The Best Pee Pads for Dogs

If you'd rather go with something reusable, consider these washable options:

• A fake patch of grass can reinforce the look and feel of going outdoors, says Annie-Mae Levy, a professional dog trainer who works with the dog-training app Woofz by nove8. Amazon sells the $14 Ottomanson Artificial Grass Puppy Potty Training Pad with Tray. Users said they clean it with soap and water.

• Pupiboo Washable Pee Pads for Dogs resemble Turkish rugs for a dressier look in your home, and a two-pack is less than $30. Our testers declined to try one, fearing Stella wouldn't understand what was a house rug and what was a pee rug. But there are thousands of Amazon users who are fans, with many placing the washable rugs in their dog's designated area or puppy pen.

• On Reddit threads, we noticed posts from owners of senior dogs who have to deal with long-term incontinence. Many recommend the same heavy-duty pads used for people, like Improvia Washable Underpads, which are machine washable and less than $30 for four.

We sought out the most popular and highest-rated brands of disposable puppy pee pads, through crowdsourcing from dog parents and researching online reviews. We tested five brands in a home with a puppy to determine our top three. We also looked at the following factors:

✔️ Absorbency: On each pee pad, we attempted to pour 4 cups of a mixture of water and vinegar. No pad absorbed all 4 cups, but many could handle 3 cups before leaking. In truth, puppies pee very little, so all the pads on our list should be able to withstand puppy potty training. For full-grown dogs, though, be sure to get one of the more absorbent ones.

✔️ Odor control: We judged how well each pad hid the smell of the vinegar water.

✔️ Cleanup: After pouring the liquid, we lifted each pee pad to determine which pads could hold the most water. Pee pads that hold the water, versus letting it pool on top, are easiest to lift and throw in the garbage.

• Absorbency: Don't believe all brand claims. We encountered pads claiming to be "100% leak free" that were not, for instance. But, in general, the more layers a pad has and the thicker it is, the more it should absorb. Most disposable pee pads use an absorbent layer in the middle, similar to baby diapers.

• Size: A 22-inch or 23-inch square is considered regular size. Some brands offer smaller pads, and some offer larger ones. Buy according to your dog's size as well as the space you'll be using it in.

• Odor control: We believe that the brands with activated charcoal and carbon tissue to neutralize odors or scented pads were best at masking the smell of vinegar, so if you are worried about odor, look for those. However, the smell of dog urine and feces is its own thing, so even pads with these features can only do so much.

• Attractant: Some pads claim to be scented with a pheromone or attractant to entice your dog over to the pee pad versus, say, a household rug. It's hard to test the efficacy of that feature, but it's something else to look for.

• Washable vs. disposable: You might ultimately spend less money on washable alternatives, but you'll spend time cleaning and you'll need an easy way to get the job done. Certainly you'll end up with less garbage if you go the washable route, but it will require daily care and commitment.

Vets say no — but with a lot of exceptions.

"The vast majority of owners want their puppies to be potty trained outside, so I discourage the use of pee-pee pads with my patients. Pads might cause puppies to think it is okay to potty indoors," says Dr. Conrad. "Going outside in the backyard is generally safe, at least in my area in Oregon, so potty training outdoors is what I recommend."

But there are cases when dog owners need a pee pad:

• Put the pad by the door, says Dr. Conrad, especially if you want your dog to transition to going outside.
• Hang jingle bells on the door by the pee pad as a way to gradually teach your dog to ring the bells when they have to do their business. This tip comes from a dog watcher in Brooklyn who trained his own dogs to ring when they need to go.
• Restrict the rooms your potty-training dog can enter to prevent accidents where you don't want them, like a bedroom, suggests the Animal Humane Society.
• Consider storing away any throw rugs during early training, says my friend who is potty-training Stella, our tester dog. "At first, the puppy thought anything rectangular and soft on the floor was a pee pad," she says. "How was she to know that a rug was not to pee on?" Pretty quickly, through consistency, Stella learned that she'd hear "good dog" only when she went on a pee pad by the door.

For more than 100 years, the pros at the Good Housekeeping Institute have been guiding consumers to quality products through in-home and in-Lab testing. For dogs, we've rated things like the best dog beds and no-pull dog harnesses.

Contributing Writer Jessica Hartshorn is not a dog owner but splits a home with her dog-owning cousin and is surrounded by dog-loving friends and colleagues. She owns cats, and they help her test items like cat carriers.

For this story, we consulted Megan Conrad, M.B.B.S., a veterinarian with Wellhaven Pet Health and owner of two dogs, to understand how puppy pee pad should be used.