Potty Training hiccups - YorkieTalk.com Forums

Katie Jo · 06-14-2012, 05:55 AM

We've had our dog for about 2 weeks now and have been working pretty hard on potty training. He's 4 months old and has been doing pretty well with it. I've been following the advice in the "How To Housebreak Your Dog In 7 Days" book. However, we're still having problems with him having accidents in the house. It often happens after I've been outside with him for 15/20 minutes with no action-- it's frustrating!!

Is it him being stubborn or is he still a little young to be 100% potty trained? Help!

BiewerYorkie · 06-14-2012, 06:58 AM

WAYYYY to young although it sounds like you are on the right track. My Zachary is 17 weeks and will peepee on the pads (indoor dog) when we take him or guide him in to them but hasn't learned to go into the room the pads are in himself.

Hang in there. This is the SECOND puppy we have had within a year's time. And, we have 3 dogs under the age of 2 years. It will happen eventually.

I have found the biggest problem with a lot of housebreaking is always YELLING at the dog when he makes a mistake. We have found that PRAISING when he does it right makes the difference.

Louise and Zachary

Katie Jo · 06-14-2012, 11:52 AM

The book said to just say "no" loud enough to startle them so they stop peeing, then take them outside and let them finish with lots of "good boys". It seems to be working pretty well.

Maybe you have some advice on this:

Right now I'm on summer vacation and I go back to work in August (ahh the joys of teaching). I'm potty training him based on kind of a hybrid of my school and summer schedule. I wake up early (5:30, around when I will in August), he comes out and gets fed at 11, comes out again at 4 (around the time my husband gets home), and ultimately goes to bed around 9.

I won't be able to take him out at 11 like I have been able to. I'm hoping that by the time that rolls around he'll have a little bit better bladder control but probably not

Do you have any suggestions for how to transition from the summer schedule to the school year schedule? I don't want to shock his system come August!

LovinOurYorkies · 06-14-2012, 01:32 PM

After taking him out for 10-15min w/no potty, are you crating him and trying again w/in a short time? (Sorry, I'm not familiar with that book/process)

Katie Jo · 06-14-2012, 03:08 PM

Yes, I do try again after a few minutes. Generally though, he goes during the scheduled out times, but his accidents happen usually about 30 minutes after we come back in!
Here's the crazy schedule:
5:30 Wake up. Go out
5:40 – 6:00 Free period
6:00 Food and water
6:10 Go out
6:30-7:15 Free period
7:15 Confine
11:00 ish- Food and water
11:10 Go out
11:30-12:15 Free Period
12:15 Confine
4:00 Food and water
4:10 Go out
4:30-5:15 Free period
5:15 Confine
7:00 Water
7:15 Go out
7:30-8:00 Free period
8:00 Confine
9:00 Go out. Confine over night

Katie Jo · 06-15-2012, 06:03 AM

He did it again this morning! Twice!! We spent 20 minutes outside this morning-- he peed but as soon as we get inside, he poo's in the house!! I'm going to be out of the house for a little bit today so I took him on a quick (15 minute) walk then let him run around in the yard for a few minutes-- as soon as we get inside he pees on the rug. Ugh! I love him to pieces but I'm sooo frustrated!!!

ancora_imparo · 06-15-2012, 08:32 AM

Ours is 6 months old and still having potty training issues...At this point, with yours, if he is pooping and peeing almost immediately after you bring him inside, either crate him right away or keep his leash on and in your hand/on your belt so you can watch him like a hawk and scoop him up immediately

rocky_jo · 06-17-2012, 03:31 PM

I have a 4 year old yorkie. We moved about a year ago and since the move he will pee in the house when I'm not around. But when I am he will let me know. All the furniture is the same. I started back with the crate when I'm not home for about 3 -4 weeks but still the same thing. I dont know if he is being stubborn or mad.

yorkietalkjilly · 06-17-2012, 04:28 PM

He's too young to have good control or to have the whole thing down pat. I crate-trained Tibbe for months just to be sure he had no chance to have accidents and had a good foundation of training & when he could expect to be taken outside. If I left the room or had to run an errand, he went in the crate. Otherwise, he was out in the house being taken outside very frequently, kept on a very regular schedule so he could come to anticipate he would get a potty break after crating, napping/sleeping, eating/drinking, play periods, grooming, cuddling periods, visitors arriving or leaving or any period of intense excitement, etc. After a successful trip outside, he was praised/rewarded for positive results & if he didn't go after 10 minutes outside, he was brought in, watched like a hawk for signs he was needing to go whenever he wasn't crated and taken out again at the first sign. Soon he learned that if he held it, that given one of those schedule triggers, he would be taken outside.

If your little one is having accidents in the house, you need to take him out more often and/or watch him more closely for signs he needs to go & restrain him in a crated/fenced area with pads when you can't be watching so he can't have these accident - and be prepared to do this for months if you want a good long lasting training foundation. Just resign yourself that good housebreaking of a Yorkie is going to take a while, is a lot of work & accept it with a patient smile. It won't last forever - just seems like it does at the time!

After all my & Tibbe's hard work at housebreaking, he's now clean in the house - except when he is ill. Good luck!

Katie Jo · 06-18-2012, 05:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly

He's too young to have good control or to have the whole thing down pat. I crate-trained Tibbe for months just to be sure he had no chance to have accidents and had a good foundation of training & when he could expect to be taken outside. If I left the room or had to run an errand, he went in the crate. Otherwise, he was out in the house being taken outside very frequently, kept on a very regular schedule so he could come to anticipate he would get a potty break after crating, napping/sleeping, eating/drinking, play periods, grooming, cuddling periods, visitors arriving or leaving or any period of intense excitement, etc. After a successful trip outside, he was praised/rewarded for positive results & if he didn't go after 10 minutes outside, he was brought in, watched like a hawk for signs he was needing to go whenever he wasn't crated and taken out again at the first sign. Soon he learned that if he held it, that given one of those schedule triggers, he would be taken outside.

If your little one is having accidents in the house, you need to take him out more often and/or watch him more closely for signs he needs to go & restrain him in a crated/fenced area with pads when you can't be watching so he can't have these accident - and be prepared to do this for months if you want a good long lasting training foundation. Just resign yourself that good housebreaking of a Yorkie is going to take a while, is a lot of work & accept it with a patient smile. It won't last forever - just seems like it does at the time!

After all my & Tibbe's hard work at housebreaking, he's now clean in the house - except when he is ill. Good luck!

So crate and house training combo worked for you?? From everything that I've been reading it seemed like those two things canceled each other out!

yorkietalkjilly · 06-18-2012, 07:03 AM

Worked equally well on Jilly & Tibbe, if by housetraining you mean training them to hold their bowel/bladder until they were taken outside. I haven't tried it on potty pad training but I guess theoretically it could work the same if they were only in the crate for short periods of time as young dogs & there were no pads in the crate for them to want to use. Dogs usually don't like to use slick surfaces to toilet on if they have a choice so if they knew their potty pad were across the room but the crate were slick, had no thicker surface to use, they would likely eventually want to hold their poo/urine until they had a preferred surface to go on & also prefer not to soil the area they were confined to for a short time. That is why I recommend leaving them in the crate only for very short periods when you can't watch them.

But if you are going to leave them crated or fenced into a confined area while you go to work, you will have to provide a larger crate or fence them into an area that has room for a potty pad at one end. Most dogs will then want to relieve themselves on the pad just like they use out in the house rather than the slick surface of the crate of floor or on their bedding where they sleep. But at first, especially, with prolonged time in any crate or fenced area, they may soil their bed or just go anywhere in their crate/area sometimes. But keep at it, eventually they will learn to use the potty pad in the larger crate/fenced area since that is what they use out in the house. They will eventually make that connection that the pad is the place to go.

I just prefer training a dog to go outside as it is natural for them & most love marking their scents outside for the world of other dogs to appreciate(

) & in my experience do adapt to that training much faster, learning to hold it much sooner so they can get outside & do their business where they can spread their scent. Plus, I just don't like the sight or the idea of potty pads in my house. However, if I were to move into an apartment or had no yard, I suspect I, too, would have to use them as I just do not see myself leashing my dog up for each & every potty session, especially on bitter cold days or nights or in driving rain! I would learn how to live with potty pads during bad weather or at night!!!

Katie Jo · 06-18-2012, 03:57 PM

The bad weather is one thing I'm concerned about. In Houston when it rains, it rains and it does not let up. It rained a couple of nights ago and it was torture getting Dexter to go outside, even into the flower beds (which are covered).

I just ordered a little play pen thing for him, it should be here by the end of the week. I'm hoping that it helps things somewhat. Shop for this IRIS Indoor/Outdoor Pet Pen in white and more dog pens at Walmart.com. Save money. Live better.

Also, I'm pleased to say that yesterday was accident free and I think today will be, too! Yay!

Katie Jo · 06-22-2012, 09:30 AM

No accidents so far

I just bought him a pen to use instead of constantly crating him. I'm having a problem with the pads in the pen, though. He gets upset with me when I put him in the pen and he'll start chewing up the pad- shredding it. I've got toys in there (chew toys, balls, etc) and as soon as I remove the pad, he'll play with them. Dunno what to do!!

06-14-2012, 05:55 AM	#1
Katie Jo Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 60	Potty Training hiccups We've had our dog for about 2 weeks now and have been working pretty hard on potty training. He's 4 months old and has been doing pretty well with it. I've been following the advice in the "How To Housebreak Your Dog In 7 Days" book. However, we're still having problems with him having accidents in the house. It often happens after I've been outside with him for 15/20 minutes with no action-- it's frustrating!! Is it him being stubborn or is he still a little young to be 100% potty trained? Help!

06-14-2012, 01:32 PM	#4
LovinOurYorkies YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: MS Posts: 638	After taking him out for 10-15min w/no potty, are you crating him and trying again w/in a short time? (Sorry, I'm not familiar with that book/process) __________________ Tracy Tillie & Bella Tanna DD DS DH

06-17-2012, 04:28 PM	#9
yorkietalkjilly ♥ Love My Tibbe! ♥ Donating Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: D/FW, Texas Posts: 22,140	He's too young to have good control or to have the whole thing down pat. I crate-trained Tibbe for months just to be sure he had no chance to have accidents and had a good foundation of training & when he could expect to be taken outside. If I left the room or had to run an errand, he went in the crate. Otherwise, he was out in the house being taken outside very frequently, kept on a very regular schedule so he could come to anticipate he would get a potty break after crating, napping/sleeping, eating/drinking, play periods, grooming, cuddling periods, visitors arriving or leaving or any period of intense excitement, etc. After a successful trip outside, he was praised/rewarded for positive results & if he didn't go after 10 minutes outside, he was brought in, watched like a hawk for signs he was needing to go whenever he wasn't crated and taken out again at the first sign. Soon he learned that if he held it, that given one of those schedule triggers, he would be taken outside. If your little one is having accidents in the house, you need to take him out more often and/or watch him more closely for signs he needs to go & restrain him in a crated/fenced area with pads when you can't be watching so he can't have these accident - and be prepared to do this for months if you want a good long lasting training foundation. Just resign yourself that good housebreaking of a Yorkie is going to take a while, is a lot of work & accept it with a patient smile. It won't last forever - just seems like it does at the time! After all my & Tibbe's hard work at housebreaking, he's now clean in the house - except when he is ill. Good luck! __________________ Jeanie and Tibbe One must do the best one can. You may get some marks for a very imperfect answer: you will certainly get none for leaving the question alone. C. S. Lewis

06-18-2012, 07:03 AM	#11
yorkietalkjilly ♥ Love My Tibbe! ♥ Donating Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: D/FW, Texas Posts: 22,140	Worked equally well on Jilly & Tibbe, if by housetraining you mean training them to hold their bowel/bladder until they were taken outside. I haven't tried it on potty pad training but I guess theoretically it could work the same if they were only in the crate for short periods of time as young dogs & there were no pads in the crate for them to want to use. Dogs usually don't like to use slick surfaces to toilet on if they have a choice so if they knew their potty pad were across the room but the crate were slick, had no thicker surface to use, they would likely eventually want to hold their poo/urine until they had a preferred surface to go on & also prefer not to soil the area they were confined to for a short time. That is why I recommend leaving them in the crate only for very short periods when you can't watch them. But if you are going to leave them crated or fenced into a confined area while you go to work, you will have to provide a larger crate or fence them into an area that has room for a potty pad at one end. Most dogs will then want to relieve themselves on the pad just like they use out in the house rather than the slick surface of the crate of floor or on their bedding where they sleep. But at first, especially, with prolonged time in any crate or fenced area, they may soil their bed or just go anywhere in their crate/area sometimes. But keep at it, eventually they will learn to use the potty pad in the larger crate/fenced area since that is what they use out in the house. They will eventually make that connection that the pad is the place to go. I just prefer training a dog to go outside as it is natural for them & most love marking their scents outside for the world of other dogs to appreciate() & in my experience do adapt to that training much faster, learning to hold it much sooner so they can get outside & do their business where they can spread their scent. Plus, I just don't like the sight or the idea of potty pads in my house. However, if I were to move into an apartment or had no yard, I suspect I, too, would have to use them as I just do not see myself leashing my dog up for each & every potty session, especially on bitter cold days or nights or in driving rain! I would learn how to live with potty pads during bad weather or at night!!! __________________ Jeanie and Tibbe One must do the best one can. You may get some marks for a very imperfect answer: you will certainly get none for leaving the question alone. C. S. Lewis

06-14-2012, 06:58 AM	#2
BiewerYorkie Zachary's Mom Donating Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Houston, TX, USA Posts: 879 Blog Entries: 1	WAYYYY to young although it sounds like you are on the right track. My Zachary is 17 weeks and will peepee on the pads (indoor dog) when we take him or guide him in to them but hasn't learned to go into the room the pads are in himself. Hang in there. This is the SECOND puppy we have had within a year's time. And, we have 3 dogs under the age of 2 years. It will happen eventually. I have found the biggest problem with a lot of housebreaking is always YELLING at the dog when he makes a mistake. We have found that PRAISING when he does it right makes the difference. Louise and Zachary

06-14-2012, 11:52 AM	#3
Katie Jo Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 60	The book said to just say "no" loud enough to startle them so they stop peeing, then take them outside and let them finish with lots of "good boys". It seems to be working pretty well. Maybe you have some advice on this: Right now I'm on summer vacation and I go back to work in August (ahh the joys of teaching). I'm potty training him based on kind of a hybrid of my school and summer schedule. I wake up early (5:30, around when I will in August), he comes out and gets fed at 11, comes out again at 4 (around the time my husband gets home), and ultimately goes to bed around 9. I won't be able to take him out at 11 like I have been able to. I'm hoping that by the time that rolls around he'll have a little bit better bladder control but probably not Do you have any suggestions for how to transition from the summer schedule to the school year schedule? I don't want to shock his system come August!

06-14-2012, 03:08 PM	#5
Katie Jo Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 60	Yes, I do try again after a few minutes. Generally though, he goes during the scheduled out times, but his accidents happen usually about 30 minutes after we come back in! Here's the crazy schedule: 5:30 Wake up. Go out 5:40 – 6:00 Free period 6:00 Food and water 6:10 Go out 6:30-7:15 Free period 7:15 Confine 11:00 ish- Food and water 11:10 Go out 11:30-12:15 Free Period 12:15 Confine 4:00 Food and water 4:10 Go out 4:30-5:15 Free period 5:15 Confine 7:00 Water 7:15 Go out 7:30-8:00 Free period 8:00 Confine 9:00 Go out. Confine over night

06-15-2012, 06:03 AM	#6
Katie Jo Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 60	He did it again this morning! Twice!! We spent 20 minutes outside this morning-- he peed but as soon as we get inside, he poo's in the house!! I'm going to be out of the house for a little bit today so I took him on a quick (15 minute) walk then let him run around in the yard for a few minutes-- as soon as we get inside he pees on the rug. Ugh! I love him to pieces but I'm sooo frustrated!!!

06-15-2012, 08:32 AM	#7
ancora_imparo YT Addict Join Date: May 2012 Location: Douglasville, GA USA Posts: 354	Ours is 6 months old and still having potty training issues...At this point, with yours, if he is pooping and peeing almost immediately after you bring him inside, either crate him right away or keep his leash on and in your hand/on your belt so you can watch him like a hawk and scoop him up immediately

06-17-2012, 03:31 PM	#8
rocky_jo YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Terre Haute,In,USA Posts: 1	I have a 4 year old yorkie. We moved about a year ago and since the move he will pee in the house when I'm not around. But when I am he will let me know. All the furniture is the same. I started back with the crate when I'm not home for about 3 -4 weeks but still the same thing. I dont know if he is being stubborn or mad.

06-18-2012, 03:57 PM	#12
Katie Jo Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 60	The bad weather is one thing I'm concerned about. In Houston when it rains, it rains and it does not let up. It rained a couple of nights ago and it was torture getting Dexter to go outside, even into the flower beds (which are covered). I just ordered a little play pen thing for him, it should be here by the end of the week. I'm hoping that it helps things somewhat. Shop for this IRIS Indoor/Outdoor Pet Pen in white and more dog pens at Walmart.com. Save money. Live better. Also, I'm pleased to say that yesterday was accident free and I think today will be, too! Yay!

06-22-2012, 09:30 AM	#13
Katie Jo Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 60	No accidents so far I just bought him a pen to use instead of constantly crating him. I'm having a problem with the pads in the pen, though. He gets upset with me when I put him in the pen and he'll start chewing up the pad- shredding it. I've got toys in there (chew toys, balls, etc) and as soon as I remove the pad, he'll play with them. Dunno what to do!!