When you bring a newly adopted puppy home, you'll want to invest in puppy pee pads to save your floors and carpets. These products are created to hold urine without leaking. The best puppy potty training pads feature leak-proof technology and odor blocking materials.
But the question is, which ones of those actually work? With so many puppy training pads available for purchase, it may be difficult to known which brand is the most reliable. With this in mind, I set out to test several puppy training pads to find which one works best.
As most pet owners already know, no matter how consistent you are with housebreaking training, teaching your dog to go to the bathroom outside won't happen overnight. The odds that your puppy won't have any accidents in your home are very slim.
Teaching a young puppy to use potty pads is the best method to prevent urine stains and odor from taking over your house. That's the reason these puppy pee pads are often called dog training pads, since it's one of the first assignments a new dog owner will go through.
So when it comes to puppy pee pads, there are a lot of options. Fortunately, a few products already stood out, mostly because thousands of dog owners have tried them and brought to our attention which puppy training pads may be the most effective.
As such, I chose three most popular top selling puppy training pads for testing.
I tried traditional puppy potty pads from Amazon Basics and All-Absorbs. These products were very similar, but they did have their differences.
On top of that, I also tried something different – PAW Puppy Potty Trainer. It's a very unusual product when compared to standard puppy training pads, but it works in a very similar way. Whether it's better or not, you can see in the video above (or read below).
You'll notice in my video puppy training pads review video above that I made sure to test these products for four major factors:
- Odor reduction and containment of smell;
- Quality of pads in holding in the urine;
- Amount of urine it can hold in;
- Price and cost-effectiveness.
So which one of these three most popular puppy potty training pads stood out? Let's see.
RANKINGS: Top 50 Best Dog Pee Pads
Comparing Best Puppy Potty Training Pads
All-Absorb vs. Amazon Basics vs. PAW Puppy Potty Trainer
Similarities Between Three Puppy Potty Training Pads
As you'll see in my video review, the training pads from Amazon Basics and All-Absorb are very similar. They are both made with multi-layer technology that traps the urine and blocks odors. This is most important to avoid having the pet urine smell in your home.
Both of these puppy training pads also have a plastic border that reduces the risk of the pee overflowing onto your floor. The major benefit to these two best puppy potty training pads is that they turn the liquid to gel. This keeps your dog from tracking urine around your house and keeps the pad from leaking.
All three of these products include a built-in attractant. You can't smell the odor, but your pup can. It lures him in to pee on the pad, making it easier to train him. This attraction to urine smell that puppies have is exactly the reason you want to use a pet odor eliminator on your carpet and furniture after your puppy peed there to avoid new stains.
These products are all meant for training puppies or assisting senior dogs. You should not be investing in the best puppy potty pads as a substitute for going to the bathroom outside.
RELATED: 3 Essential Tips on Toilet Training for Dogs
Differences Between Three Best Puppy Potty Pads
Any good comparison article will tell you the differences between the products, and not just the similarities. It's important to see which product fails at what task. You can see a more in-depth look at how these differences were tested in my video above.
Dog grass litter boxes are much different from the traditional pee pads for puppies. As I've already explained, the two potty pads are very similar, but the PAW Puppy Potty Trainer may not be for every pet owner and especially not for every breed and size of dogs. So here are the differences between these three products.
RELATED: Housebreaking How-To’s – Grass Litter Boxes vs Housebreaking Pads
AmazonBasics Pet Training and Puppy Pads
Each puppy pee pad measures 22″ x 22.” The center pad measures 19″ x 19,” and they are equipped with a 1.5″ plastic border on all sides. You can see in my video that this border protects the urine from leaking out the sides.
These pads are designed with a 5-layer technology to prevent leakage. The top layer allows liquid to soak through, but it is made with quick drying material so your dog can't track urine through the house. The second layer keeps the liquid flowing and reduces odors.
The third layer is the a sponge-like core that turns the liquid to a gel. The two bottom layers are a locking layer and a plastic liner to keep your floors dry and odor free.
The built-in attractant encourages your pet to go on the pad, and as I explain in my video review, it didn't take our pup long to catch on. You'll also notice that one of the big differences with this product is the packaging.
Unless you're purchasing these as a gift, that probably won't make a big difference to you. AmazonBasics Pet Training and Puppy Pads are the cheapest of the three products in this comparison. You can pick up a 100-count package for about $17.
FULL REVIEW: AmazonBasics Puppy Training Pads Review
All-Absorb Training Pads
Made with the same technology as AmazonBasic's best puppy potty training pads, these block odors, have a fast-drying top layer, and turn liquid to gel to prevent leaking. Unlike the first option, these pads claim to hold 3 cups of liquid.
In my video review, I used water to test this claim with both types of training pads. As you'll see, the All-Absorb pads do hold more than 3 cups of liquid, and the AmazonBasics do as well.
These pads measure 22″ x 23,” giving them one more square inch of space than the version from AmazonBasics. All in all, these are very similar to the AmazonBasics puppy potty training pads, but they are a bit more expensive. You can purchase a 100-count box for $19.99.
FULL REVIEW: All-Absorb Puppy Pee Pads Review
PAW Puppy Potty Trainer Indoor Restroom for Pets
Obviously, this product is completely different from the other two, but it performs the same function. This potty training tool gives your dog somewhere to go when you can't take him outside.
It is a three-layer system that includes a base tray to hold the liquid, a plastic insert that allows the liquid to drain into the tray, and the synthetic grass mat. The mat is odor-resistant and non-toxic.
Similar products have a drain that allows you to empty the waste without hassle. This one doesn't offer that, but it is easily cleaned with hot water and soap. You just have to take the base tray outside or to the toilet to empty it.
The dimensions of this puppy potty trainer are 20″ x 25″ and the tray is 1.25 inches tall. As you'll see in my video review, that is plenty of room to hold more than 6 cups of liquid! You can also buy a smaller version that measures 16″ x 20″ x 1.25.”
You can pick up the medium size on Amazon for about $21 and the smaller version is available for $33.86. I'm not sure why the smaller version is more expensive.
FULL REVIEW: PETMAKER PAW Puppy Potty Trainer Review
My Personal Favorite Puppy Potty Training Pads
I can't really say that I have a favorite in this case. Most dog training pads are very similar, and the two I've reviewed here are no exception.
However, I would definitely say that I prefer the standard puppy training pads over the PAW Puppy Potty Trainer Indoor Restroom.
Why? Because the potty trainer isn't suitable for larger breeds, and there isn't any way to modify it to make it work. You could purchase two and put them side by side, but if your pup happens to pee in the middle of the two you're sure to have urine on your floor.
The best puppy potty training pads, like these from All-Absorb and AmazonBasics, aren't suited for large breeds either. However, you can overlap two pads (or more if needed) to make a large leak-proof space for your pooch to go potty.
After doing further research, I've also noticed that majority of pet owners prefer puppy training pads (the traditional ones) over any type of indoor doggy restrooms and grass litter boxes for dogs. It seems these devices just don't work as well for canines as they may work for cats or in some very specific cases.
Thus even though the potty trainer is more eco-friendly and cost effective, traditional dog pee training pads are much easier to clean. I'd much rather just pick up a pee pad and throw it in the garbage than have to empty and wash the PAW Puppy Potty Trainer.
Now that you've chosen the best puppy potty training pads for your pooch, you may need advice on how to house train your new pet. You can see my step-by-step guide below.
FULL GUIDE: How To House-train An Adult Dog 101 – A Step-By-Step Video
Disclosure: We may earn affiliate commissions at no cost to you from the links on this page. This did not affect our assessment of products. Read more here and find full disclosure here.
