Hard to Housebreak! - YorkieTalk.com Forums

shecass · 08-22-2005, 01:43 PM

I was looking on petfinder at some of the yorkie rescues that they have available. They say on there that yorkies are extremely hard to housebreak. I personally have never had trouble housebreaking a yorkie and I've done 2 soon to be 3. I even had one when she got older I would put her in the bathroom during the day and she would jump over in the bathtub and do her business.

Mollie is 1 1/2 years old and the only time over the last year that she has had an accident was while she was pregnant and I couldn't get her out in time.

Anyone else have hard time with housebreaking. I know all dogs are different. Just out of curoisity I was wondering who had a really hard time with it and who hasn't.

Sheila

cowboy_0215 · 08-22-2005, 02:10 PM

Yes, I feel like I have had a hard time. Cowboy used to go on his potty pad. Now he doesn't want to, instead he likes to shredd it into little pieces. So I thought I would try the doggie litter(He eats it, so I quit using that), in addition to going outside. I need for him to have a place if I have to be gone to work. He stays in his crate at night with no problems. I put him in a gated off bathroom if I can't watch him during the day. He does really good for weeks and then he will have an accident in the house. My husband thinks I need to just let him run around in the house all of the time and that will housebreak him faster. But I have read alot about housebreaking and that is not what they tell you to do. So how did you housebreak yours? By the way I have never housebroke a dog before, this is my first. I have always had cats and outside dogs. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

shecass · 08-22-2005, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cowboy_0215

Yes, I feel like I have had a hard time. Cowboy used to go on his potty pad. Now he doesn't want to, instead he likes to shredd it into little pieces. So I thought I would try the doggie litter(He eats it, so I quit using that), in addition to going outside. I need for him to have a place if I have to be gone to work. He stays in his crate at night with no problems. I put him in a gated off bathroom if I can't watch him during the day. He does really good for weeks and then he will have an accident in the house. My husband thinks I need to just let him run around in the house all of the time and that will housebreak him faster. But I have read alot about housebreaking and that is not what they tell you to do. So how did you housebreak yours? By the way I have never housebroke a dog before, this is my first. I have always had cats and outside dogs. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I used the crate during the day. I never used the pads, to me it's like putting pull-ups on kids when you are trying to potty train them. I don't mean to make anyone mad, this is just my preference. But, I'm a housewife/student, so I have a weird schedule. I'm home some days and others I gone all day or most of the day. Mollie sleeps with us at night when she was a puppy she would wake me up licking me letting me know that she had to go out. The rest of the time I crate trained her. I would put you little one in a crate as well while I was gone during the day. Most dogs will not go to the bathroom so close to where they sleep. Then as soon as you get home let him out to go to the bathroom. Sometimes if I would catch Mollie as she was going to the bathroom before I got her housebroken I would say in a stearn voice bad dog and she would quit what she was doing and I would take her outside. Also take them out immediately after they have an accident in the house this way they will associate that with going outside and doing their business.

I hope this helps and that these are things that you haven't already tried.

How old is he? Some may just take longer than others to housebreak. Patience and consistency is the key. Just like when you potty train your children if you have any.

Godd Luck. Let me know if you have any other questions and I will help as much as I can.

Sheila

chloeandj · 08-22-2005, 04:24 PM

We are doing VERY well, Tinkerbell is almost 8 months old. She's probably had 2 accidents in 2 months. But like you I have had small dogs before and I am well aware of how long it takes and how much patience and dedication it takes as compared to say a golden retriever who probably do not take 6-8 months to get the hang of potty training. To someone who has not had a yorkie before it may be a suprise and overwhelming. Quite a few people give up on their little dog when it takes too long to potty train, we have seen some of these kinds of posts on here in the last few months. I don't blame petfinder for stating this, they want the dog to find a forever home who will not give up on it if it has potty issues. Most rehomed dogs need to be re trained too.

jwash · 08-22-2005, 04:30 PM

I think small dogs in general might be harder to housetrain because their organs are smaller but it isn't their fault, it is ours, either we cannot take them outside often or cannot watch them constantly and let them have run of the house or we don't give them enough attention and yorkies particularly are smart enough to get our attention, even if it means an accident. My two were pretty easy compared to a lot of others because I am retired. I literally took Chloe outside every 30-45 minuts, 24/7 at the beginning and after playtime eating or sleeping. My husband kids about hearing me say "potty NOW" to Chloe outside the bedroom window at 3a.m. and my neighbor kids about seeing me in the rain. If she was not in my sight, she was in her crate. I did not pee pad either Chloe or Lacey. As a rule, I think puppies can hold their waste their age plus one hour. So a two month old would be able to hold it three hours. Chloe was trained by about 7 months. Lacey, who is very tiny, actually was easier because she followed Chloe but I arranged her kennel where she could get to a pee pad during the night just in case. She didn't use it though. You can try to encourage by using a growling, low voice, use the same words all the time and give your puppy a treat, I used Honey nut Cheerios and actually broke them in half at first. I even use different treats for different behavior, like tricks, small pieces of slice apples, potty is Cheerios. Once your puppy goes outside, pitch your voice higher and get very excited, praise and treat. Hope this helps. Good luck.

Texas Yorkie · 08-22-2005, 04:55 PM

Harley is only 4 months old so he's got a way to go, but he's been doing alot better for the past few weeks. I was getting frustrated with him there for awhile. I have a 2 year old mini schnauzer who was a breeze to potty train however for about a week now I've been finding HUGE pee spots on my carpet thinking it was Harley but yesterday I caught the schnauzer going on the carpet. I can't figure out what in the world has gotten into her. She has been accident free for way over a year. The only thing I can figure is she's jealous of cute 'lil Harley. I've been making such a big hoopla over him going outside I guess she's wanting some attention too. Do dogs get jealous and do stuff like that?

eshuser · 08-22-2005, 05:04 PM

Callie is by far the hardest one I have ever tried to train. I crate trained all my dogs and she did great for a while now it's terrible. I don't know what to do with her...she's REALLY starting to upset my husband and he can't take much more. We need help!!

eensor · 08-22-2005, 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shecass

I was looking on petfinder at some of the yorkie rescues that they have available. They say on there that yorkies are extremely hard to housebreak. I personally have never had trouble housebreaking a yorkie and I've done 2 soon to be 3. I even had one when she got older I would put her in the bathroom during the day and she would jump over in the bathtub and do her business.

Mollie is 1 1/2 years old and the only time over the last year that she has had an accident was while she was pregnant and I couldn't get her out in time.

Anyone else have hard time with housebreaking. I know all dogs are different. Just out of curoisity I was wondering who had a really hard time with it and who hasn't.

Sheila

Sheila...can Lexy come to potty training camp at your house?

Texas Yorkie · 08-22-2005, 05:07 PM

Another comment on this subject ... I've been wondering if female's are easier to housebreak than males regardless of the breed. Just curious if the difference in my two were because they were different breeds or since the female was easier if it was a gender thing. Anyone have any comparison between male/female yorkies?

teri88 · 08-23-2005, 09:17 AM

If Tucker was house broken he would be the perfect dog! He drives me crazy because he will go outside, then come in the house and go again. It's like he "saves some". We also have pee pads in the house and maybe half the time he will go on the pee pad, so I KNOW he knows what it's for. Then the other half he goes where ever he feels like it. He has never gone in his crate and he holds it all night with no problem. But, during the day it is a free for all. He'll even squat right in front of me and go like it's no big deal.

shecass · 08-23-2005, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eensor

Sheila...can Lexy come to potty training camp at your house?

Sure the more the merrier.

shecass · 08-23-2005, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Texas Yorkie

Another comment on this subject ... I've been wondering if female's are easier to housebreak than males regardless of the breed. Just curious if the difference in my two were because they were different breeds or since the female was easier if it was a gender thing. Anyone have any comparison between male/female yorkies?

I really use to think that but, Bailey a yorkie that we had before Mollie I still miss him he got hit by a car. Anyway, he wasn't as difficult as I thought he would be. He was my middle son's we got him for him when he was 12 or 13 anyway. My son would put him in the garage before he went to school of the morning and my husband was working 2nd shift then so when he got up he would let him out to go to the bathroom and my son was home from school just right after my husband left. There are 2 times I can remember him having accidents in the house and really neither was his fault. The first my son didn't put him in the garage and left him in the bed with my husband 1 morning & he hiked his leg on a pillow that was laying in the floor so I got mad at my son. He tried to blame it on our other dog but seeing as how she is a female well that didn't wash. The 2nd time was right after we moved in this house and he had gotten in something and had diahrreah so I didn't say anything to him I just cleaned it up.

Sorry, I didn't mean to ramble. My experience was that he didn't take long at all to housebreak. Now we are keeping one of Mollie's babies a little boy so I will let you know how it goes with him. Wish me luck.

Sorry this one was so long.

Sheila

Crazy4Carlee · 08-23-2005, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by teri88

If Tucker was house broken he would be the perfect dog! He drives me crazy because he will go outside, then come in the house and go again. It's like he "saves some". We also have pee pads in the house and maybe half the time he will go on the pee pad, so I KNOW he knows what it's for. Then the other half he goes where ever he feels like it. He has never gone in his crate and he holds it all night with no problem. But, during the day it is a free for all. He'll even squat right in front of me and go like it's no big deal.

This discribes Carlee to a "T". Another thing she does is when I let her outside, she does nothing but root up crickets so, thinking she doesn't need to go, I'll bring her back in and THEN she goes, unfortunately, not on the pee pad!

vms1177 · 08-23-2005, 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shecass

I used the crate during the day. I never used the pads, to me it's like putting pull-ups on kids when you are trying to potty train them. I don't mean to make anyone mad, this is just my preference. But, I'm a housewife/student, so I have a weird schedule. I'm home some days and others I gone all day or most of the day. Mollie sleeps with us at night when she was a puppy she would wake me up licking me letting me know that she had to go out. The rest of the time I crate trained her. I would put you little one in a crate as well while I was gone during the day. Most dogs will not go to the bathroom so close to where they sleep. Then as soon as you get home let him out to go to the bathroom. Sometimes if I would catch Mollie as she was going to the bathroom before I got her housebroken I would say in a stearn voice bad dog and she would quit what she was doing and I would take her outside. Also take them out immediately after they have an accident in the house this way they will associate that with going outside and doing their business.

I hope this helps and that these are things that you haven't already tried.

How old is he? Some may just take longer than others to housebreak. Patience and consistency is the key. Just like when you potty train your children if you have any.

Godd Luck. Let me know if you have any other questions and I will help as much as I can.

Sheila, You give me some hope because I am also a housewife/student and I am trying to housebreak 2 yorkies right now I have had them for about 10 weeks. I take them out about every hour and crate them at night. I have them in the kitchen only. That is the only place thats not carpeted. Mandy is 7 months Jack is almost 4 months. I am starting school in a week and I was hoping I would be further ahead then I am because of my consistency. But they have is atleast one accident a day. I really hope that my steadfastness will pay off. Because from what I hear and researched its not the dogs that are hard to housebreak its the determination and consistency of their owners. Especially small dogs because they pee and poop such small amounts that owners are less bothered by the messess. If it where up to me I would use both methods pads and outside. However I don't live alone my husband would never go for that. So i am trying my darndest to housebreak them and hopefully by this time next year my hard work will have paid off.

Jack and Mandy's Mom

Sheila

River · 08-23-2005, 02:52 PM

My first dog was a toy poodle(6lbs) and she was almost 8 months when I got her. She was pretty easy. Crates weren't used much back then. My second dog was a shepherd/wolfhound cross and she was the smartest dog. We got her at 8wks and she was completely trained in 3 days. Never made a mistake unless she was sick. Next dog was a golden retriever. Don't get me wrong, I love her to death, but she is dumber than dirt and she was REALLY hard to get completely trained (about 4 months). Once she got it she was fine, just took a while for her to understand. We used to say that she was behind the door when the brains were passed out, but she got double loving nature! She was the first dog I tried with the crate and she hated it because she is claustrophobic. Next dog was the Jack Russell terrier. Smart, just not real quick to please people. She took a while, about 3 months to get completely trained. She knew what to do, just wasn't interested in pleasing me. I used a crate with her and it was a huge help. Next dog, a German Shepherd. He was a pretty quick study. He had it down in about a month. He was also crate trained. He still sleeps in his crate by his own choice. I was hoping I could get rid of that particular part of my decor in my family room, an extra large vari kennel pretty much sticks out like a sore thumb, but he loves it so much I feel like I'd be taking away his house, so it stays. Now I'm training my Yorkie. He's pretty smart, but up until the last week or so I always had the feeling that he really just wasn't interested in the training. I use the crate when I'm not home and he is only allowed in the family room when we are here. I've kept consistent and it's just now starting to pay off. He's 6 months old now and doing much better in the last week. My husband was really starting to get on my case about Indy and the house breaking, but i just tell him to be quiet because his dog (the shepherd) had accidents too, and I am the one that cleans up after ALL of the dogs. Sorry this is long, but I've really found out that it's the dog's personality and his desire to please people that plays a huge part in house training. If you're consistent, you'll get there, some are just longer than others.

08-22-2005, 01:43 PM	#1
shecass YT 2000 Club Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: North wilkesboro, NC Posts: 2,785	Hard to Housebreak! I was looking on petfinder at some of the yorkie rescues that they have available. They say on there that yorkies are extremely hard to housebreak. I personally have never had trouble housebreaking a yorkie and I've done 2 soon to be 3. I even had one when she got older I would put her in the bathroom during the day and she would jump over in the bathtub and do her business. Mollie is 1 1/2 years old and the only time over the last year that she has had an accident was while she was pregnant and I couldn't get her out in time. Anyone else have hard time with housebreaking. I know all dogs are different. Just out of curoisity I was wondering who had a really hard time with it and who hasn't. Sheila

08-22-2005, 02:10 PM	#2
cowboy_0215 Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Texas Posts: 103	Yes, I feel like I have had a hard time. Cowboy used to go on his potty pad. Now he doesn't want to, instead he likes to shredd it into little pieces. So I thought I would try the doggie litter(He eats it, so I quit using that), in addition to going outside. I need for him to have a place if I have to be gone to work. He stays in his crate at night with no problems. I put him in a gated off bathroom if I can't watch him during the day. He does really good for weeks and then he will have an accident in the house. My husband thinks I need to just let him run around in the house all of the time and that will housebreak him faster. But I have read alot about housebreaking and that is not what they tell you to do. So how did you housebreak yours? By the way I have never housebroke a dog before, this is my first. I have always had cats and outside dogs. Any suggestions would be appreciated. __________________ COWBOY'S MOM

08-22-2005, 04:55 PM	#6
Texas Yorkie Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Texas Posts: 78	Harley is only 4 months old so he's got a way to go, but he's been doing alot better for the past few weeks. I was getting frustrated with him there for awhile. I have a 2 year old mini schnauzer who was a breeze to potty train however for about a week now I've been finding HUGE pee spots on my carpet thinking it was Harley but yesterday I caught the schnauzer going on the carpet. I can't figure out what in the world has gotten into her. She has been accident free for way over a year. The only thing I can figure is she's jealous of cute 'lil Harley. I've been making such a big hoopla over him going outside I guess she's wanting some attention too. Do dogs get jealous and do stuff like that? __________________ Diane and Harley

08-22-2005, 05:04 PM	#7
eshuser YT Addict Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: SE Kansas Posts: 276	Callie is by far the hardest one I have ever tried to train. I crate trained all my dogs and she did great for a while now it's terrible. I don't know what to do with her...she's REALLY starting to upset my husband and he can't take much more. We need help!! __________________ Emily & Callie

08-22-2005, 05:07 PM	#9
Texas Yorkie Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Texas Posts: 78	Another comment on this subject ... I've been wondering if female's are easier to housebreak than males regardless of the breed. Just curious if the difference in my two were because they were different breeds or since the female was easier if it was a gender thing. Anyone have any comparison between male/female yorkies? __________________ Diane and Harley

08-22-2005, 04:24 PM	#4
chloeandj Tinkerbell, My Little Flutterpup Donating Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Beautiful California! Posts: 6,112	We are doing VERY well, Tinkerbell is almost 8 months old. She's probably had 2 accidents in 2 months. But like you I have had small dogs before and I am well aware of how long it takes and how much patience and dedication it takes as compared to say a golden retriever who probably do not take 6-8 months to get the hang of potty training. To someone who has not had a yorkie before it may be a suprise and overwhelming. Quite a few people give up on their little dog when it takes too long to potty train, we have seen some of these kinds of posts on here in the last few months. I don't blame petfinder for stating this, they want the dog to find a forever home who will not give up on it if it has potty issues. Most rehomed dogs need to be re trained too.

08-22-2005, 04:30 PM	#5
jwash YT 500 Club Member Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 723	I think small dogs in general might be harder to housetrain because their organs are smaller but it isn't their fault, it is ours, either we cannot take them outside often or cannot watch them constantly and let them have run of the house or we don't give them enough attention and yorkies particularly are smart enough to get our attention, even if it means an accident. My two were pretty easy compared to a lot of others because I am retired. I literally took Chloe outside every 30-45 minuts, 24/7 at the beginning and after playtime eating or sleeping. My husband kids about hearing me say "potty NOW" to Chloe outside the bedroom window at 3a.m. and my neighbor kids about seeing me in the rain. If she was not in my sight, she was in her crate. I did not pee pad either Chloe or Lacey. As a rule, I think puppies can hold their waste their age plus one hour. So a two month old would be able to hold it three hours. Chloe was trained by about 7 months. Lacey, who is very tiny, actually was easier because she followed Chloe but I arranged her kennel where she could get to a pee pad during the night just in case. She didn't use it though. You can try to encourage by using a growling, low voice, use the same words all the time and give your puppy a treat, I used Honey nut Cheerios and actually broke them in half at first. I even use different treats for different behavior, like tricks, small pieces of slice apples, potty is Cheerios. Once your puppy goes outside, pitch your voice higher and get very excited, praise and treat. Hope this helps. Good luck.

08-23-2005, 09:17 AM	#10
teri88 Donating YT 3000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: NJ Posts: 4,021	If Tucker was house broken he would be the perfect dog! He drives me crazy because he will go outside, then come in the house and go again. It's like he "saves some". We also have pee pads in the house and maybe half the time he will go on the pee pad, so I KNOW he knows what it's for. Then the other half he goes where ever he feels like it. He has never gone in his crate and he holds it all night with no problem. But, during the day it is a free for all. He'll even squat right in front of me and go like it's no big deal. __________________ Teri Owned by and completely devoted to Tucker... Maddie, we will always love you *Bandit, you are always in my heart* Proud Member SSLS

08-23-2005, 02:52 PM	#15
River Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: PA Posts: 188	My first dog was a toy poodle(6lbs) and she was almost 8 months when I got her. She was pretty easy. Crates weren't used much back then. My second dog was a shepherd/wolfhound cross and she was the smartest dog. We got her at 8wks and she was completely trained in 3 days. Never made a mistake unless she was sick. Next dog was a golden retriever. Don't get me wrong, I love her to death, but she is dumber than dirt and she was REALLY hard to get completely trained (about 4 months). Once she got it she was fine, just took a while for her to understand. We used to say that she was behind the door when the brains were passed out, but she got double loving nature! She was the first dog I tried with the crate and she hated it because she is claustrophobic. Next dog was the Jack Russell terrier. Smart, just not real quick to please people. She took a while, about 3 months to get completely trained. She knew what to do, just wasn't interested in pleasing me. I used a crate with her and it was a huge help. Next dog, a German Shepherd. He was a pretty quick study. He had it down in about a month. He was also crate trained. He still sleeps in his crate by his own choice. I was hoping I could get rid of that particular part of my decor in my family room, an extra large vari kennel pretty much sticks out like a sore thumb, but he loves it so much I feel like I'd be taking away his house, so it stays. Now I'm training my Yorkie. He's pretty smart, but up until the last week or so I always had the feeling that he really just wasn't interested in the training. I use the crate when I'm not home and he is only allowed in the family room when we are here. I've kept consistent and it's just now starting to pay off. He's 6 months old now and doing much better in the last week. My husband was really starting to get on my case about Indy and the house breaking, but i just tell him to be quiet because his dog (the shepherd) had accidents too, and I am the one that cleans up after ALL of the dogs. Sorry this is long, but I've really found out that it's the dog's personality and his desire to please people that plays a huge part in house training. If you're consistent, you'll get there, some are just longer than others.