Potty Training help

[Buddah<3r]

I am having a problem correcting Buddahs potty accidents because he is doing them either when I am not around or when I cannot see him, so I do not find it until later and the "no" doesnt really have the same effect. I know that he knows he isnt supposed to do it because when I am in the room he wouldnt dare. For instance one of his new fav places to go is in the kitchen or right outside of the kitchen in the hallway. When I am in there cooking he makes sure to walk outside and go, but soon as im in the living room he pees in there! I live in an apartment so it is hard to block him off because all the rooms are like one big room.

Any Advice?

[Ladylavender]

It's pretty simple:

NEVER EVER take your eyes off him. If he is allowed free range of your home, you need to be absolutely in constant vigilance of his activities. If you are watching him 100% of the time he is left to roam free, you WILL catch him in the act and you can begin to reprimand him and teach him where he is allowed to go.

For those times you cannot keep you eye on him (i.e. cooking, bathing, etc) x-pen him or crate him.

These are your only options to successfully housebreak your puppy.

[Buddah<3r]

I feel so bad putting him in his x-pen because he is in there all day while im at work.

When I put him in there he crys and barks non-stop if I'm not in my bedroom. It makes it impossible if I have company over and seriously annoying if I am trying to cook or read.

[Ladylavender]

There are some things you are going to have to sacrifice if you want a housebroken puppy.

1. You may have to move his x-pen out into the living room where all the activity is and he can see you. Make sure he has things to keep him occupied in the x-pen.

2. Since he is in it all day while you are at work, you need to limit the time he is in there while you are home. You need to give up some "me" time and spend it instead watching his every move.

3. Read a book? Until he is fully trained you are going to have to put off book reading until your puppy has been put to bed for the night and you are going to bed.

4. You are just going to have to restructure your life to accomodate your puppy, friends included.

Puppies are a lot of work. You have to pay attention to them every waking moment. You need to be focused on his training and make that the priority in your and his life.

Please understand, that this is only temporary. But training includes many other things beside just housebreaking. Your puppy has to be trained to behave, to wait for things to accept his x-pen, to have proper manners. If you ignor these things right off you are going to have problems for the rest of your life. BUT if you make the sacrifice now, you will have a lovely companion that you can truely enjoy by the time he is 1 or 2 years old.

[FirstYorkie]

I agree with the above. You have to keep an eagle-eye at all times.

The other thing I'd like to say is this. Be careful. By reprimanding him when he potties (even a sharp "no" is enough in some dogs), I'm afraid that you've taught him that it isn't safe to potty around you. That's why he won't go when you're in the room.

If you catch him pottying inappropriately, pick him up and quickly take him to the appropriate spot. If he finishes there, yippee! Smart puppy! Time for a party. Other than that, you really can't "correct" his accidents. There is absolutely nothing you can do if you find an accident after-the-fact except sigh and vow to watch him closer.

What you really want to do is to try to set him up for success and catch him being successful as often as possible. Give him really yummy treats when he gets it right and loads and loads of excited little-girl voice praise.

[Buddah<3r]

Originally Posted by Ladylavender

There are some things you are going to have to sacrifice if you want a housebroken puppy.

1. You may have to move his x-pen out into the living room where all the activity is and he can see you. Make sure he has things to keep him occupied in the x-pen.

2. Since he is in it all day while you are at work, you need to limit the time he is in there while you are home. You need to give up some "me" time and spend it instead watching his every move.

3. Read a book? Until he is fully trained you are going to have to put off book reading until your puppy has been put to bed for the night and you are going to bed.

4. You are just going to have to restructure your life to accomodate your puppy, friends included.

Puppies are a lot of work. You have to pay attention to them every waking moment. You need to be focused on his training and make that the priority in your and his life.

Please understand, that this is only temporary. But training includes many other things beside just housebreaking. Your puppy has to be trained to behave, to wait for things to accept his x-pen, to have proper manners. If you ignor these things right off you are going to have problems for the rest of your life. BUT if you make the sacrifice now, you will have a lovely companion that you can truely enjoy by the time he is 1 or 2 years old.

I'm sorry if I am taking your advice the wrong way, but it kind of put me on the defensive.

1. I have given up ALL of my me time. I dont go anywhere after work that I cannot take him. I dont watch TV and I dont do leisure anything. My time is spent with him. However not everyone is retired, has a maid, or a cook and there are just some things that HAVE to be done.

I cannot not move his pen because as I explained I live in an apartment where every room is the same room except my bedroom. I cant put him in there because he crys all night while I'm sleeping.

He has MANY MANY toys, chews, food, water, blankets, bed and anything else he could want (me excluded in his x-pen)

The problem I am having is he is holding it until the right moment that I have to answer the phone or go to the rest room, make a sandwich anything. He doesnt even go the rest of the time I am with him or watching him.

Again i am sorry if I took your post the wrong way, but it seems sometimes on this site it is hard to ask for help or advice because you feel attacked. Like im so neglectful and a bad pet owner! If I was I wouldnt waste my time trying to figure out how to fix these issues the right way. I don't think it is fair to jump to assumptions.

[mistyinca]

The best bet is to start crating him. Even if he cries, if you ignore the cries for a while, he'll stop. You cannot take him out unless he's quiet or it teaches him that crying gets him out.

OK. So now, when you can't watch him, and of course there are times you can't watch him. You have things to do and there will always be times when you can't have your eyes on him 100%. So during those times, crate him.

Now. What you do then, is take him out to potty, and if he goes potty, then he gets to be "free". If he doesn't potty, in the crate. Try again in 1/2 hour. Take him out only if he's not crying. If he's crying, wait until he stops. Take him outside or to the pee pad (whichever you do) and have him potty. Again, if he does, he's "free" if not, back in the crate.

It seems mean, but they really catch on pretty fast.

hope this helps.

PS...I sent you a pm, but it shows you haven't gotten it yet check your pm box!

[carladean]

I agree with the crating suggestion above. I tried this on a weekend when I had more time with her. . It didn't totally train her, but it got us started in a good direction.

And I know what you mean about feeling guilty 'cos they are in a pen/crate all day. Molly is in a crate while I work all day. I felt the same way (still do sometimes) but there are times I've got other things to do and can't watch her 100%. If I crate her for a 30 minutes, I can get some of my stuff done, then spend one-on-one time with her. She may be back in the crate after that again for me to get a few more things done, but then she's back out for playtime with me. The time that she is out now is getting longer and longer as I can trust her a little bit...not on the carpet though!! I'm not that brave yet!

Good luck, and let me know how it goes!!

Carla

[Buddah<3r]

Originally Posted by mistyinca

The best bet is to start crating him. Even if he cries, if you ignore the cries for a while, he'll stop. You cannot take him out unless he's quiet or it teaches him that crying gets him out.

OK. So now, when you can't watch him, and of course there are times you can't watch him. You have things to do and there will always be times when you can't have your eyes on him 100%. So during those times, crate him.

Now. What you do then, is take him out to potty, and if he goes potty, then he gets to be "free". If he doesn't potty, in the crate. Try again in 1/2 hour. Take him out only if he's not crying. If he's crying, wait until he stops. Take him outside or to the pee pad (whichever you do) and have him potty. Again, if he does, he's "free" if not, back in the crate.

It seems mean, but they really catch on pretty fast.

hope this helps.

PS...I sent you a pm, but it shows you haven't gotten it yet check your pm box!

What about during my time at work? I cant let him out every couple of hours. I do go home for lunch but it isnt always at the right time. I work in sales so
I go when I get a free moment and on the weekends I am not allowed to leave. Should I just put him in his xpen? he does fine with going outside while he is in there (i have it attached to my sliding glass door so he can go on the porch I have his potty pad out there.)

Would this work the same if I keep him in the xpen or it needs to be a crate?

I got your pm on my email THank you!

[mistyinca]

Originally Posted by Buddah<3r

What about during my time at work? I cant let him out every couple of hours. I do go home for lunch but it isnt always at the right time. I work in sales so
I go when I get a free moment and on the weekends I am not allowed to leave. Should I just put him in his xpen? he does fine with going outside while he is in there (i have it attached to my sliding glass door so he can go on the porch I have his potty pad out there.)

Would this work the same if I keep him in the xpen or it needs to be a crate?

I got your pm on my email THank you!

I would leave him in the xpen while you're gone.

[Its Destiny]

A dog kennel works great. If you can get a BIG dog kennel, and have a pee pad in it it will work good or If he isn't neutered he may be marking his territory. If he is neutered it just might be that he can't controll his bladder.

[gcook]

I have a small crate from Big Lots. It probably is big enough for a 20lb dog, while mine is 3lbs. When she was smaller I made the crate 1/2 the size with a cardboard box. Basically I just shoved it in there and created a "wall" so she didn't have room to sleep and pee.

She has reverted a few times, so we had to recrate her for like a week. She loves her crate, and she goes in there when she wants to sleep... So her crate is her bed and when she needs to be confined we re-confine her at night or in the day so she can have a refresher on holding her pee.

[carladean]

Originally Posted by gcook

I have a small crate from Big Lots. It probably is big enough for a 20lb dog, while mine is 3lbs. When she was smaller I made the crate 1/2 the size with a cardboard box. Basically I just shoved it in there and created a "wall" so she didn't have room to sleep and pee.

She has reverted a few times, so we had to recrate her for like a week. She loves her crate, and she goes in there when she wants to sleep... So her crate is her bed and when she needs to be confined we re-confine her at night or in the day so she can have a refresher on holding her pee.

Did she not chew on the box? I need to divide Molly's and see if that helps her while she's in her crate. I had tried rolling up towels, but she just pulls them down.

Thanks!

Carla

[Lorna]

Originally Posted by Buddah<3r

I am having a problem correcting Buddahs potty accidents because he is doing them either when I am not around or when I cannot see him, so I do not find it until later and the "no" doesnt really have the same effect. I know that he knows he isnt supposed to do it because when I am in the room he wouldnt dare. For instance one of his new fav places to go is in the kitchen or right outside of the kitchen in the hallway. When I am in there cooking he makes sure to walk outside and go, but soon as im in the living room he pees in there! I live in an apartment so it is hard to block him off because all the rooms are like one big room.

Any Advice?

Yorkie's are hard to housebreak. I have the same problem with Kayli. She picks the dining room to do her poo pooh and occasionally pees. She knows better! I let her outside about every 2 hours and she goes. Still the accidents, at least every other day. I'm so glad I have hardwood floors! Kayli is a year old. Her mother, Savannah, has far fewer accidents, but she's 3 years old now.

[Buddah<3r]

I thought they were supposed to like their crates or xpan. One I let buddah out he only goes back in to eat or drink. If he naps he jumps on the couch or on the floor somewhere. 'm not sure why since he has a great cushy little bed in his xpen