At what age can they roam the house - YorkieTalk.com Forums

valeriejsmyth · 08-16-2014, 04:12 PM

Ok, Pips is almost 14 weeks. I still have him confined to the kitchen because he doesn't use pee pads 100%. At what age do they start getting it? I leave his pen open all day but at night I close him in for sleeping for his safety. He's getting bored with the kitchen, I haven't let him outside yet unless he's in his pouch with me. He's getting pretty bored with the kitchen LOL. Any suggestions? I go several times during the day and spend hours in the kitchen training, playing and cuddling.

valeriejsmyth · 08-16-2014, 04:15 PM

He doesn't want the pee pad holder in his pen at night but he doesn't hold it all night yet. I put it in and he tears it up. I just put in back together and put back in. It's been cleaned and I even wash the holder.

yorkietalkjilly · 08-16-2014, 04:28 PM

I didn't trust Tibbe out freely in the house to roam in rooms when I wasn't with him until he'd been potty-trained for 18 months straight and then he was perfectly clean in the house. That way, by always having him either in his crate or in full view of myself, I was able to have him in the crate or catch him before he made any "mistakes" and take him outside to potty in time. I learned to read his pre-potty body language and know his schedule of when he usually needed to "go". During that 18 months potty training, he spent very little time in confinement as I only put him there when I had to leave the house or get some housework done - otherwise, he was out and about with me watching everything he did as we lived our lives. If I left the room, he had to go with me so I could watch him and I taught him to stay in the room I was in and not roam the house. After he was potty trained, I allowed him to go to any room he pleases as he's not about to potty or pee anywhere in the house. He much prefers leaving his scent outside for all the world to enjoy! In fact, when I'm going to be gone for very long and leave potty pads out for him to use, he'll hold it until I get home no matter how long it takes, poor baby. So, it's incumbent upon me to come home before he can get too uncomfortable holding himself. He's such a good boy!

valeriejsmyth · 08-16-2014, 04:37 PM

Yeah that is how I raised my other two babies. Pips is hyper because of teething right now. I would love to have him with me every moment of the day if wasn't nipping, biting and just being hyper guy. I try to wear him out by playing with him, but he has boundless energy. What am I doing wrong?

matese · 08-16-2014, 05:12 PM

All my puppies were 100% house broken at 7 months old, which means no accidents. They were on a strict feeding and walk schedule, rain, snow, hail, they were walked the same time every morning and every night.They also were not furniture chewers, and rooms I did not want them in when I was not home the doors were closed, so shoes were never chewed up, just my slippers, but, that was my fault, I was home and not watching what they were doing lol. That is when they got the freedom of the entire house. So, when your baby is 100% potty trained with no accidents and he does not chew up your house, he should be able to have his freedom.

matese · 08-16-2014, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by valeriejsmyth

Yeah that is how I raised my other two babies. Pips is hyper because of teething right now. I would love to have him with me every moment of the day if wasn't nipping, biting and just being hyper guy. I try to wear him out by playing with him, but he has boundless energy. What am I doing wrong?

lol, he is a typical yorkie lol,you are doing nothing wrong.

yorkietalkjilly · 08-16-2014, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by valeriejsmyth

Yeah that is how I raised my other two babies. Pips is hyper because of teething right now. I would love to have him with me every moment of the day if wasn't nipping, biting and just being hyper guy. I try to wear him out by playing with him, but he has boundless energy. What am I doing wrong?

Nothing! Sounds like a totally normal puppy! If he bites too hard, grab his little body so you can get to his muzzle and hold onto his little muzzle for longer than he would like and he'll eventually get the message that he's being disciplined for hard biting. When first training him not to bite hard during play, I tried squealing out in pain to show him he was hurting me and that only highly excited him more than ever but squealing or making a pain-sound does teach some dogs not to bite hard. Others say hard biting ends all play - they just stand up and walk out of the room without a backward look.

Either way, once the dog has this happen a few times in a row, they begin to understand hard biting doesn't get them what they want - continuation of play and fun and they begin to try to restrain their impulse to bite hard during excited play. But young dogs are forgetful so you have to keep reinforcing what you want by always reacting the same way to hard biting - by stopping the fun he was having when he bit hard or screaming, etc.

But bear in mind, playful, fun-loving, high-energy dogs have no hands or arms to hold, pat and squeeze with or hug good and hard to show their passion for us - all they have is their mouths and they often bite out of that passion and energy-overload - biting just for the joy of playing and to show intense feelings. I still play with Tibbe with my hands and allow him to bite on them out of passion as a show of his intense feelings as long as he doesn't hurt, which he never does as I taught him that biting hard will get his little muzzle held onto. He never liked that and quickly began to bite only softly when he wanted to show his strong emotions during playtime.

Do you have him on some type of very short and frequent obedience training lessons so that he can begin to learn how to control his puppy-ish impulses and work for positive reinforcement, learning in the process that obeying your commands brings great positive rewards and teaching him to always do what you say? He'll enjoy the work and training and will make you a lovely pet for that training. Obedience-trained dog are almost always far easier to live with than an untrained dog is and usually develop few behavior problems - all things being equal. And training is such fun for both the dog and the owner! Tibbe demands his training sessions almost every day and sometimes more than once per day he still loves them so much.

yorkiefan_ · 08-16-2014, 05:30 PM

I wasn't confident with Cookie getting free roam until 8 months, but she still sleeps in her cage at night because she's so small and so inquisitive even at roughly a year and a half now (by so small I mean she's 8 lbs). Potty training yorkies can be a wild ride. Sometimes people come in here and brag about their yorkie being trained at 12 weeks, but Cookie could be quite stubborn and it was a LOT of work getting her trained. But now she's great about it.

Lilah Charm · 08-16-2014, 08:55 PM

It has been little by little that the baby gates and ex pens have come down for miss lilah charm. I think she was just over one when I started letting her stay outside her ex pen while I was gone at work (I work short days and took all precautions but was still on such pins and needles those first few weeks!) at that point we still kept the baby gate up for one half of the house and still had a potty pad in her ex pen area as well as the bathroom. She never used the one by her house (naturally) after the ex pen gates began to stay open all of the time so eventually we took that one down. I do keep all of the bedroom doors shut while we are gone and of course am careful about our windows and to make sure the bathroom door is stuck open for her potty pad. She will occasionally 'potty relapse' (lilah is 20 months old) at the far desolate end of the house at the end if the hallway (a statement a bit laughable because our house is so small) and if that happens the baby gate will go back up and remind her that is not an option. She does great these days and I am glad we started slow with our expen and baby gates preventing a lot of bad habits from forming

have you tried the washable pads for your little guy? Or maybe a different style of pad holder? Good luck! He is young still and I am sure it will go great

joyce evans · 08-16-2014, 10:41 PM

I guess no 2 Yorkies are the same. Hannah is 1 1/2 yrs. old now and I use potty pads only. She is about 95% on. I allow her to roam kitchen, dining room and living room but only when I am home. She's placed in her pen while I'm gone. This is mainly because I have larger dogs in the house however, just a couple of nights ago I caught her chewing on the leg of my coffee table. If I remember correctly my other breed of dogs were much younger when they were allowed to roam freely and it seemed like they were easier to housebreak. Hannah just doesn't mind being a bad little girl sometimes because she knows mommy will let her get by with it!

valeriejsmyth · 08-17-2014, 04:07 AM

Thanks for all the input. I think Pips is right on track. He us training me as much as I am training him! Last night I left the pad out if the pen and I let him out at 430 am and he went straight to his pad and did both! So, from now in I will take him out if his pen late at night to relieve himself so he can make it morning. His barks are telling me he is still hungry. His appetite is increasing. I gave him more food and he settled right down. He is at 1/3 c a day but going to half. I measure so I can keep track of how much he us eating. Going to increase to 1/2 c he's 14 weeks today and just reached 3 lbs. I feel better knowing that I'm on the right track. We do playtime three times a day, play fetch. I then follow with training which is comprised of sit, down, come and high five. I then put him in lap and brush him and use the small hand palm trimmer on his body and toes not blade out use back side of it so he gets used to vibration. I do this twice a day so he gets plenty of mommy time. Plus lots of kisses - we touch noses...

Britster · 08-17-2014, 07:12 AM

I would've been driven crazy if I had confined Jax to kitchen for that long. He was allowed in our backyard and in our house whenever I was watching him closely. If I couldn't watch him, he was in the expen. He never used pee pads though. He had free roam by about 7 months. At around 9 months, I fully trusted him. But I was pretty strict in the beginning with our schedule and I also had a lot of free time.

valeriejsmyth · 08-17-2014, 08:57 AM

I'm retired so I spend all day/ night with him. I don't want him to be too dependent on me do he has quiet times during the day after play, train, etc. When I can get things done. He comes into other rooms in the house with me holding him. I am starting leash training and when he is ready I can tether him from room to room, but I would say he's a few weeks or month from that.

yavenay · 08-17-2014, 01:53 PM

I usually let my roam the house in stages. First just the upstairs and if there are consistently no accidents I slowly start to give them more and more freedom.

windwalker · 08-17-2014, 04:07 PM

Ginger is 22+ weeks and has the run of house, we crate her at night and if we both leave, but I have left alone in house for hours loose alone when working outside with no problems. She is 100% Piddle Pad trained and only chews her toys.

We laid down house rules from 8 weeks and she's been pretty well free for a month now with no problems. I expect her to be this way but still grin at how grown up she acts. I think expectations have a big impact on puppy behavior and pay off greatly in the end, especially house training and chewing.

08-16-2014, 04:12 PM	#1
valeriejsmyth YT Addict Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: South FL Posts: 428 Blog Entries: 1	At what age can they roam the house Ok, Pips is almost 14 weeks. I still have him confined to the kitchen because he doesn't use pee pads 100%. At what age do they start getting it? I leave his pen open all day but at night I close him in for sleeping for his safety. He's getting bored with the kitchen, I haven't let him outside yet unless he's in his pouch with me. He's getting pretty bored with the kitchen LOL. Any suggestions? I go several times during the day and spend hours in the kitchen training, playing and cuddling.

08-16-2014, 04:28 PM	#3
yorkietalkjilly ♥ Love My Tibbe! ♥ Donating Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: D/FW, Texas Posts: 22,140	I didn't trust Tibbe out freely in the house to roam in rooms when I wasn't with him until he'd been potty-trained for 18 months straight and then he was perfectly clean in the house. That way, by always having him either in his crate or in full view of myself, I was able to have him in the crate or catch him before he made any "mistakes" and take him outside to potty in time. I learned to read his pre-potty body language and know his schedule of when he usually needed to "go". During that 18 months potty training, he spent very little time in confinement as I only put him there when I had to leave the house or get some housework done - otherwise, he was out and about with me watching everything he did as we lived our lives. If I left the room, he had to go with me so I could watch him and I taught him to stay in the room I was in and not roam the house. After he was potty trained, I allowed him to go to any room he pleases as he's not about to potty or pee anywhere in the house. He much prefers leaving his scent outside for all the world to enjoy! In fact, when I'm going to be gone for very long and leave potty pads out for him to use, he'll hold it until I get home no matter how long it takes, poor baby. So, it's incumbent upon me to come home before he can get too uncomfortable holding himself. He's such a good boy! __________________ 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

08-16-2014, 05:12 PM	#5
matese Donating YT 3000 Club Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: E.Stroudsburg, Pa. Posts: 67,957	All my puppies were 100% house broken at 7 months old, which means no accidents. They were on a strict feeding and walk schedule, rain, snow, hail, they were walked the same time every morning and every night.They also were not furniture chewers, and rooms I did not want them in when I was not home the doors were closed, so shoes were never chewed up, just my slippers, but, that was my fault, I was home and not watching what they were doing lol. That is when they got the freedom of the entire house. So, when your baby is 100% potty trained with no accidents and he does not chew up your house, he should be able to have his freedom. __________________ Joan, mom to Cody RIP Matese Schnae Kajon Kia forever in my A House Is Not A Home Without A Dog

08-16-2014, 05:30 PM	#8
yorkiefan_ I ♥ my Cookie Monster! Donating Member Join Date: May 2013 Location: South Texas Posts: 2,999	I wasn't confident with Cookie getting free roam until 8 months, but she still sleeps in her cage at night because she's so small and so inquisitive even at roughly a year and a half now (by so small I mean she's 8 lbs). Potty training yorkies can be a wild ride. Sometimes people come in here and brag about their yorkie being trained at 12 weeks, but Cookie could be quite stubborn and it was a LOT of work getting her trained. But now she's great about it. __________________ Cookie ;;; RIP Minnie

08-16-2014, 08:55 PM	#9
Lilah Charm Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Oregon Posts: 2,721	It has been little by little that the baby gates and ex pens have come down for miss lilah charm. I think she was just over one when I started letting her stay outside her ex pen while I was gone at work (I work short days and took all precautions but was still on such pins and needles those first few weeks!) at that point we still kept the baby gate up for one half of the house and still had a potty pad in her ex pen area as well as the bathroom. She never used the one by her house (naturally) after the ex pen gates began to stay open all of the time so eventually we took that one down. I do keep all of the bedroom doors shut while we are gone and of course am careful about our windows and to make sure the bathroom door is stuck open for her potty pad. She will occasionally 'potty relapse' (lilah is 20 months old) at the far desolate end of the house at the end if the hallway (a statement a bit laughable because our house is so small) and if that happens the baby gate will go back up and remind her that is not an option. She does great these days and I am glad we started slow with our expen and baby gates preventing a lot of bad habits from forming have you tried the washable pads for your little guy? Or maybe a different style of pad holder? Good luck! He is young still and I am sure it will go great __________________ Alyssa and Lilah

08-16-2014, 04:15 PM	#2
valeriejsmyth YT Addict Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: South FL Posts: 428 Blog Entries: 1	He doesn't want the pee pad holder in his pen at night but he doesn't hold it all night yet. I put it in and he tears it up. I just put in back together and put back in. It's been cleaned and I even wash the holder.

08-16-2014, 04:37 PM	#4
valeriejsmyth YT Addict Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: South FL Posts: 428 Blog Entries: 1	Yeah that is how I raised my other two babies. Pips is hyper because of teething right now. I would love to have him with me every moment of the day if wasn't nipping, biting and just being hyper guy. I try to wear him out by playing with him, but he has boundless energy. What am I doing wrong?

08-16-2014, 10:41 PM	#10
joyce evans YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: houston Posts: 1,519	I guess no 2 Yorkies are the same. Hannah is 1 1/2 yrs. old now and I use potty pads only. She is about 95% on. I allow her to roam kitchen, dining room and living room but only when I am home. She's placed in her pen while I'm gone. This is mainly because I have larger dogs in the house however, just a couple of nights ago I caught her chewing on the leg of my coffee table. If I remember correctly my other breed of dogs were much younger when they were allowed to roam freely and it seemed like they were easier to housebreak. Hannah just doesn't mind being a bad little girl sometimes because she knows mommy will let her get by with it! __________________ Hannah's Mom

08-17-2014, 04:07 AM	#11
valeriejsmyth YT Addict Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: South FL Posts: 428 Blog Entries: 1	Thanks for all the input. I think Pips is right on track. He us training me as much as I am training him! Last night I left the pad out if the pen and I let him out at 430 am and he went straight to his pad and did both! So, from now in I will take him out if his pen late at night to relieve himself so he can make it morning. His barks are telling me he is still hungry. His appetite is increasing. I gave him more food and he settled right down. He is at 1/3 c a day but going to half. I measure so I can keep track of how much he us eating. Going to increase to 1/2 c he's 14 weeks today and just reached 3 lbs. I feel better knowing that I'm on the right track. We do playtime three times a day, play fetch. I then follow with training which is comprised of sit, down, come and high five. I then put him in lap and brush him and use the small hand palm trimmer on his body and toes not blade out use back side of it so he gets used to vibration. I do this twice a day so he gets plenty of mommy time. Plus lots of kisses - we touch noses...

08-17-2014, 07:12 AM	#12
Britster Action Jackson ♥ Donating Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Maryland Posts: 17,814	I would've been driven crazy if I had confined Jax to kitchen for that long. He was allowed in our backyard and in our house whenever I was watching him closely. If I couldn't watch him, he was in the expen. He never used pee pads though. He had free roam by about 7 months. At around 9 months, I fully trusted him. But I was pretty strict in the beginning with our schedule and I also had a lot of free time. __________________ ~ Brit & Lights! Camera! Jackson! CGC ETD TKP ~ Follow Jackson on Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacksontheterrier

08-17-2014, 08:57 AM	#13
valeriejsmyth YT Addict Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: South FL Posts: 428 Blog Entries: 1	I'm retired so I spend all day/ night with him. I don't want him to be too dependent on me do he has quiet times during the day after play, train, etc. When I can get things done. He comes into other rooms in the house with me holding him. I am starting leash training and when he is ready I can tether him from room to room, but I would say he's a few weeks or month from that.

08-17-2014, 01:53 PM	#14
yavenay Donating YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Delaware Posts: 2,663	I usually let my roam the house in stages. First just the upstairs and if there are consistently no accidents I slowly start to give them more and more freedom.

08-17-2014, 04:07 PM	#15
windwalker Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Tucson,AZ Posts: 244	Ginger is 22+ weeks and has the run of house, we crate her at night and if we both leave, but I have left alone in house for hours loose alone when working outside with no problems. She is 100% Piddle Pad trained and only chews her toys. We laid down house rules from 8 weeks and she's been pretty well free for a month now with no problems. I expect her to be this way but still grin at how grown up she acts. I think expectations have a big impact on puppy behavior and pay off greatly in the end, especially house training and chewing.