Potty Training Puppies Info

My little chihuahua had puppies a little over two weeks ago. they are scheduled to go the vet in another week, and I will ask all my questions then…. but just to get other people’s oppinon, when can I start trying to potty train them to go outside. They all just opened their eyes within the last few days. And they are moving around…but still clumsily. I would just like to know when it is really appropriate to start trying to teach them to go outside.
I know a lot of people use puppy pads… It just seems to me that you have to train them twice when you do that. Once to use the pads, and then to stop using the pads and to go outside?

We start ours around 4-6 weeks. We use puppy pads and it works really well to get them pointed in the right direction. They learn quickly to use them in the house, and we move them closer to the door, and finally they get the idea (it doesn’t hurt to have the older dogs point them that way.

My wife and I work with Alaska Dog and Puppy Rescue (emphasis on the Puppy part). We get puppies in the mentioned age category on a regular basis, and work with all the puppies we take in for adoption. We generally have for one to two weeks, and when they leave to their new homes, they have a pretty good start.