How do I potty train a puppy with pee pads?

The method is identical to outdoor training in almost every way, just with a pad instead of grass as the destination: the same anchor points after waking, eating and playing, and the same immediate reward the moment the puppy uses it correctly.

Using multiple pads scattered around several rooms early on makes it harder for a puppy to learn one specific, reliable spot, so start with a single pad in one consistent location and only add a second if you genuinely need one elsewhere in a large home.

If the eventual goal is outdoor toileting, shift the pad gradually, about 30 cm every two or three days, toward the door your puppy will use once fully trained. Moving it faster than that tends to undo the consistency that made pad training work in the first place, so plan on several weeks rather than expecting a quick switch.

Once the pad sits right by the exit and your puppy reliably uses it there, take the pad outside for a few sessions, placing it just past the door, before removing it and rewarding successful toileting directly on the ground. Most puppies complete this final step within one to two weeks if the earlier stages were not rushed.

A puppy that starts missing the pad again after weeks of success is usually reacting to a change, such as a house move or a different pad brand with a new scent or texture, rather than forgetting the training itself. Returning to the last consistent step for a few days generally resolves it faster than starting over from scratch.