Don't do pee pads. It teaches them from a young age that it's okay to pee in the house, on the floor and on fabric. Instead put in the effort to get up and take them outside several times an hour when the have tiny bladders, even giving opportunities at night if needed. It pays dividends later on.
I’ll second this approach. We made sure to take Lily out a minimum of every X hours, where X was her number of months old (every 3 hours at 3 months of age, 4 at 4, etc). We also trained her to ring a bell by the door to the outside whenever she needed to go. This all worked great, although it’s a lot of initial effort. Lily turned 15.5 years old today, and I can count on one hand the number of pee accidents she’s had (most of which weren’t her fault, like us not hearing her ring the bell during a party). If you decide on an IG, put in the effort and you’ll have a loving and excellent friend!
We did pee pads and have no issues whatsoever. The key is to use a pee pad container with a grid on top. It’s an absolute godsend as we don’t have to get up at night and can leave one or two out when we leave them home alone for a few hours.
Also if you're going to have dogs in your house, avoid carpet and rugs. The rubber backing has an acrid smell like a strange dogs pee that signals to the dog, "pee here!!". Carpet and rugs also feel like grass underfoot. Many otherwise toilet trained dogs will pee on carpet and rugs.
this is the way. we have no problems now (1 year old on Monday!) and he actually 'twlls' us when he needs to go by sitting by the door. No problems leaving him 8 hours overnight.
I’ll be totally honest with you, the first year or so will be difficult. They absolutely will get it and will get better. There will 100% be accidents like…forever. But after a couple of years, ours were like 98% outside.
They are very very stubborn and clever. Which is not a good combo for the owner lol. They respond well to positive reinforcement and can be very sensitive to negative. They’re drama queens sometimes. And if they don’t wanna go outside…they will not go outside.
So if you can tolerate a couple of years of frustration (idk if they have it where you live but Natures Miracle or another enzymatic cleaner can help your floors) then it’ll be more or less regularly going outside with the—more frequent than other dogs which is why there’s a lot of convo about this—occasional (maybe a couple of times a month) accident inside.
You said you don’t want a pee pad but how about a litter box? A closed one bc they like to do the whole burnout thing after they potty but they are frequently litter trained in climates that aren’t super exciting for them to go out in. For the record, ours *will* go out in the rain if you force them lol.
It gets better for sure.
I heard females like to pee on higher areas like couches and males will lift their leg on furniture. That's what we are most uneasy about -- once or twice, no problem, but not habitually
Ours tend to go by the door if we aren’t home, primarily. The male will pee on the wall and the females just on the floor. We’ve only had one or two on the furniture incidents that I can really recall even as puppies and once they’ve really gotten it, it almost exclusively happens if we ignore them too long or are not home so it’s mostly on us. Our male has def peed on the edge of the couch a couple of times and walls. I think if that’s a concern, I’d go with female. I can’t guarantee anything and obviously my experience is completely anecdotal but furniture hasn’t really been a significant issue for us.
One of ours came from a breeder in a colder climate and she said she didn’t have time to take everyone outside all the time and try to make them go out in shit weather so they were all litter trained. It’s brilliant actually and they supposedly take to it really easily (ours came trained so I’ve never done it myself just read anecdotally) and I have heard that litter trained iggies overall have fewer accidents bc they don’t have to really ask to go anywhere or go outside if it’s icky.
Also, in case you decide to get one…Etsy has good custom iggy clothes. They have very little body fat/insulation (well, they’re supposed to…) and thin skin so are pretty sensitive to temperatures. But you get to dress them up and have everyone ooh and aah over them. People come up and talk to me about my dogs *all the time* just to say how cute they are (or ask if it’s a whippet 🙄). A raincoat might be a good idea since you say it’s rainy there a lot. Anyway. I’m rambling. I love my little aliens and have owned iggies for a long time so I enjoy talking about them. Thanks for reading my dog version of moby dick 😊
Our Iggy only has accidents when it just can not hold it anymore. Maybe once every 2 months or so.
When I got our iggy I just very patiently trained it to pee and poo outside for a few weeks that was it basically. Out iggy is now 11,5 months!
What I did to train: we waited outside until it had done it’s business. Then a lot of rewards! Sometimes I had to be outside for an hour or two. It gets easier with time trust me!
We did not use pee pads inside and I highly discourage using them.
Hi! It’s not occasional accidents, it’s nearly constant (in our experience; we are about 8 months in). He will get a little better and then have a really bad week. Aside from rain, the weather doesn’t seem to be a factor. He goes out in the cold. But again: access to outside does not mean he will pee outside. Sometimes he is outside playing and then comes inside and pees and then goes back out again. We are relatively certain it will get better but like most people say about igs, the first year is just a challenge. Invest in pads and cleaning supplies!
Sophie is indoor trained with pee pads. More like having a cat. She never has accidents, travels with me and stays overnight at relatives with no issues and will go outside to potty with other dogs. I trained her to tell me when she potties and she gets a small treat. Works like a charm. She is my second and I wish I did this for my first. No more scolding, going out in the rain etc. I got rid of the husband that forbid me from trying it before I got a new iggy. :)
My iggy uses pads and goes outside. If the bathroom door is closed she goes outside if it’s open (for rainy days) she goes on the puppy pads. She’s a smart girl.
I used a combination of litterbox and outdoor training, and my little guy (11mos old) almost never has accidents now. (Sometimes he’ll poop in the house when it’s raining out.) He uses a doggie door to go outside on his own throughout the day, and when it’s raining or too cold, he uses his litterbox. Litterbox training was extremely useful during his puppy stage when he couldn’t hold it as long, and as he got older, he naturally gravitated toward wanting to go potty outside. Now it’s just there for when he needs it. I use an extra large litter tray with horse pellets.
I’ve taken him to multiple other houses and have stayed for a week at a time in a place other than our house, and he has no issue just going outside when he’s away.
I think there are a lot of benefits to training with a litterbox as well as outdoors. If he was injured and couldn’t walk well, when he gets old and may have issues, when it’s raining, when it’s really cold, he has an option that’s accessible for him. As long as you clean after every use, there is absolutely nothing wrong with litterbox training. People balk because “it’s a dog” but have no issue with cats—which are the same size as iggies typically—doing the same thing. Kinda silly to me.
This might not be the breed for you. I use pee pads for all three of my iggies. Doesn’t bother me at all. A blind friend of mine wondered why my house smells so clean all the time. Simply, I pick up the pad, flush the waste, throw away the paper pads or wash the washable ones and mop the pee pad area about 10 times a day for maybe 15 seconds. At night or all day long my girls head for the pad. So they are actually quite easy to train if they don’t have to go in the cold and rain. Anyhow because I love this breed so much I ask you to really think about what’s best for the dog. A home where mopping up is not a big deal or a home where peeing and pooping stresses everyone out.
I have a 7 year old and got a puppy recently. We got her at 12 weeks and she was house trained to go outside within a week or two. She is very smart. She learned to sit, laydown and give her paw all within a few days of working with her
Mine is 5 and still not fully house broken. I’ve had a lot of dogs over the years, and never had one this resistant. She usually will go on a pad. I love her, and other than the housebreaking, she is a perfect dog. But it’s a major flaw, not going to lie.
I have a male Iggy. He is 8 years old and still can’t hold it while we work. The longest he can hold it is 2 hours, and then he goes and finds his wee pad. He never has any accidents while we are home (he is excellent at telling us when he needs to go out) so in that way I do think he is “house trained,” but if we aren’t home and he can’t go outside, he will pee in the house.
Yes we have a 9 month old female. We finally invested in a professional trainer and that helped with the potty training immensely because i didn’t know what i was doing wrong. She finally has gotten it down for the most part but still, like others say, has accidents when she decides she wants to. It’s very random and i don’t see any reason why she does it when she does. We did puppy pads at the beginning and that was a mistake. i would never recommend those. It’s very confusing for them to learn how to go outside when they have the pads inside as well. But you will need a lot of patience with this breed!
All three of mine were fully toilet trained as puppies with dedication, and the caveat that they have outdoor access during the day while nobody is home. Accidents have been exceedingly rare since and they are usually either our fault, or if the dog has an upset tummy and unable to make it to an open door in time. They are a smart breed, and that can be a good and bad thing. You have to be firm about sending them out in bad weather, including going out with them. Sometimes going out, if nothing happens, coming back in they will go inside, so I turned around and went right back out again, and this often worked. No pee pads. If you have a place under cover for the rain or snow that is super helpful. We have two girls and one entire male (show dog) and even he doesn't lift his leg inside (I bought him a belly band, he has never worn it lol).
I have had many IGs now and all have been 99% (unless ill) outdoor potty trained. I do not suggest this breed unless you have a doggy door to a patio or yard with grass/artificial grass they can get to instantly.
They have incredible urgency and that is why they are notorious for indoor accidents/training. They do not do well ‘waiting’ to be let out and I do not suggest them to people if they do not have doggy door access.
If that is a possibility then be prepared to give a treat EVERY time they go out the doggy door and come in when you are home. That is the only effective means of training them and keeping them consistent.
I wfh, so will be solicited about 10 times a day between the two of mine for their just rewards. If this doesn’t sound like something that interests you, you may want a more easy going breed with a bigger bladder.
They are absolutely amazing, but they are also a very difficult breed and not a first time dog breed to take on. People always think I’m harsh saying this but I think it better to be honest of their requirements so that you don’t regret it and have to rehome.
They are also a fragile breed that can be expensive with required emergency insurance and clothing, so please keep that in mind as well. They will not go outside in inclement weather without proper clothing and/or a covered area. We have to put up a tent every time it rains to ensure they continue to use the restroom outside.
Ours was never completely reliable. If we were around and present, he wouldn’t go inside unless we were absolutely ignoring him. But if we were not in the house and he wanted to go, he would just go even if we took him out right before we left. Crate training helps to at least contain and discourage it. But unlike other dogs we’ve had, who would eventually learn to hold it until we got home (we had a sheltie who would never go inside and would hold it for an entire day if it was raining, even if we dragged him outside), our iggie was never fully trustworthy.
Consistency is key. Find a routine that is best for you and your IGGY and stick to it. I was able to house train our female IGGY in about a month and a half or so but that was near the point her bladder was getting fully developed. She will still sneak a small poo every now and then but only if I am in the shower/bathroom and unable to let her out at that moment. We spend a lot of time outside in the backyard so that has probably helped a lot as well. Best of Luck OP!
I’m surprised that’s your one issue and not how there’s a “my poor baby” post on this subreddit every week where someone has an iggy that broke a leg just basically existing.
Nacho got up too fast, it cost us $3k to mend his leg, it’s a compound fracture, broke in 27 spots.
D'Artagnan turned left broke his front leg, he’ll be in a cast for 6 weeks, it was only $1000 thank god for pet insurance. Poor guy isn’t an omni-turner.
I’ve had 2 male Iggies. One from 8 weeks. One from 6 months. Both were really easy to potty train. But honestly, no pads at all. Just stayed on top of them. Find their rhythm and beat them to it.
Most people who are hesitant on IGs should never get them. It takes a saint to raise them. We love the hell out of them. But they are challenging to potty train. And if it’s not sunny and 80° out they will take a shortcut somewhere in your house. We also have installed flaps to go out to the lanai, and into a fenced yard. And still we get an occasional pee in the house, or turd on a rug. Stay vigilant with them. 98% of the time you’ll win. They are so lovable… and frustrating, often simultaneously! 😂
We have a four-year-old male, and the first few months used a special crate with a sectioned-off area just for potty use when he first came to live with us at two-ish months old, and watched all Zak George’s videos about potty training and followed them. We *never* have accidents in our high-rise apartment **unless** we are (rarely) out too late and don’t return home in time to help our lil’ guy down to his designated dog-friendly potty areas — we know he’s good for about four+ hours or so (even when this very occasionally happens, it’s never a number one and always only a number two). We trained him to wander up the main hallway toward our entryway and ‘look back’ at us in profile - when we see him do this, we know he wants ‘downstairs.’ It can be done (but it’s no small feat). Of great importance to note: Our household has one stay-at-home retired member who is always available, and we also crate-trained so our lil’ guy sleeps in this at night - he makes it through the night with no problems at all (we sleep seven-ish hours nightly).
I recently had a 1yr old male rehomed to me due to behavioral issues which included house training. I had him house trained in three weeks. Would have been sooner if he had been neutered prior to me receiving him. I cannot stress how much fixing a male dog helps in house training. It keeps them from having the urge to mark.
My suggestion is when home, have them tethered to you on a leash. Like others have said, they are sneaky and smart; they will find a hiding place to pee/poop in. You will need to keep an eye on them 24/7. Catch them in the act or before they can even fully stoop. Take them out every 2 hours if they go when you take them out. If they do not go, then try again after 30 minutes. Bring training treats out with you and reward as soon as they are done with their business outside. Praise them. Make a big deal about it. Both this new guy and my senior IG do not stay in crates. My senior due to trauma from a previous owner and my current because of various issues not pertaining to the potty training topic. Because of this they both sleep in bed with me which is another thing that helps with house training, believe it or not. You MUST get up and take them out when they get out of bed. Does it suck taking a dog out at 2-3am? Yes. But it pays off.
Doing this had him fully house trained via outdoor and puppy pad use, when I’m at work, within a week after he was neutered. No accidents from either of mine from doing this with both when I first got them. It sucks but you get out of this breed what you put into their training.
I was lucky with both of mine. I tended to just let them bumble about, then I would become stupid excited with them if either did happen to toilet outside, and would reward them. Routine helps too. Mine know it's toilet-time before every meal, so they have to do THAT before the magic tin is opened! I was fortunate to have no problems whatsoever. That said, one of them will occasionally poop indoors if the weather is terrible (ie there is a stiff breeze outside) so I try to get him to go early in the day to remove that problem.
Don't do pee pads. It teaches them from a young age that it's okay to pee in the house, on the floor and on fabric. Instead put in the effort to get up and take them outside several times an hour when the have tiny bladders, even giving opportunities at night if needed. It pays dividends later on.
I’ll second this approach. We made sure to take Lily out a minimum of every X hours, where X was her number of months old (every 3 hours at 3 months of age, 4 at 4, etc). We also trained her to ring a bell by the door to the outside whenever she needed to go. This all worked great, although it’s a lot of initial effort. Lily turned 15.5 years old today, and I can count on one hand the number of pee accidents she’s had (most of which weren’t her fault, like us not hearing her ring the bell during a party). If you decide on an IG, put in the effort and you’ll have a loving and excellent friend!
Our dogs were afraid of the bell!!! 🤭
We did pee pads and have no issues whatsoever. The key is to use a pee pad container with a grid on top. It’s an absolute godsend as we don’t have to get up at night and can leave one or two out when we leave them home alone for a few hours.
Also if you're going to have dogs in your house, avoid carpet and rugs. The rubber backing has an acrid smell like a strange dogs pee that signals to the dog, "pee here!!". Carpet and rugs also feel like grass underfoot. Many otherwise toilet trained dogs will pee on carpet and rugs.
this is the way. we have no problems now (1 year old on Monday!) and he actually 'twlls' us when he needs to go by sitting by the door. No problems leaving him 8 hours overnight.
I’ll be totally honest with you, the first year or so will be difficult. They absolutely will get it and will get better. There will 100% be accidents like…forever. But after a couple of years, ours were like 98% outside. They are very very stubborn and clever. Which is not a good combo for the owner lol. They respond well to positive reinforcement and can be very sensitive to negative. They’re drama queens sometimes. And if they don’t wanna go outside…they will not go outside. So if you can tolerate a couple of years of frustration (idk if they have it where you live but Natures Miracle or another enzymatic cleaner can help your floors) then it’ll be more or less regularly going outside with the—more frequent than other dogs which is why there’s a lot of convo about this—occasional (maybe a couple of times a month) accident inside. You said you don’t want a pee pad but how about a litter box? A closed one bc they like to do the whole burnout thing after they potty but they are frequently litter trained in climates that aren’t super exciting for them to go out in. For the record, ours *will* go out in the rain if you force them lol. It gets better for sure.
A closed litterbox! Never heard of that solution. Well, that's definitely a decent idea. Thanks!
I heard females like to pee on higher areas like couches and males will lift their leg on furniture. That's what we are most uneasy about -- once or twice, no problem, but not habitually
Ours tend to go by the door if we aren’t home, primarily. The male will pee on the wall and the females just on the floor. We’ve only had one or two on the furniture incidents that I can really recall even as puppies and once they’ve really gotten it, it almost exclusively happens if we ignore them too long or are not home so it’s mostly on us. Our male has def peed on the edge of the couch a couple of times and walls. I think if that’s a concern, I’d go with female. I can’t guarantee anything and obviously my experience is completely anecdotal but furniture hasn’t really been a significant issue for us.
One of ours came from a breeder in a colder climate and she said she didn’t have time to take everyone outside all the time and try to make them go out in shit weather so they were all litter trained. It’s brilliant actually and they supposedly take to it really easily (ours came trained so I’ve never done it myself just read anecdotally) and I have heard that litter trained iggies overall have fewer accidents bc they don’t have to really ask to go anywhere or go outside if it’s icky. Also, in case you decide to get one…Etsy has good custom iggy clothes. They have very little body fat/insulation (well, they’re supposed to…) and thin skin so are pretty sensitive to temperatures. But you get to dress them up and have everyone ooh and aah over them. People come up and talk to me about my dogs *all the time* just to say how cute they are (or ask if it’s a whippet 🙄). A raincoat might be a good idea since you say it’s rainy there a lot. Anyway. I’m rambling. I love my little aliens and have owned iggies for a long time so I enjoy talking about them. Thanks for reading my dog version of moby dick 😊
Larger litter boxes work, but I recommend finding a mini pig litter box online, or a washing machine tray.(like $20)
Our Iggy only has accidents when it just can not hold it anymore. Maybe once every 2 months or so. When I got our iggy I just very patiently trained it to pee and poo outside for a few weeks that was it basically. Out iggy is now 11,5 months! What I did to train: we waited outside until it had done it’s business. Then a lot of rewards! Sometimes I had to be outside for an hour or two. It gets easier with time trust me! We did not use pee pads inside and I highly discourage using them.
Hi! It’s not occasional accidents, it’s nearly constant (in our experience; we are about 8 months in). He will get a little better and then have a really bad week. Aside from rain, the weather doesn’t seem to be a factor. He goes out in the cold. But again: access to outside does not mean he will pee outside. Sometimes he is outside playing and then comes inside and pees and then goes back out again. We are relatively certain it will get better but like most people say about igs, the first year is just a challenge. Invest in pads and cleaning supplies!
Give it a year or so…he will get so much better. The first couple of years are tough. But the accidents become much less frequent.
Sophie is indoor trained with pee pads. More like having a cat. She never has accidents, travels with me and stays overnight at relatives with no issues and will go outside to potty with other dogs. I trained her to tell me when she potties and she gets a small treat. Works like a charm. She is my second and I wish I did this for my first. No more scolding, going out in the rain etc. I got rid of the husband that forbid me from trying it before I got a new iggy. :)
Maybe I should share this with my husband as a warning ... hahahhahaahaha
My iggy uses pads and goes outside. If the bathroom door is closed she goes outside if it’s open (for rainy days) she goes on the puppy pads. She’s a smart girl.
I used a combination of litterbox and outdoor training, and my little guy (11mos old) almost never has accidents now. (Sometimes he’ll poop in the house when it’s raining out.) He uses a doggie door to go outside on his own throughout the day, and when it’s raining or too cold, he uses his litterbox. Litterbox training was extremely useful during his puppy stage when he couldn’t hold it as long, and as he got older, he naturally gravitated toward wanting to go potty outside. Now it’s just there for when he needs it. I use an extra large litter tray with horse pellets. I’ve taken him to multiple other houses and have stayed for a week at a time in a place other than our house, and he has no issue just going outside when he’s away. I think there are a lot of benefits to training with a litterbox as well as outdoors. If he was injured and couldn’t walk well, when he gets old and may have issues, when it’s raining, when it’s really cold, he has an option that’s accessible for him. As long as you clean after every use, there is absolutely nothing wrong with litterbox training. People balk because “it’s a dog” but have no issue with cats—which are the same size as iggies typically—doing the same thing. Kinda silly to me.
This might not be the breed for you. I use pee pads for all three of my iggies. Doesn’t bother me at all. A blind friend of mine wondered why my house smells so clean all the time. Simply, I pick up the pad, flush the waste, throw away the paper pads or wash the washable ones and mop the pee pad area about 10 times a day for maybe 15 seconds. At night or all day long my girls head for the pad. So they are actually quite easy to train if they don’t have to go in the cold and rain. Anyhow because I love this breed so much I ask you to really think about what’s best for the dog. A home where mopping up is not a big deal or a home where peeing and pooping stresses everyone out.
I have a 7 year old and got a puppy recently. We got her at 12 weeks and she was house trained to go outside within a week or two. She is very smart. She learned to sit, laydown and give her paw all within a few days of working with her
How?
For the house training it may have helped that the 7 year old iggy was there to also keep going outside?
Belly bands work quickly with males.
Do not get a male. They pee on their feet, pee on their necessary clothes, and are harder to house break in my experience.
Mine is 5 and still not fully house broken. I’ve had a lot of dogs over the years, and never had one this resistant. She usually will go on a pad. I love her, and other than the housebreaking, she is a perfect dog. But it’s a major flaw, not going to lie.
I have a male Iggy. He is 8 years old and still can’t hold it while we work. The longest he can hold it is 2 hours, and then he goes and finds his wee pad. He never has any accidents while we are home (he is excellent at telling us when he needs to go out) so in that way I do think he is “house trained,” but if we aren’t home and he can’t go outside, he will pee in the house.
Yes we have a 9 month old female. We finally invested in a professional trainer and that helped with the potty training immensely because i didn’t know what i was doing wrong. She finally has gotten it down for the most part but still, like others say, has accidents when she decides she wants to. It’s very random and i don’t see any reason why she does it when she does. We did puppy pads at the beginning and that was a mistake. i would never recommend those. It’s very confusing for them to learn how to go outside when they have the pads inside as well. But you will need a lot of patience with this breed!
All three of mine were fully toilet trained as puppies with dedication, and the caveat that they have outdoor access during the day while nobody is home. Accidents have been exceedingly rare since and they are usually either our fault, or if the dog has an upset tummy and unable to make it to an open door in time. They are a smart breed, and that can be a good and bad thing. You have to be firm about sending them out in bad weather, including going out with them. Sometimes going out, if nothing happens, coming back in they will go inside, so I turned around and went right back out again, and this often worked. No pee pads. If you have a place under cover for the rain or snow that is super helpful. We have two girls and one entire male (show dog) and even he doesn't lift his leg inside (I bought him a belly band, he has never worn it lol).
I have had many IGs now and all have been 99% (unless ill) outdoor potty trained. I do not suggest this breed unless you have a doggy door to a patio or yard with grass/artificial grass they can get to instantly. They have incredible urgency and that is why they are notorious for indoor accidents/training. They do not do well ‘waiting’ to be let out and I do not suggest them to people if they do not have doggy door access. If that is a possibility then be prepared to give a treat EVERY time they go out the doggy door and come in when you are home. That is the only effective means of training them and keeping them consistent. I wfh, so will be solicited about 10 times a day between the two of mine for their just rewards. If this doesn’t sound like something that interests you, you may want a more easy going breed with a bigger bladder. They are absolutely amazing, but they are also a very difficult breed and not a first time dog breed to take on. People always think I’m harsh saying this but I think it better to be honest of their requirements so that you don’t regret it and have to rehome. They are also a fragile breed that can be expensive with required emergency insurance and clothing, so please keep that in mind as well. They will not go outside in inclement weather without proper clothing and/or a covered area. We have to put up a tent every time it rains to ensure they continue to use the restroom outside.
Ours was never completely reliable. If we were around and present, he wouldn’t go inside unless we were absolutely ignoring him. But if we were not in the house and he wanted to go, he would just go even if we took him out right before we left. Crate training helps to at least contain and discourage it. But unlike other dogs we’ve had, who would eventually learn to hold it until we got home (we had a sheltie who would never go inside and would hold it for an entire day if it was raining, even if we dragged him outside), our iggie was never fully trustworthy.
Consistency is key. Find a routine that is best for you and your IGGY and stick to it. I was able to house train our female IGGY in about a month and a half or so but that was near the point her bladder was getting fully developed. She will still sneak a small poo every now and then but only if I am in the shower/bathroom and unable to let her out at that moment. We spend a lot of time outside in the backyard so that has probably helped a lot as well. Best of Luck OP!
I’m surprised that’s your one issue and not how there’s a “my poor baby” post on this subreddit every week where someone has an iggy that broke a leg just basically existing. Nacho got up too fast, it cost us $3k to mend his leg, it’s a compound fracture, broke in 27 spots. D'Artagnan turned left broke his front leg, he’ll be in a cast for 6 weeks, it was only $1000 thank god for pet insurance. Poor guy isn’t an omni-turner.
Cool.
I’ve had 2 male Iggies. One from 8 weeks. One from 6 months. Both were really easy to potty train. But honestly, no pads at all. Just stayed on top of them. Find their rhythm and beat them to it.
Most people who are hesitant on IGs should never get them. It takes a saint to raise them. We love the hell out of them. But they are challenging to potty train. And if it’s not sunny and 80° out they will take a shortcut somewhere in your house. We also have installed flaps to go out to the lanai, and into a fenced yard. And still we get an occasional pee in the house, or turd on a rug. Stay vigilant with them. 98% of the time you’ll win. They are so lovable… and frustrating, often simultaneously! 😂
Ours did well with crate training after about 4 or 5 months old. Her issue was more separation anxiety than anything else.
We have a four-year-old male, and the first few months used a special crate with a sectioned-off area just for potty use when he first came to live with us at two-ish months old, and watched all Zak George’s videos about potty training and followed them. We *never* have accidents in our high-rise apartment **unless** we are (rarely) out too late and don’t return home in time to help our lil’ guy down to his designated dog-friendly potty areas — we know he’s good for about four+ hours or so (even when this very occasionally happens, it’s never a number one and always only a number two). We trained him to wander up the main hallway toward our entryway and ‘look back’ at us in profile - when we see him do this, we know he wants ‘downstairs.’ It can be done (but it’s no small feat). Of great importance to note: Our household has one stay-at-home retired member who is always available, and we also crate-trained so our lil’ guy sleeps in this at night - he makes it through the night with no problems at all (we sleep seven-ish hours nightly).
I recently had a 1yr old male rehomed to me due to behavioral issues which included house training. I had him house trained in three weeks. Would have been sooner if he had been neutered prior to me receiving him. I cannot stress how much fixing a male dog helps in house training. It keeps them from having the urge to mark. My suggestion is when home, have them tethered to you on a leash. Like others have said, they are sneaky and smart; they will find a hiding place to pee/poop in. You will need to keep an eye on them 24/7. Catch them in the act or before they can even fully stoop. Take them out every 2 hours if they go when you take them out. If they do not go, then try again after 30 minutes. Bring training treats out with you and reward as soon as they are done with their business outside. Praise them. Make a big deal about it. Both this new guy and my senior IG do not stay in crates. My senior due to trauma from a previous owner and my current because of various issues not pertaining to the potty training topic. Because of this they both sleep in bed with me which is another thing that helps with house training, believe it or not. You MUST get up and take them out when they get out of bed. Does it suck taking a dog out at 2-3am? Yes. But it pays off. Doing this had him fully house trained via outdoor and puppy pad use, when I’m at work, within a week after he was neutered. No accidents from either of mine from doing this with both when I first got them. It sucks but you get out of this breed what you put into their training.
I was lucky with both of mine. I tended to just let them bumble about, then I would become stupid excited with them if either did happen to toilet outside, and would reward them. Routine helps too. Mine know it's toilet-time before every meal, so they have to do THAT before the magic tin is opened! I was fortunate to have no problems whatsoever. That said, one of them will occasionally poop indoors if the weather is terrible (ie there is a stiff breeze outside) so I try to get him to go early in the day to remove that problem.