Paper training is the best option for those of you enjoying the big city lifestyle, but living in close quarters inside a plush apartment. It just works, and works well. But once your pup is going to the bathroom on the paper pile each and every time, shouldn't you move onto training him to go outside?
Some people may choose to allow their dogs to go on papers for a longer time. For a small dog you can absolutely use paper training on a permanent basis. In fact, when you teach a pup to use the papers on cue, it makes traveling outside the home much easier.
Determine up front whether having your dog potty inside will be acceptable for the life of your dog before you commit to litter boxes and pee pads, because sustained use is often difficult to alter down the road.
High-rise puppies can develop a surface preference very early on. They usually prefer porous surfaces, such as carpets, rugs and beds. And if a puppy doesn't like the surface, he's not going to want to use it as a toilet.
Be careful what you train on. One little Toy American Eskimo had been trained by his breeder to go on bed sheets. The breeder didn't want the pups (which have nice white, fluffy coats) to get newsprint on themselves. And laundry became a mess; the pup was going on anything fabric – beds, laundry, furniture. They owners had to completely redo the training, which is a hundred times harder than starting from scratch.
The best advice is to make the effort to teach your puppy to go potty on lots of different surfaces, including concrete, grass, gravel, dirt, and even sawdust.
Outdoor Etiquette
After paper training, it's time to start more in-depth outdoor housetraining, if you want to use this method. Outdoor housetraining sounds easy, right? But when you live in an apartment building, how do you finagle your pup into the hallway, down the elevator or stairs, and across the lobby without having him relieve himself inside?
The time factor is a problem. Bringing a puppy down 10 floors in an elevator when he has to go NOW is going to be difficult. The less convenient the toilet is to get to, the more difficult it may be to housetrain your pup.
Here's the key: Immediately upon taking your pup out of the crate, pick him up and carry him out to the street. An airborne pup is much less likely to eliminate, unless his bladder is really full.
For small or medium-sized pups, keeping his feet off the ground is a breeze. For larger puppies or less-muscular owners, you might want to use dog or baby carry packs to haul your pet.
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