Urban Training

Q: We are receiving our puppy the weekend of June 5th. We live in NYC and have a large terrace (60 ft long). Ultimately, we would like to have our puppy go to the bathroom on our terrace on a wee wee pad. However, we will be spending the summer in the suburbs with a backyard. Would you advise that we set up a wee wee pad on either a concrete walkway (leading up to the front door) or on the driveway so that the puppy doesn't associate the smell of grass with pee/poop time? I realize there might be some adjustment period when we return to the city at the end of the summer, but I would like to try and mitigate the change for her as much as possible.

A: Your puppy will automatically associate the feel and smells of the outdoor area with elimination. Training your puppy to use a pad placed outdoors will likely be difficult. Since puppies inherently eliminate when set outdoors it might be best to target indoor pad training and once you get that done you can add the outdoors.