Puppy wont use fake grass patch now that he's potty trained for outside.
Our mini dachshund puppy just turned 5 months and we've had him since he was 8.5 weeks old. My partner has been off of work since the beginning to work with our puppy on training, but has now returned to work with me. Potty training was surprisingly smooth! We had a few accidents in the first weeks but after that he's been stellar with going outside and only outside.
Unfortunately, now we have to have him home alone while we head to work 3 nights a week. We work from 6pm to 4:30am and have a whole puppy room set up for him with an artificial grass potty spot but he refuses to use it. He will hold his pee and poo for extended periods instead of using the pad. I'm struggling to find a way to encourage him to use the fake grass and know it's okay. We set him on it right when he wakes up and give the same command to go potty as outside. I've tried some of those Go Here sprays to no avail. I've plucked some grass from outside to sprinkle on it to make it smell enticing. I soaked up some of his pee from outside with a paper towel and rubbed it on the fake grass mat. I even shoved one of his disposable puppy pads under the grass to try to see if the smell of those would help. (When we had a terrible tornado/thunder storm he did use the disposable pads a few times so he knows those are okay)
I currently take a long lunch to come home around 10pm to let him out and do his business, but I haven't been happy having him crated overnight, (between running around from work to home and back, as well as him in his crate for 10 hours) which is why I made the entire room puppy proofed for him so he can roam around a bit and stretch his legs while we work. I assume he'll sleep most of the night anyway, but I want him to be comfortable. I also can't keep coming home on my lunch because I have to extend it by an hour (it's a 20-25 minute drive both ways and my regular lunch is only 30 minutes). I don't have enough paid time to cover this going forward continuously, while also keeping some on hand for an emergency.
Has anyone had any luck training your puppy to go outside as well as use a puppy patch? Should I just leave him with it and pray he uses it when he's finally ready? When I'm home he knows we go outside and I have yet to leave him 100% alone while roaming in his room. He's done wonderful in his crate but, being in there for so long just doesn't sit well with me. It's only 3 nights a week but as I said I simply don't have the time to keep coming home.
As for the puppy pad he did use, he also likes to chew them and I don't want to leave one with him and come home to it half eaten... I can't imagine the absorbent powder in them is safe for a puppy to eat, thus why I'm trying the fake grass patch.
I'd love to know peoples experience with this or ideas to help with it. I'm exhausted. He's a lovely puppy and I just want him to be happy and comfortable. I've considered something like Rover or other dog walking sites but finding someone to come in the middle of the night is almost non-existent and I don't have much trust for people, with my puppy or being in my home when I'm not present.