Yes, they can be very effective for both puppies as you train them to wait to go outdoors before pooing and peeing and for older dogs that have lost the ability to hold things in from their younger years. For puppies, after they eat or drink, take them to the pad and see if they have to go. If they do, praise them. Soon they will associate peeing and pooing with the pad and start to use it on their own. You can do the same with older dogs as well. Training dogs and puppies to use them isn’t easy, and some dogs decide that they would rather go inside than out. In rare cases, dogs decide that it is OK to go inside, and suddenly your whole home is a bathroom.