Help House-breaking tips - YorkieTalk.com Forums

buddysalley · 06-17-2006, 06:30 PM

My Yorkie is about four months old. His paper training skills are spotty at best. He sometimes makes it to the paper and sometimes he does not even try. I rarely catch him "in the act" so I can't really discipline him any suggestions?

Bailey's Peeps · 06-17-2006, 07:09 PM

This is from a web site that I read through a while back. Unfortunately, I didn't mark the URL, but this is the only note I kept at the time. Even though we hadn't had Bailey very long, we were thinking we should be making greater progress in her housebreaking. How naive! Anyway, I read this at the time:

WATCH, WATCH, WATCH!
The key to successful house training is supervision. Watch your dog constantly. Your first duty is to identify what your dog does right before it eliminates. Does your dog sniff? circle? hold his ears in a certain position? Some dogs provide signals that are easy to spot, while others are more difficult. Watch carefully.

It started me thinking - any problem with Bailey's housetraining was OUR problem, not Bailey's. At that point in their lives, these little ones should be confined or directly observed every minute of every day - a pretty tough job. I didn't think about it until then, but Bailey WAS telling us when she needed to go potty. She was telling us by her behavior, but we hadn't been paying enough attention. We didn't attack the problem by just waiting to observe the "potty behavior" though.

We started regularly scheduled trips outside with treats and praise for proper behavior. We don't let her out and come back to get her later. We stay with her. Her schedule is consistent - when she goes out, how long she stays out. And the results were almost 100% almost overnight. The only "accidents" have been when our attention wandered, we strayed from her schedule, and we didn't keep an eye on her. There have been numerous occasions when we had to vary her schedule - but if we kept an eye on her and watched for her warning signs, we have been able to take her outside before an accident occurred. When we've done our job, she's done hers.

KFG · 06-17-2006, 07:22 PM

That sounds reasonable to me! I would love Oliver to be pee pad trained - as well as outdoor trained - but from everything I have read, I think I need to train him to go outdoors first. I guess the first week I have to watch him like a hawk to be able to identify his behaviors. I don't think that will be too hard!

megan_kat22 · 06-17-2006, 07:24 PM

Welcome to YT Buddysalley! I didn't have much trouble training my 2, but try to do a search here on YorkieTalk and trust me you will find TONS of threads with some awesome advice! Glad you've found us!

lilannie · 06-17-2006, 08:34 PM

Hi and Welcome to YT....

Here you find so much useful information and more support then you can possibly imagine....I have a 3 year old Beagle and a 6 month old Yorkie...I crated trained both and Bailey is even trained to jingle the bell at the door when he wants out.....I can't imagine anything being easier then crate training.....Good luck and think possitive because eventually it will happen.

buddysalley · 06-18-2006, 01:19 PM

I have already found lots of helpful advice. I have changed his food becuase I found out that that could be why his hair was thinning. You guys are great thatnks for tha house breaking tips

tkimberlie · 06-18-2006, 05:26 PM

Hi -- This is my first posting!

We had so much trouble getting Kasey to feel the urgency to go to the bathroom outside, and ended up standing around for 45 minutes sometimes (bad news at bedtime!) before she'd go. Then, we got GREAT advice from a trainer that has made all the difference.

He said to take her out every three hours to the same spot every time *always* on a leash, and give her the same command. (We say "Hurry up.") Keep her there for only 2-3 minutes. If she doesn't go, take her in and put her in her crate, then try again in an hour. If she DOES go, praise her while she's going, then let her run free in a confined space in the house for the next hour -- always supervised, so you can see her at all times. We usually watched her for closer to two, since she was good about not making mistakes indoors at that point. For the final hour, she was back in her crate for a rest.

He also encouraged us to keep track of when she went to the bathroom, so we could learn her schedule. Turns out, she didn't need to go out as much as we thought she did. We could see a pattern over the course of the week (okay, we're neurotic: we created a spreadsheet to fill it in by hour! it was worth it!) and eventually we learned she only needs to go out every 4-5 hours. She's seven months old now and rarely has an accident.

Our goal was to have her go "on command," if she had to -- and it really seems to be working.

Hope this helps!! Kasey is doing great!!

Kim

buddysalley · 06-18-2006, 05:57 PM

That sounds like something we could do. Thanks for your help!

Peters · 06-19-2006, 05:04 AM

take the puppy out at least every hour and tell them to go potty and get happy when they do say good puppy so on eventually they will be house trained it takes lots of time effort and patience but that how i house trained princess my yorkie she doesn't go inside at all anymore and lets me know when she needs to go out she's almost 1 now

KFG · 06-19-2006, 05:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peters

take the puppy out at least every hour and tell them to go potty and get happy when they do say good puppy so on eventually they will be house trained it takes lots of time effort and patience but that how i house trained princess my yorkie she doesn't go inside at all anymore and lets me know when she needs to go out she's almost 1 now

What happens when you take her out every hour... What if she doesn't go? How long do you wait outside? Should she have to go if she hasn't eaten or drank anything recently (I know their digestive systems are QUCIK!)?

LullaBelle · 06-19-2006, 06:42 AM

With my last puppy I would take her out right after she ate and I would wait four about 5 mins until she wet pee pee. Then when we went inside I gave her a treat and lots of play time. After that she had a way of telling us she needed to go. She would sit right in front of me and bark once, look at me and run to the door. It was so cute.

trixiesmith · 06-19-2006, 08:05 AM

I've really failed at this. My girl is 3 years old now. She is quite content with walking up the stairs and pee peeing & pooping on the carpet. My husband says she thinks she is too good to go potty outside. I've spent so much money on Simple Solutions, Natures Miracle, Oxy Clean (you name it) that I probably could have recarpeted my whole house.

Do you guys think it is to late? Or can I start all over again with a 3 year old?

deb4air · 06-19-2006, 08:18 AM

I has miss Mini to the pee pad every time she woke up from a nap ..She was real good with going in a short time .she seldom makes mistakes now but she does once in a while.I think watching , praising and being consistent helps ,with min since we have cats I'll find her marking at times ,she is one territoral princess !

06-17-2006, 06:30 PM	#1
buddysalley Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: fort smith Posts: 48	Help House-breaking tips My Yorkie is about four months old. His paper training skills are spotty at best. He sometimes makes it to the paper and sometimes he does not even try. I rarely catch him "in the act" so I can't really discipline him any suggestions?

06-17-2006, 07:24 PM	#4
megan_kat22 I love my boys! Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Houston Posts: 1,913	Welcome to YT Buddysalley! I didn't have much trouble training my 2, but try to do a search here on YorkieTalk and trust me you will find TONS of threads with some awesome advice! Glad you've found us! __________________ -Megan, Tucker & Tripp "My little dogs- heartbeats at my feet" www.dropshots.com/megan_kat22

06-17-2006, 08:34 PM	#5
lilannie Donating Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Alberta, Canada Posts: 338	Welcome Hi and Welcome to YT.... Here you find so much useful information and more support then you can possibly imagine....I have a 3 year old Beagle and a 6 month old Yorkie...I crated trained both and Bailey is even trained to jingle the bell at the door when he wants out.....I can't imagine anything being easier then crate training.....Good luck and think possitive because eventually it will happen. __________________ "To err is human, to forgive, Canine." Proud Mom of Bailey and Copper

06-18-2006, 01:19 PM	#6
buddysalley Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: fort smith Posts: 48	thanks guys I have already found lots of helpful advice. I have changed his food becuase I found out that that could be why his hair was thinning. You guys are great thatnks for tha house breaking tips

06-18-2006, 05:26 PM	#7
tkimberlie Donating Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL Posts: 45	Housebreaking tips Hi -- This is my first posting! We had so much trouble getting Kasey to feel the urgency to go to the bathroom outside, and ended up standing around for 45 minutes sometimes (bad news at bedtime!) before she'd go. Then, we got GREAT advice from a trainer that has made all the difference. He said to take her out every three hours to the same spot every time always on a leash, and give her the same command. (We say "Hurry up.") Keep her there for only 2-3 minutes. If she doesn't go, take her in and put her in her crate, then try again in an hour. If she DOES go, praise her while she's going, then let her run free in a confined space in the house for the next hour -- always supervised, so you can see her at all times. We usually watched her for closer to two, since she was good about not making mistakes indoors at that point. For the final hour, she was back in her crate for a rest. He also encouraged us to keep track of when she went to the bathroom, so we could learn her schedule. Turns out, she didn't need to go out as much as we thought she did. We could see a pattern over the course of the week (okay, we're neurotic: we created a spreadsheet to fill it in by hour! it was worth it!) and eventually we learned she only needs to go out every 4-5 hours. She's seven months old now and rarely has an accident. Our goal was to have her go "on command," if she had to -- and it really seems to be working. Hope this helps!! Kasey is doing great!! Kim __________________ Love my Kasey!

06-17-2006, 07:09 PM	#2
Bailey's Peeps Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: May 2006 Location: OKLAHOMA Posts: 229	This is from a web site that I read through a while back. Unfortunately, I didn't mark the URL, but this is the only note I kept at the time. Even though we hadn't had Bailey very long, we were thinking we should be making greater progress in her housebreaking. How naive! Anyway, I read this at the time: WATCH, WATCH, WATCH! The key to successful house training is supervision. Watch your dog constantly. Your first duty is to identify what your dog does right before it eliminates. Does your dog sniff? circle? hold his ears in a certain position? Some dogs provide signals that are easy to spot, while others are more difficult. Watch carefully. It started me thinking - any problem with Bailey's housetraining was OUR problem, not Bailey's. At that point in their lives, these little ones should be confined or directly observed every minute of every day - a pretty tough job. I didn't think about it until then, but Bailey WAS telling us when she needed to go potty. She was telling us by her behavior, but we hadn't been paying enough attention. We didn't attack the problem by just waiting to observe the "potty behavior" though. We started regularly scheduled trips outside with treats and praise for proper behavior. We don't let her out and come back to get her later. We stay with her. Her schedule is consistent - when she goes out, how long she stays out. And the results were almost 100% almost overnight. The only "accidents" have been when our attention wandered, we strayed from her schedule, and we didn't keep an eye on her. There have been numerous occasions when we had to vary her schedule - but if we kept an eye on her and watched for her warning signs, we have been able to take her outside before an accident occurred. When we've done our job, she's done hers.

06-17-2006, 07:22 PM	#3
KFG Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: May 2006 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 109	That sounds reasonable to me! I would love Oliver to be pee pad trained - as well as outdoor trained - but from everything I have read, I think I need to train him to go outdoors first. I guess the first week I have to watch him like a hawk to be able to identify his behaviors. I don't think that will be too hard!

06-18-2006, 05:57 PM	#8
buddysalley Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: fort smith Posts: 48	thanks That sounds like something we could do. Thanks for your help!

06-19-2006, 05:04 AM	#9
Peters YT 2000 Club Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Alabama Posts: 2,225	take the puppy out at least every hour and tell them to go potty and get happy when they do say good puppy so on eventually they will be house trained it takes lots of time effort and patience but that how i house trained princess my yorkie she doesn't go inside at all anymore and lets me know when she needs to go out she's almost 1 now

06-19-2006, 06:42 AM	#11
LullaBelle YT Addict Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: ME Posts: 275 Blog Entries: 1	With my last puppy I would take her out right after she ate and I would wait four about 5 mins until she wet pee pee. Then when we went inside I gave her a treat and lots of play time. After that she had a way of telling us she needed to go. She would sit right in front of me and bark once, look at me and run to the door. It was so cute. __________________ LullaBelle's Mommy I love my Coastiewww.dogster.com/?410337

06-19-2006, 08:05 AM	#12
trixiesmith Donating Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Tulsa, Ok Posts: 274	I've really failed at this. My girl is 3 years old now. She is quite content with walking up the stairs and pee peeing & pooping on the carpet. My husband says she thinks she is too good to go potty outside. I've spent so much money on Simple Solutions, Natures Miracle, Oxy Clean (you name it) that I probably could have recarpeted my whole house. Do you guys think it is to late? Or can I start all over again with a 3 year old?

06-19-2006, 08:18 AM	#13
deb4air Donating YT 2000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: new york Posts: 3,168	I has miss Mini to the pee pad every time she woke up from a nap ..She was real good with going in a short time .she seldom makes mistakes now but she does once in a while.I think watching , praising and being consistent helps ,with min since we have cats I'll find her marking at times ,she is one territoral princess ! __________________ Deb and Miss Mini