How to Use Puppy Pads for House Training (and Wean Off Them)

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Puppy pads (also called pee pads or potty pads) give a young puppy one approved place to go indoors. This guide covers when pads make sense, what to look for in a pad, how to teach your puppy to use one, and how to move from pads to going outside.

How we wrote this: the training steps come from the American Kennel Club (written by a certified professional dog trainer, updated 15 October 2026), Preventive Vet (written by its lead dog trainer), PAWS Chicago and Humane World for Animals. Pad test results come from Consumer Reports, which tested 10 puppy pads in its lab (January 2026), as summarized by Quartz. Product features come from the makers’ own pages. We did not test these pads ourselves, and we do not show prices or ratings. We found no pad that met all of our checks for a linked pick, so this is a how-to rather than a ranked list.

Should you use puppy pads at all?

Pads are a tool, not a requirement. The AKC says puppy pads are not necessary for every puppy, but they help in certain situations: very young puppies need frequent breaks and are not always physically able to hold their bladder long enough to get outdoors, apartment owners may not reach an outdoor spot quickly enough, and some owners use pads while their puppy finishes the vaccination series.

There is a trade off. PAWS Chicago says teaching a dog to go indoors makes outdoor training harder, so skip pads if you do not need them; Humane World for Animals agrees it can make housebreaking take longer.

How long you need them depends on your puppy and your home. Chyrle Bonk, a veterinary consultant quoted by Consumer Reports, says a puppy can generally hold their bladder for their age in months plus one hour, so a 2-month-old puppy may need to pee every 2 to 3 hours. With quick outdoor access, she says you may only need pads occasionally, such as at night for a few weeks; without it, you may need them until your puppy is closer to 4 to 6 months old. The AKC says many puppies cannot reliably control their bladder until about 16 weeks.

What to look for in a puppy pad

Most pads look alike, but Consumer Reports found they do not perform alike. In its lab, tester José Amézquita put 10 popular brands through absorbency, slip and scratch tests. CR found a significant difference in absorption between brands, but saw no leakage on any pad after pouring two cups of warm water in the center and letting it dry overnight. Here is what to check, and what the tests showed:

• Absorbency. In CR’s results as reported by Quartz, the Earth Rated Max Absorbency Pee Pads absorbed the most water, ahead of the Frisco Premium Potty Pads (second) and the Glad for Pets All-in-One Training Pads (third).
• Staying put. A pad that slides on a hard floor gets bunched up and missed. CR found Earth Rated was the only pad in its test with adhesive tabs, four in total, and it did not shift on a stone floor; most other pads, including Amazon Basics and Kirkland Signature, have no adhesive and can slide.
• Tear resistance. Puppies chew and scratch. CR scratched each pad with a claw glove. The Kirkland Signature Extra-Large pad shredded after one scratch; the Frisco pad’s outer layer started to tear after three; the Glad for Pets pad shredded only slightly after four; and the Earth Rated pad showed only slight shredding after five, with no hole after 10. CR found the Amazon Basics pad, though far from the most absorbent, had a slippery top layer that resisted clawing better than most.
• Size. Sizes vary by brand; the Earth Rated pads, for example, come in Large (22 x 23 inches), XL (28 x 34 inches) and 3XL (36 x 36 inches). CR noted the Frisco pad comes in only one size.
• Attractant and scent. Some pads have a built-in attractant meant to draw your puppy to the pad. Earth Rated says its pads have one and an unscented surface. Glad for Pets says its pads use a thin layer of activated carbon (charcoal) to help absorb odors.
• Disposable or washable. Pet Parents says its Pawtect Pads are washable and reusable, with triple-stitched edges, a leakproof anti-slide backing and four sizes from 18 x 24 to 41 x 41 inches. We found no independent hands-on test of washable pads, so we cannot say how they compare.

Named without links: the pads in CR’s test that Quartz reported on were Earth Rated Max Absorbency Pee Pads, Frisco by Chewy Premium Potty Pads (CR’s overall top pick), Glad for Pets All-in-One Training Pads, Kirkland Signature Extra-Large Absorbent Pads and Amazon Basics Pet Training Pads; CR also tested Cocoyo, Out! PetCare, Up&Up, Vibrant Life and Wowflash. The washable Pet Parents Pawtect Pads are named from the maker’s page only. None met all of our checks for a linked pick (independent hands-on test, current maker page, verifiable product listing).

How to set up the pad area

1. Pick one spot and keep it. The AKC says that once you choose a potty area, do not move it until your puppy understands exactly where to go; moving it while they are still learning leads to more accidents.
2. Consider a pen. PAWS Chicago suggests an exercise pen in a convenient spot out of foot traffic, ideally near a door, with the inside covered in pads at first and a small crate inside the pen. See our guide to choosing a dog playpen and our best dog gate guide for ways to fence off the area.
3. Use the crate for sleep, not as a toilet. The AKC says a crate should let your puppy lie down and turn around with no extra room; if it is too large, your puppy may use one end as a toilet. Our dog crate size chart and how to crate train a puppy guide cover this. If you must leave your puppy longer than they can hold it, PAWS Chicago’s setup puts the pads in the pen around the crate, so the bed and the toilet stay apart.

How to teach your puppy to use the pad

Step 1: Take them to the pad often

The AKC says very young puppies may need a trip as often as every 15 minutes while awake. Most puppies need to go when they wake up, after eating, after playing and after napping, so take your puppy to the pad each time, and any time they have not been for an hour or two. A timer helps.

Step 2: Watch for the signs

Sniffing the floor, circling and whining mean your puppy needs to go, says the AKC; Preventive Vet adds pacing and licking the groin or rear end. When you cannot watch your puppy, the AKC says to use the crate or a safe area.

Step 3: Wait, then try again

If your puppy does not go when you bring them to the pad, the AKC suggests not letting them run off to play. Put them back in their crate for 10 to 15 minutes, then try again, and repeat until they go.

Step 4: Reward right away

Reward your puppy the moment they finish on the pad, with praise and something they value. The AKC suggests keeping rewards beside the potty area so you are never late. For treats, see our sister site inthekibble.com. For an easily distracted puppy, the AKC suggests walking them to the pad on a leash and unclipping only after they go.

Step 5: Handle accidents calmly

The AKC says to interrupt an accident gently (a quiet clap or “oh-oh”) and take your puppy to the pad to finish. Do not punish: that teaches a puppy to hide to go. If you only find the accident later, do nothing to the puppy. Clean the spot with an odor-destroying cleaner, because dogs are drawn back to the smell; see our best enzyme cleaner for pet urine guide. Humane World for Animals suggests placing the paper towel from a cleaned-up accident on the pad, so the scent tells your puppy where to go.

Step 6: Give more freedom slowly

PAWS Chicago says to take it slow: once your puppy is going on the pads inside the pen, leave a panel open while you are in the room, and only step out once your puppy goes to the pad on their own every time. If accidents happen, go back to the last point where your puppy was succeeding.

How to move from pads to going outside

Preventive Vet warns against simply taking the pad away: a dog who loses their pad tends to pick another soft spot, like a bath mat or rug. Instead, the AKC and Preventive Vet both describe a gradual move:

1. Teach a potty cue. The AKC suggests saying a cue such as “go potty” just before your puppy goes, then rewarding. Later you can use it outside.
2. Move the pad toward the door. Preventive Vet suggests moving it a foot or two closer to the outside door each day until it sits right by the door.
3. Cut down to one pad. If you have pads in several rooms, Preventive Vet suggests moving the extras toward the main pad in small steps, then removing them; a gate or closed door can block off other floors.
4. Put the pad just outside. Once your puppy uses the pad by the door, move it just outside.
5. Move it to the final spot and shrink it. The AKC says to move the pad gradually to the outdoor potty spot, then make it smaller until your puppy uses the ground alone. If your pads had an attractant, Preventive Vet suggests an attractant spray in the new outdoor spot.
6. Go out often and reward every time. During the move, Preventive Vet says, take your puppy outside whenever you see them head for the indoor pad, and reward each outdoor success.

Once your puppy goes outside reliably, potty bells can help them ask to go out; see our best dog potty bells guide.

When to call your vet

The AKC says blood in your dog’s urine means contacting your veterinarian immediately, and lists difficulty urinating as a sign of a urinary tract infection. It also says changes in urination habits always call for a vet visit: accidents or more frequent peeing can be behavioral, but they can also be signs of medical problems such as urinary tract infection or diabetes. So if your puppy strains, cries while peeing, has blood in the urine, or suddenly has many more accidents after making progress, see your vet before you change the training plan. Humane World for Animals suggests a vet or a positive-reinforcement trainer if your puppy is really struggling.

FAQ

How do I get my puppy to pee on a pee pad?

Take your puppy to the pad often, especially after eating, sleeping, drinking and playing, and reward them the moment they use it, says the AKC.

How often should you change puppy pads?

There is no fixed schedule. The Earth Rated instructions say to replace a pad as needed based on how often it is used, and CR’s tests found big differences in how much each brand absorbs, so a more absorbent pad can go longer between changes.

Do puppy pads really work?

Yes, as a tool. The AKC says they can be effective for young puppies, apartment dwellers and owners who cannot get outside often, with consistency and supervision.

For more puppy setup help, see how to crate train a puppy, our best dog gate guide and the dog beds and crates buying guide.