until they get back inside onto your carpet.
- Pads provide a climate-controlled, stress-free bathroom environment year-round.
3. Ultimate Convenience for High-Rise/Apartment Living
If you live in a high-rise apartment, getting a tiny dog down an elevator and outside in time can be a race against the clock. Indoor pads remove the urgency of the “elevator sprint” and make apartment living incredibly easy.
Trial and Error Testing of Pads
I have tried so many different brands of training pads over the years. Mainly, I wanted to save money and find a great product. Pads labelled “heavy” really do work better but they also are really expensive. I have settled on the McKesson moderate absorbency pads. They have a great 3 ply system which works well for my small maltese.
4. Safety and Health Protection
Because Maltese are so small, the outdoor world can pose unique hazards:
- Puppy Protection: Before a puppy is fully vaccinated, public grass can expose them to dangerous viruses like parvo. Pads keep them safe indoors during those crucial early months.
- Predator/Pest Avoidance: In certain areas, tiny dogs are at risk from birds of prey, coyotes, or even just aggressive neighborhood dogs. Furthermore, indoor pads minimize their exposure to fleas, ticks, and mosquitoes.
5. Flexibility for Busy Schedules
If you work long hours or have an unpredictable schedule, you don’t have to rush home in a panic. Your Maltese has a designated, acceptable place to relieve themselves, reducing both your anxiety and theirs.
Science Time: Why Rescue Dogs “Hold It” Rather than Going Outside on Grass
A 2014 study led by Denae Wagner and her research team at UC Davis revealed that even when dedicated volunteers walked the shelter dogs multiple times a day, the dogs still eliminated inside their kennels on 58.1% of the observed days. It was cool study with a double kennel setup, 75% of the time the dog would eliminate away from their food and bedding area. This structural data directly explains one of the most frustrating behavioral hurdles rescue pet parents face at home away from the shelter. What many owners mistake for stubbornness is actually a documented psychological disruption. If a shelter routinely lines that single cage with newspapers, towels, or paper pads to catch waste, the dog undergoes intense behavioral conditioning during a period of high stress. They develop a rigid substrate preference—a psychological mapping that registers only that specific, soft surface as a “safe zone” for elimination. Wagner noted that this occurs because the dogs often experience intense anxiety when removed from their familiar environments. They would hold their urine during their entire outdoor walk on the grass, only feeling safe enough to release once they returned to the specific substrate of their kennel compartment.
Sources
Wagner, D., Newbury, S., Kass, P., & Hurley, K. (2014). Elimination Behavior of Shelter Dogs Housed in Double Compartment Kennels. PLOS ONE, 9(5), e96254. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4019474/
Iris Dog Pee Pad Tray
Leak-proof potty training tray, helps define area
you want your pet to use. Hard plastic which
makes it easy to clean!
Affordable Pee pads
High quality, 3 ply construction……gives you
a peace of mind