puppy pads.. yes or no?

sselmon · #1 2nd August 2004, 01:18 PM

i have a nine wk old boxer (rikku).. and since i got her 3 days ago, she's had really bad diarrhea. i took her to the vet and he gave me some pills for her to take, said it was stress related. anyway, i take her out every two hours or so but it doesn't seem like it's enough. i took her out yesterday, and not even thirty minutes later she messed all over the floor. then she woke me up at six and before i could get my shoes on, she literally EXPLODED on the floor.. it even went on the wall.

so.. my point is.. i need something for that 'just incase' type situation. she's good about letting me know she has to go..she whines.. but sometimes.. i can't get to her fast enough. are puppy pads ideal? is it a good/bad habit to start?

i'm thinking of leaving it by the bedroom door and front door.. so she'll go there when she needs to go out. any advice or other ideas would be appreciated.. thanks!

Bo'sDad · #2 2nd August 2004, 01:52 PM

I use a puppy pad for my puppy in the bedroom at night. He usually uses it about half the time. Only problem is I think the scent in it that is supposed to make it appealing to do his business, also attracts him to chew the heck out of it and drag it around the room. I would say give it a try, there relatively cheap and will work great if he uses them.

tcarlisle · #3 2nd August 2004, 02:21 PM

I would investigate further why the pup has diarrhea. Perhapos a breeder can speak up, but I don't think it is normal for a 9 week pup to have explosive diarrhea.

meliss&kash · #4 2nd August 2004, 02:38 PM

Our puppy had a bladder infection soon after we got her, so we got the wee-wee pads for her just for that. Normally I would not use them, I prefer that she go outside, but she was just going to pee in the house anyways because she couldn't hold it in so I figured these would help the cleanup. They didn't work for me, she peed everywhere else but on them, and like someone else said, she tried to chew them, but who knows, your puppy might use them properly.

I don't think it'll start any bad habits because she's sick and she's going to do it on your floor anyways. Just go back to taking her outside when she's feeling better, and I'm sure it won't be much of a setback for you. It wasn't for us.

Good Luck!
Melissa

sselmon · #5 2nd August 2004, 03:14 PM

thanks

i'm still going to take her out every 2 hours (well at night she sleeps for about 4-5), but hopefully the pads keep my floor clean. i just ran out of that enzyme cleaner..time to pick some more up!

she's on canned food..so i'm doing half and half. she couldn't eat the kibble two days ago.. i have no idea why.. she couldn't even eat treats. makes me wonder if she's chewing or swallowing them. :/

Grimmja · #6 2nd August 2004, 07:31 PM

i wonder if taking her out more often would help prevent some of those accidents. every two hours for a 9 week old may be too long. i remember phases (in those first few weeks) where we went outside every 5 minutes 4 times in a row and there was poop and pee every time! but then i think i dropped back to every hour, or every half hour depending on what he was doing. and then i did that for a few weeks. my whole goal was to prevent any accidents and he was potty trained really quickly. now diarhea is another story, but maybe you'd have better luck if you went to every half hour or hour instead of 2 for awhile...?

Cami · #7 3rd August 2004, 10:04 AM

Did your vet do a fecal test to check for parasites? These can give pups diarrhea. What is the medication your vet prescribed?
Did you switch her food from what she was eating with the breeder? A swift change in foods can also cause it. Perhaps the canned food is too rich for her which again can be a culprit. You mentioned that she was unable to eat dry kibble and treats? Was she just refusing this food? What brand were you feeding and feeding now?

As far as the puppy pads go....these didn't work for us, they were perceived to Cami as something to play with. I know that others have had some success with them though.

I would really be investigating the cause especially if this continues. I would tend to think that it is more than stress. How is she acting otherwise....diarrhea can quickly lead to dehydration.