Another option for a puppy is if you are able to bring the puppy to work with you. Chili came to work with me until she was 8 months old and had zero problem transitioning to staying at home during the day.
She also had a flaming UTI that was a bear to clear up (took 3 months!), so as much as I hated to, I did have to resort to pee pads, both at the office and upstairs at home because the door was way too far away for her in both locations with the frequent need to go (as in a squat every 15 seconds at one point in time
). Once the UTI cleared up, I had no problem eliminating the pee pads, but I had been "trying" not to use them all along, so that likely helped with the transition.