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03-16-2005, 08:21 AM | #1 |
Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 155
| Potty Training for Working Stiffs... OK, with the discussions on this board regarding potty training, I have a question for those of you who adopted a Yorkie puppy and are not there constantly to watch over him... Consistency is the key to successful training. So, how does this come into play when you work all day. Obviously, something key would be to have someone there to watch the little baby during the day. But what if you are in the case where that attention is not avaialble... What happens then? |
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03-16-2005, 10:58 AM | #2 |
Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 135
| Since my Mason stays home alone between 7am - 5pm (sometimes longer), I have trained him on wee-wee pad inside our apartment. I have found this method of housebreaking more convenient, because if I run late to get home, I don't have to stress about rushing home to take him outside. Also, when the weather is horrific I don't have to worry about Mason getting sick in the cold. I started to train him using a small space. When I first got him at 10 weeks, I would leave him in a gated kitchen with his wee-wee pad, toys, food and water. Of course there were times when I came home and found pee or poop outside of the wee-wee pad. I had to dismiss these accidents because I couldn't scold him for something he did hours ago. When I was around to catch him going potty on the floor, I firmly said "NO", picked him up and physically placed him on the wee-wee pad and said "Potty, Mason. Good boy!" Soon enough Mason got it and at 8 months now, he roams freely around the house while I am gone and has only had accidents a couple of times. You can only train your puppy when you are there to watch and discipline. Don't ever scold the puppy for something he did when you weren't there. Be patient, consistent, and firm - you'll be fine! Good luck. |
03-16-2005, 11:16 AM | #3 |
Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 155
| What about crate training? Would it be cruel for me to leave him in his crate when I leave for work and have someone to check on him during the day? I would love to gate off my kitchen but I am hearing too many stories of Yorkies climbing out... Also, I have no doors I can close in my kitchen... Believe it or not, my kitchen connects to my dining room and living room without a door!!! That can cause problems (too much space for him)... Although all of those areas will have either linoleum or pergo flooring. |
03-16-2005, 12:02 PM | #4 |
Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 135
| Crate training is cruel if your puppy is confined the WHOLE day while you are work (even if someone came in to check up on them). This is MY opinion, and I know that some people confine their dogs in crates the whole day. Do you have any other areas in your house you can gate off? I never had a problem with Mason jumping over the gate, so I can't give you any advice there...... |
03-16-2005, 12:07 PM | #5 |
Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 155
| My kitchen would be the ideal place to gate off. I would not want to leave him or her in a crate the whole day, too darn confining. I would want a small place to statrt... An ideal location would be the kitchen... I also have a slim hallway that leads to the kitchen but again, it would have to be confined by a baby gate... |
03-18-2005, 12:02 PM | #6 |
Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: New York, NY
Posts: 27
| I leave my Honey when I go to work. Luckily I have an extra bedroom which is now his room. |
03-18-2005, 12:04 PM | #7 |
Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 155
| How do you work that out? My 2 story, 2 family house has an extra bedroom that no one uses on the second floor? Would this possibly be a good spot for my future pup to spend his days? |
03-18-2005, 12:14 PM | #8 |
Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: New York, NY
Posts: 27
| I just put him in there before I leave with some water, toys cushions and blankets. THere's also a small sofa and a TV. I bought him a DVD called Dog Sitter that I plan to play for him once I get my DVD hooked up again. This has been totally working for me. When he had free reign of the apt. he would pee and poop in my living room. Now he holds it in for as long as I'm gone. One night I got stuck at the office very late and he held it in the entire time... When I got home he was actually more interested in eating than in going out to take care of business. |
03-18-2005, 12:18 PM | #9 |
Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 155
| I'm trying to think about how I would go about having him stay in this particular room all day. It is kind of small but is the only relatively small area in my house that I could close off for the day, if in case he/she would manage to get out of a playpen, etc... |
03-18-2005, 12:22 PM | #10 |
Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 30
| My wife and I are working stiffs too. We were able to potty train our Fozzy in no time at all. This was done following the basic tenants of crate training. We did the following after reading and understanding this: http://www.dogdaysusa.com/behaviorce...setraining.asp 1. The week after we got him, I took Friday off of work. We spent all Friday, Saturday, and Sunday training. 2. For the next 2 weeks I came home after 4/4.5 hours and let Fozzy out. My wife was home about 4hrs later and we worked with the Fozzy during the crate/outside/play/outside/create thing. 3. After the two weeks Fozzy was up to 8hrs. as long as we managed his intake appropriately (eating really early in the morning and doing out thing). Dogs love their crates and will just sleep all day if they have the chance. The only problem we had was that when out cleaning lady came she did not let Fozzy out, obviously he got incredibly excited and messed his create (would you blame him). We 86'ed the cleaning lady for one that would take him out when she came. 4. Fast forward to today almost 1yr. Fozzy has been 100% for almost 7 months. P.S. A radio is great comfort for a young pup in his create, Fozzy listened to the Howard Stern show for his first 3 months with us. Hope this helps! Last edited by fozzybear; 03-18-2005 at 12:24 PM. |
03-18-2005, 12:23 PM | #11 | |
Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 30
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03-18-2005, 12:26 PM | #12 |
Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 155
| That's excellent! Sounds terrific! I am away from home from 7:30 AM until roughtly 6 PM. I am in NYC and live in Queens and work in Manhattan so heading home after only a few hours is not even a thought. I will have somone at home all day to watch my little one (my retired Dad lives in my home) so if need be, my furbaby could be taken out. But I am cetain that leaving him/her with my dad during the day, he would get plenty of love and playtime! |
03-18-2005, 03:29 PM | #13 |
Esme's My Princess Donating Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Miami
Posts: 754
| Esme stays at home in her playpen while we are at work. She has her crate in there, some toys and a pee pad. She is pee pad trained by the way and the playpen is a real one for children that I purchased at Walmart. Up to now, this has worked out perfect for us. I think she is getting too big for the play pen though (she was 3.5lbs on her last vet visit) and we will have to move up to some sort of doggie gate or something so she has more space. Eventually, I want her to have full reign of the house while we are away at work, but she isn't ready for so much responsibility yet! Good Luck! Training CAN be done, even when you have to work! Mari
__________________ Esme & Mari |
03-20-2005, 09:33 PM | #14 |
Yorkie Talker Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Midwest
Posts: 20
| What's worked for me I know you originally posted potty training concerns in February, so hopefully you've made some progress already! But am single and work in retail, so I too can relate to the logistics you're facing! A couple things I have found to be true/helpful: -I bought a puppy park from Walmart and stretch it out to block off the areas I don't want Bailey to get to when I'm not around. (It can be a hexagon, but I make a 17' wall with it to block off the fireplace wall- he likes to chew where the carpet meets the tile sometimes!) It works great! And I close bedroom and bathroom doors -I use puppy pads so I'm not forcing him to "hold it" for long hours -My vet told me that they also like privacy, esp. when they poop, so it's helpful to create area that is gives him a sense of privacy, yet is easily accessible -and I praise a lot, EVERYTIME, I see him potty on the pad with a high pitched, happy/excited voice and say the same phrases and he gets really excited too. I rarely give treats. I say, "Yeah, Bailey, Potty on the Pad" a couple times and he gets all wiggly and I give him kisses too. They like to please you - so sounding silly for a minute goes a long way! Ok- I'll shut-up now! Hope that helps someone! -Kelley |
03-21-2005, 07:35 AM | #15 |
Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 155
| That helps quite a bit! I appreciate yopur assistance! I don't yet have a little Yorkie to spoil or train and I want to think about the logistics before I adopt my little one! Thanks for the advice so far and I'd love to hear more! |
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