Does anyone have a Yorkie that is 100% potty trained?

[rachelcb80]

After much debating on which breed to buy, I bought my first Yorkie puppy this weekend. I had read in a few different places that Yorkies were hard to potty train. I didn't really think much of it until I found this forum today and started reading. Apparently they are extremely hard to potty train and that worries me. My husband didn't want a dog but got one for me because I wanted one so badly. His only stipulation was it had to be a breed that didn't shed. If my puppy won't ever become totally potty trained, I don't foresee my husband being real happy about keeping the dog, shedding or not.

Does anyone have a Yorkie that is totally potty trained? And by that I mean they will let you know when they have to go out and will hold it for a reasonable amount of time. Right now I'm taking Max (my puppy) out at least once an hour, to the same spot in the yard. Praising him profusely when he goes outside. I clap my hands and tell him "Bad dog, no, no!" when I've caught him going inside, then take him out to the yard. Of course he doesn't go then because he's already done it in the house. Twice now we've been outside for a long period of time (over an hour) and the moment we come back inside, he goes potty. What's the reasoning for that? At night he's in his crate. The crate is a medium sized one and I put his bed in there on one end and a puppy pad on the other end. Is this a good way to go? That's what he stays in if I have to leave the house too. Am I going about all this the right way? Is there something I'm missing or should be doing differently?

Thanks so much in advance!

[fall0317]

yorkies are very difficult to potty train. my beagan is 9 weeks and he is learning. there are still little accidents in the house, but if you start young and be consistent (like taking them out every half and hour and using the same training word) it won't be as difficult as they make it sound

[Sookie]

Kalina is 6 1/2 months old. She is 100% potty trained. I have to say that I am lucky in that someone is always with her and that definitely helped. We crate trained her. Took her directly from the crate to the back yard. When she peed or pood we would praise her. Before she peed we would say "C'mon and be a good girl" in the same tone of voice we used when we said "Good Girl" after she peed. Sounds crazy, but it worked for us.

She is on the raw food diet, so she doesn't poo as much as other diets. She always does her poo first thing in the morning. She sleeps from 8PM (was 10PM but she goes to bed earlier now) until 7AM. She sleeps on a chair next to my bed and wakes me up every morning like a little alarm clock with a cold nose in my ear. I take her out and she does everything.

I would say in the last month she holds her water a LOT longer than she used to. I can leave her totally alone now in the house and she's not a problem. I do put her in the crate when I have to go out for a longer period of time.

Good luck.

[nvnvgirl]

Yes. I do. My Max is a little over 2 yrs old and he's very good. I won't say he was completely easy to house train; but I will say that he's been good for so long that I really don't remember it being that big of a deal. I think by the time he was a year old he was completely housetrained. He doesn't exactly let you know most of the time when he needs to go out, other than going and sitting by the door...I wish he'd bark or SOMETHING, b/c I get involved doing something else, and eventually look up and there's poor little Max just sitting in front of the door . But I am home most of the time and I make sure that I: 1. Open the door for him before I feed him in the morning ...this is just in case he needs to go immediately when he wakes up. He usually waits until he inhales his morning meal and then IMMEDIATELY runs out to go...and then, throughout the day, I just kind of pay attention to him and if I'm going by the door and he's there, I'll open it up and see if he wants to run out....when he goes and comes back in, I ALWAYS tell him that he's a good boy. I NEVER told him he was bad if he had an accident either. I've read that it really doesn't do any good b/c the act is already done and they've forgotten it. I feel pretty lucky b/c while I was potty training him, we had all tile floors, so at least it wasn't on carpeting.
I think that it helps to get them used to going on different surfaces too; Max had some problems when he was a baby and we went up to my mom's....where we live, the grass is like golf course grass; very very short and sort of smooth....where she is, it was very long, and Max was sort of confused as to whether it was a place to potty or not I think. But now, he'll go almost anywhere outside if he needs to go. He occasionally wakes up in the middle of the night (he sleeps with me, so I know when he wakes up) and I just get up and let him out the slider; he runs out, does his buisiness and comes right back in. I think it would be more difficult if he didn't sleep with us, since he doesn't usually bark to go out, it might have resulted in more "accidents". I always let him out just before we go to bed...sometimes he goes, sometimes he doesn't. I just think it's really paying attention to when they usually go, and watching their body language just before they go, you'll have more success. Also, different weather conditions are good to get them used to too....we are stuck in a place where it rarely rains or is really bitterly cold, so when we go somewhere that it is, it takes some adustment for Max...he isn't too excited about going out in the pouring rain, but he does it! Good luck (sorry this is so long, but this is what worked for us).

[Erin]

Yes, but it depends on what you consider a reasonable amount of time

Loki asks to go out and when he is active he asks every hour. When he naps (half the day) it could be like 3 hours. When I have to crate him he can hold it at least 5. He is 3, and has been trained since he was about 10 months.

We didn't get Sammy until she was almost a year old. 6 months later she is *almost* trained but not quite there yet. She knows what to do and she will ask but if we don't get it she will just go in a corner somewhere rather than continue to try to get our attention. We are working on it.

Loki rings a bell to go out and if I don't respond he will come find me. Sam barks, spins in a circle, looks at the door, paces, or about 15 other things she randomly chooses to let us know. She occasionally rings the bell.

Also - mine sleep through the night, but Loki didn't until he was almost a year old. We always had to take him out an extra time at night.

[LIL MIS' MAGIC]

Both of our girls are 100% potty trained and have been since they were about 10/11 months. They are both now 3 years old and have not had an accident in a really long time. The only time we have trouble is on rainy days, they don't like to potty outside, so we put down a pee pad and they are just fine for the day. We leave the girls out in the living room/kitchen area while we are at work and they are perfectly fine and hold it until we get back. We have a doggie door that is open while we are at home, so they don't have to tell us when they have to go.

I wouldn't say our girls were hard to train, it just took a lot of hard work and patience but it was well worth not having to worry about anything now.

Our boys on the other hand, while they were very easier to train...they are intact so they have a tendency to mark in the house sometimes. So they wear belly bands and are put up while we are gone. This has really worked for us...

Yorkies are trainable, you just have to be constant and patience and understand that they will have accidents from time to time!!

[LuvtheCooper]

I also have two that are completely and totally potty trained. No accidents ever! Cooper was easy to train, I did what you are describing, I took him to the same place every time and praised him and watched him like a hawk inside and said "NO" loudly and carried him outside when I caught him trying to go inside. Of course, I was home with him all the time and was able to train him completely in a couple of months. Carley was a little harder, she was pee pad trained when I got her and we had to make the transition to outside potty, but with constant supervision we got it done. We also have a potty bell on the door and Cooper will ring that if I am not paying attention, we reinforce this everytime by saying "outside" and ringing the bell as we go. We still do this. Carley "chirps" at us when she needs to go out. "Outside" is our key word and we say it every time, still to this day and Cooper is almost two years old. It can be done

[zoeybear]

I was also concerned about training because I was told it might be difficult. Zoey was started on pee pads before we got her. She was fully trained by the time she was 4 months. We used food rewards and positive reinforcement. We put up baby gates to limit the area she had access to. (Only one room until she was trained). I ignored the accidents and didnt scold, just rewarded every time she went on the pee pad. I was home (not working) so I could really be deligent about the training. I think that is key. You have to watch like a hawk!
I think if you do 2 things you will be successful.

Limit the area &
Positive reinforcement

Good luck.

[JCarlson2004]

I have 3 dogs ... a Yorkie, a Maltese and a Chihuahua. All were 100% potty trained before they turned 1 year old. It's hard but it can be done.

[Mybabyboymax]

Max is completely potty trained (he is going on 11 months), but its to a wee wee pad not outdoors. whenever he needs to go...he walks to his pad and goes. I couldnt do the walking him outside thing especially when I was in school so we decided on the pad and thats where he goes. I didnt have to train him myself, when we brought him home the very first day he did pee and poop on the pad and has been doing it ever since. I was very lucky in the potty training area. And he came from a petshop (I know now how bad that is ) usually petshop puppies are harder to train since they are use to sleeping and pooping in the same spot. Some yorkies do take a while but more than not they eventually get trained

[browniesmom622]

all 3 of my boys are 100000000000000% potty trained

[patty58]

My Murfee is totally potty trained and has been since about 6 months old..he's 4 now. He was very easy to train but I was with him all the time and watched him like a hawk. If he would get the "look" I would take him outside. When he went inside I would firmly tell him no and take him outside. He is not crated and never has been. He has slept with me since we got him at 7 weeks old and never has peed in the bed. I sure hope I am not jinxing myself by bragging on him like I am Good luck.

[FL Tink]

We crated until she got it down. Now she has her own doggie door that fits in the sliding glass door and one for the screen that goes around our pool. Thank Goodness she goes out whenever she is ready. I never even think about it anymore

[marcerella02]

Layla is 100% potty trained. i kept her crate (where she slept at night) small... i packed towels in the back to limit her space so that she could only stand up and turn around. Also she uses a bell. it is hung on the front door and i would ring it every time we went out, and now she knows to ring it. It works great for us because when i'm in the family room i can't see the door but i can hear the bell they are tough to train but it is possible to have a dog that is 100% trained. just keep in mind, Layla is 18 months and will STILL pee a bit if she gets overly excited... that isn't the same as having an accident... if we are going to have company or another dog is going to come over. we meet outside so her piddle happens out there. you can't get mad if he does that... because he isnt' even aware he is peeing

[uiucpeng]

Originally Posted by rachelcb80

I clap my hands and tell him "Bad dog, no, no!" when I've caught him going inside, then take him out to the yard. Of course he doesn't go then because he's already done it in the house. Twice now we've been outside for a long period of time (over an hour) and the moment we come back inside, he goes potty. What's the reasoning for that? At night he's in his crate. The crate is a medium sized one and I put his bed in there on one end and a puppy pad on the other end. Is this a good way to go? That's what he stays in if I have to leave the house too. Am I going about all this the right way? Is there something I'm missing or should be doing differently?

Thanks so much in advance!

Hi, first of all, congratulations on getting your new Yorkie =) I'm also going through the same training as you, and from what I read, I think there can be two areas where you can improve on based on my readings.

First of all, when you go out to take him to potty, do not go out for a long period of time. If it's about time for him to go potty, take him out side, give him about 10 minutes max, and if he doesn't potty, come back in, put him back in his crate, wait another 10 minutes, and go out for 10 minutes or so. Do not play with him or walk him when you go out side. He has to know that he's going outside to potty, not to play. 1 hour is way too long, you have to make it short out side. If he does potty outside, praise him, and bring him back in to your house. And then you can take him outside to play if you want to.

Secondly, your crate is too big. The crate has to be just big enough for him to stand up and turn around. I have a 18inch crate (smallest I could find), I think you can go for the smallest crate if your yorkie is about 3 pound or so. Do not put the pee-pad in the crate. Crate is a place he is not supposed to pee/poo, it's his little room for sleeping. The idea of putting him in the crate if he doesn't potty out side is based on the fact that he will not potty in his crate.

If you need to confine him into an area, where he can freely use a pee-pad, I recommend you getting a playpen/x-pen. You can get 3x3 or 4x4ft pen. Inside, you can put his crate where he can sleep, and if he needs to potty, he'll come outside of his crate and potty inside the pen area, hopefully where the pee-pad is. This is what I have setup, he's never gone potty inside his crate. He does miss the pee-pad every now and then, but he always at least potties inside the pen.

Also, signs to look for - if he's sniffing the floor around, occasionally looking up and around, it's a sign he has to potty. Immediately take him outside, and watch him sniff around outside to find the right spot and potty.

When he poops, he'll usually sniff around a bit, and right before he poops, he'll spread his hindlegs apart a little, bum a little above the ground. Immediately pick him up and put him on the pad (you probably won't have enough time to take him outside at this point).

Also, if you're a little late to the action and he's in the process of peeing/pooing, just say "go potty" in a soft excited tone. He'll associate that word with going potty. After he gets used to the potty command, you can take him outside and say "go potty", he'll do it eventually. Make sure you say the same potty command whenever he's in action.

If you want more information, you can look up "crate training" on the web. Hope this helps =)