Your male dog misses the training pad: how to set up the toilet corner

Why he misses it (it is not his fault)

An adult male who lifts his leg aims high on purpose: he leaves his message “at nose height” for other dogs, as the American Kennel Club describes. The training pad does its job on the floor, and for female dogs, for puppies and for the first few days it is still the right choice. But when he aims upwards, the edge of the pad and the wall next to it become the target: hence the skirting boards covered up, the corners protected with towels, the wall to clean every evening.

If your dog always used to hit the pad and has recently started missing it often, talk to your vet before you change the toilet corner: habits that change suddenly should be checked, not worked around.

Three steps to set up the corner

1. Keep the pad where it is. Your dog knows it, and the smell tells him this is the right place. Taking it away now would make him lose his reference point: it stays underneath and around, protecting the floor.

2. Give him a vertical target. A PIPPI vertical toilet goes in the corner your dog already uses: he lifts his leg against the cone, as he would against a tree, and the stream ends up in the tray instead of on the wall. The pad and the vertical toilet do not compete: they complement each other, each on its own level.

3. Scent, only if needed. The pad under the cone already smells of him. A familiar smell on the cone can help, but every dog reacts in his own way: with an adult dog set in his ways, it is better not to add other stimuli unless they are needed, because every new thing takes him time. If in doubt, ask us. The full steps, with honest timings, are in the PIPPI Method.

If he still misses with the corner set up

Give him time: your dog has to relearn his spot, and in the first few days he may ignore the new piece. Sniffing the cone is invisible work, not lack of interest. If after the first few weeks it is still not working, the guide on learning times explains what speeds things up and what slows them down, and with PIPPI help is included: write to us on WhatsApp and a person will reply.

One last thing: clean up accidents with an enzyme cleaner, never just water and fragrance. If the smell stays on the wall, the wall stays a target: how to remove it properly is explained in the guide to smells.