HoneyCare® Dog Carbon Adsorption Training Pads

It stops it. Activated carbon works through adsorption (not absorption) — ammonia and other odor molecules bond chemically to the surface of the carbon particles and stay there. That is different from a scented pad, which just adds a fragrance on top of the urine smell so you smell both. With carbon, the smell does not form in the first place because the molecules that cause it are trapped in the carbon layer.

The carbon keeps working across multiple uses until the pad is completely saturated, which is why this pad type is designed for situations where the same pad will sit down for 8–12 hours or more. A regular pad in that situation will start to smell after the second or third use. The carbon version will not.

Nine times out of ten the pad is too small for him. Dogs start in the middle and drift toward the edge as they go — their back end usually ends up farther forward than where they started. If your dog's body length from nose to tail-base is longer than the pad, the back half of the stream will land off the pad even when he aimed correctly. Measure your dog standing still, then pick a pad that is at least 4 inches longer.

The other common reason is that the carpet or rug smells more like the right spot than the pad does. If he has peed on the carpet before, that spot still smells like a bathroom to him. Clean it with an enzyme cleaner made for pet urine — regular cleaners do not break down the proteins dogs can smell. Then move the pad directly over that spot for a week before shifting it to where you actually want it.

Because you are buying the box, not the pad, and material cost scales with size. Regular ships 400 pads at 22×23 in each, which works out to about 21¢ per pad. XL ships 160 pads at 28×34 in each — that is 53¢ per pad. The carbon layer, polymer gel, and waterproof backing all cost more when the pad is bigger.

If a Regular pad covers your dog, it is by far the lower cost per pad. Choose XL when coverage is the actual problem — when your dog reaches the edge of a Regular and leaks around the side. Do not pick based on price alone or you will either waste money on pads that are too big, or deal with leaks because the pad is too small.

At 8 weeks, expect 6–8 pads per day if you are changing the pad after every use. Puppies pee every 1–2 hours when awake. By 12 weeks that drops to 4–6 pads per day. By 16 weeks, 3–4 pads. By 6 months, most puppies are down to 2–3 pads per day if you are also taking them outside.

If you are leaving the same pad down for multiple uses, check it every 2–3 hours. The polymer gel locks liquid so the surface feels dry even when the pad is nearly full — that is what causes people to leave it too long. Replace the pad when it feels heavy or when you see the gel starting to bunch up. The carbon will keep it from smelling, but a pad left too long will eventually leak from the sides even though the top still looks dry.

For a puppy in training, change it after every use. Puppies go back to spots that smell like pee, and even though the carbon neutralizes most of the ammonia smell, a used pad still smells different from a fresh one to a dog's nose. Changing it after every use teaches the puppy that this spot is for peeing, but keeps the habit from becoming "pee on a smelly pad" which makes outdoor training harder later.

For an adult dog, senior dog, or a pad used overnight or while you are at work, change it when it feels heavy or when the gel starts to bunch up. That usually happens after 2–4 uses depending on the dog's size. The carbon keeps it from smelling even after multiple uses, but the pad will still leak from the edges once it is full. Do not wait until the pad looks wet on top — the gel locks liquid, so the surface can feel dry even when the pad is nearly saturated.

Use the adhesive tape on the corners. Peel the backing off all four corner tabs and press the pad flat against the floor. The tape is strong enough to hold through a dog circling and scratching, but it works best on smooth floors like tile, vinyl, laminate or sealed hardwood. It will not grip well on carpet or textured stone.

If you are putting the pad on carpet or a rug, put a hard flat surface under it first — a piece of cardboard, a plastic chair mat, or a rigid tray. Tape the pad to that, then put the whole thing on the carpet. The weight and flatness will stop it from bunching up when the dog steps on it.

Not if the pad stays flat and you change it before it is completely full. The waterproof polyethylene backing seals against the floor when the pad lies flat, so liquid cannot pass through. The two failure modes are: the pad gets kicked up at the edges (fix: use the adhesive tape), or the pad is left down so long that it overfills and leaks from the sides (fix: change it when it feels heavy, not when it looks wet on top).

If you have unsealed or damaged hardwood, any moisture that sits on it for hours can stain or warp the wood. If your floor finish is already compromised, put a waterproof mat or plastic tray under the pad as a second line of defense. For tile, vinyl or laminate you do not need to worry — those surfaces are waterproof.

The pad itself will not smell because of the carbon layer. The smell is almost always coming from the trash can where you put the used pads. Urine-soaked pads sitting in an open bin for 2–3 days will smell no matter what kind of pad it is — carbon neutralizes ammonia in the pad while it is on the floor, but once you roll it up and throw it in the trash, the airflow stops and bacteria start breaking down the urine.

Put used pads in a diaper pail with a locking lid, or in a small trash can lined with scented bags that you take out daily. If you do not want to take the trash out every day, roll the used pad tightly plastic-side-out, stuff it into a dog waste bag, knot it shut, and then throw it in the bin. That keeps the smell contained until trash day. The pad is the easiest part of the equation to control — the trash is where the smell actually lives.

First rule out a urinary tract infection or other medical issue — sudden accidents after months of consistency is a common early sign. If your dog is also licking their genital area more than usual, straining, or peeing in small amounts more frequently, call your vet before assuming it is a behavior problem.

If health is not the issue, something in the environment changed. Common triggers: you moved the pad to a new spot and he has not found it yet, someone rearranged furniture and blocked his usual path to the pad, a loud noise scared him while he was on the pad once and now he avoids it, or another pet used the pad and now it smells wrong to him. Go back to basics — put the pad back where it was, clean any new accident spots with enzyme cleaner, and walk him to the pad on a schedule until the habit resets.

You can, but it is not ideal for housetraining because it teaches the dog that peeing in the crate is acceptable. Crates work for housetraining because dogs instinctively avoid soiling their sleeping area — putting a pad in there removes that instinct. If your dog is crated for longer than he can physically hold it (puppies under 12 weeks can hold it about 2–3 hours max), the better solution is a larger pen with the crate inside it and the pad at the opposite end from the crate door.

That said, if you have a senior dog with incontinence, a dog recovering from surgery who cannot go outside, or a dog on medication that makes them pee more frequently, then yes — a pad in the crate keeps bedding dry and is the right call. The carbon layer keeps the crate from smelling during recovery. Just know it will make outdoor training harder later if that is a goal.

It can, but only if you leave the indoor pads available after you start outdoor training. The issue is that going outside takes effort — the dog has to signal, wait for you to notice, then walk to the door and go down stairs or across a yard. An indoor pad is five seconds away and always available. If both options exist, most dogs will pick the easier one.

The solution is to remove the indoor pad completely once outdoor training starts, not leave it as a backup. If you want to transition gradually, move the pad closer to the door over a week or two, then move it outside the door, then remove it entirely. Read transitioning from pads to outside for the full process. The pad itself is not the problem — leaving it available while also expecting the dog to go outside is the problem.

Activated carbon itself is non-toxic — it is used in medical settings to treat poisoning. But if a dog tears apart a pad and swallows a large amount of the dry materials (carbon particles, polymer beads, or wood pulp), those materials can absorb liquid in the stomach and intestines and cause a blockage. Symptoms include vomiting, loss of appetite, lethargy, or straining to defecate.

If your dog chews or eats pads, do not leave them unsupervised with one. Read how to stop shredding before buying. The usual causes are boredom, teething (for puppies), or the pad smells interesting because it is soaked. Switching to a diaper or belly band is often the safer solution for dogs who destroy pads.

Two small dogs can share an XL pad if you are changing it after every couple of uses. The polymer gel core can handle multiple uses before it is full, and the carbon layer will keep it from smelling even with two dogs using it. The issue is not capacity or odor — it is territorial behavior. Some dogs will not use a pad that smells like another dog just peed on it. Others do not care.

If your dogs are fine sharing, go up one size from what one dog would need and change the pad more frequently than you would for a single dog. If one of them starts avoiding the pad or peeing next to it instead, that is a sign they want their own spot. In that case put down two separate pads in different areas rather than forcing them to share one.

No, the pads work as-is on any flat floor. The adhesive tape on the corners holds the pad in place on tile, vinyl, laminate and sealed hardwood without needing a tray. If you are putting the pad on carpet or a textured surface where tape will not grip well, you can put a flat rigid surface under it (a piece of cardboard, a plastic chair mat, or a cheap vinyl placemat), but that is optional.

Pad holders and trays are sold as accessories but they are not necessary unless you specifically want a raised edge to prevent a pad from sliding on carpet, or you want something that looks more finished than a pad sitting on the floor. These pads are designed to work on their own — tape them down, and you are done.

If your dog only pees in one spot and you can predict when and where that will happen, pads are enough. If your dog leaks while walking around the house, sleeping on furniture, or riding in the car — or if the problem is marking on vertical surfaces like table legs and doorways — then a diaper or belly band is the better solution because it contains the urine no matter where the dog is.

Many people use both: a diaper or wrap when the dog is loose in the house or traveling, and a pad in one fixed spot for scheduled potty breaks. That gives you the best of both — the diaper prevents accidents anywhere in the house, and the pad gives the dog a designated place to go that you can direct them to on a schedule. You do not need to pick one or the other — they solve different problems.