How to Find the Right Pee Pad for Your Senior Dog

As dogs age to be seniors, it is common for them to develop medical problems such as tumors, other cancers, glaucoma, and diabetes, etc. Many dogs (seniors or not) are also diagnosed with Lyme Disease. Sometimes, depending on the dog's condition, the vet will recommend putting the dog down, but when all of the dog's conditions are manageable, it is just COSTLY. In my case, my dog has diabetes, Lyme Disease, cataracts, and (had) glaucoma. After several expensive eye procedures and vet appointments, the dog is doing just find; he is just almost completely blind. After all, Lyme Disease and diabetes are both very manageable conditions, if they are treated. Humans live with these conditions every day. Therefore, other than all of the manageable conditions, my dog is completely healthy (which is great), but it is "breaking the bank," meaning, costing me most of my money. One thing that has been crucial to helping us with his inability to hold his bladder while we were at work, though, has been finding the right pee pad for him.

Finding the right pee pad, for our senior dog, has proved challenging. This was because most pee pads are meant for puppies, whose urine volumes are much less than that of senior dogs. Therefore, it took a lot of "trial and error," to finally come to some brands we love. Here is what we found:

1. Although a well-known brand, we actually found that the Hartz brand pee pads were basically useless. The urine soaked right through the pads, even if they were doubled (one on top of the other).

2. One day, I was at K-Mart, and I found a bag of greenbone, (less, all lowercase, and all one word, I believe) doggie pee pads in the wrong place. I picked them up, and asked for the price. That day, this bag was only about $9.99, and it contained a decent amount of pads. What we found was that the plastic on the bottom was much sturdier than the bottom of Hartz, and that the pads held a lot more pee. If you choose to buy these pads, though, don't leave them too long, because they are biodegradable, which can make for a larger mess.

3. Another day, we had run out of pee pads, and I did not have much time, so I picked up some Rite Aid store brand pee pads, but they did not prove to be of great use, but they seemed to still be better than Hartz, as long as you double-stack the pads.

4. After all of this "trial and error," we decided to invest our money in some more expensive pads, and we purchased the brand Sophresh at one of the pet retail stores. While we were viewing all of the different brands of pee pads at this store, I noticed that some said "holds 3 cups," others said, "holds 4 cups," and some said, "holds 5 cups." I chose to get the Sophresh brand, and the variety that said, "holds 5 cups," with hope for no more soaking through the pads to the floor. These pads have worked well, My husband says they are his favorite so far, but I slightly lean toward greenbone, so you have to decide what works best for your pet, and your family! Therefore, I have summarized the information with some tips for you below.

As you read in our comparison above, finding the right pee pad for your pet can be difficult. To save you some time on your search, here are some tips for purchasing and using the one that works for you:

1. Almost all pads will not hold enough urine for your older dog, so make sure you buy the one that says "holds 5 cups," or more (but I have never seen more than that marked on a package).
2. If your dog is relieving large volumes of urine, double-stack the pads, and put a rubber mat underneath (this is to prevent leakage to the floor, whether it is off the sides of the pads, or soaking through them).
3. Consider spending a little more money, rather than less, on the pee pads. Basically, "you get what you pay for," so spending a little more money on a better quality brand will most likely save you time and stress in the end.
4. Look for the pee pads that say "attractant" on the paper. This helps your dog to be trained (and want) to relieve themselves on the pad (most likely through scent). It took our dog a few "hits and misses," but after that, he knew to go on the pad if we were not home. I was impressed that he learned this so quickly, as a senior dog.

If all you have to do, for your senior dog, is come home and roll a pad up from dry edges and throw it away, great! It is much easier (and less time-consuming) than having to pick up, clean up, and mop the floor every day. This is why it is SO important to find the right pee pads for your dog. Some research has stated that dogs are able to detect the emotions of their owners, and even take on these emotions themselves, so if this is true, if you are less stressed, so is your senior dog!