Could my dog be peeing (on pad) to please me?

[Lilo_Girl]

I just rescued Lilo, my 3yr old yorkie/bichon from my nephew 5 months ago. she's not housetrained but a little bit pad-trained. when I'm out she doesn't pee or poo at all, and she can hold herself from 10 at night til 9 in the morning.

Using a reward system, I've been pointing to the pad in the morning so she can pee. Then I change the pad and she poops. So this has been a hugh improvement over "anywhere". We go out 3 times a day for walks. I've been hoping, and rewarding her, so she will go outside all the time. But no. She'll come in and pee on the pad. I read that other advisers have said remove the pad - so I will. And I'll try the leash idea as well. However, she seems to pee frequently when I'm home - every time I change the pad, and I'm wondering if this is for attention because I was rewarding her before? I stopped the rewards a month ago. BTW, she is rarely alone. I don't go out much and we have another dog whom she gets along well with. Any comments?

[Bailey_]

It's possible that she pee's on a noticeably clean pad for reward, but it could also be because she just genuinely has to pee. It sounds more like marking territory than anything, especially if you're removing her scent by taking away the pad.

If your goal is to train her to pee outside, certainly take away the pads. You'll want to keep an extra eye on her and your area rugs, so don't be afraid to kennel her when you can't watch her, as well as using the leash.

[Lilo_Girl]

if the pad has been soiled already, she'll pee on the floor nearby. She doesn't have a bladder problem and she doesn't pee much quantity.

[bendyfoot]

She sounds like a teeny girl...smaller breeds tend to pee more frequently and smaller amounts at a time than larger dogs. Eliminating the pee pads is definitely the goal here, but it could be done gradually. Would she pee on a pad that's placed on the lawn outside? You could gradually move the pad from its normal place to the door, then outside, then reduce the size of the pad.