Confused about potty training - YorkieTalk.com Forums

GrayC25 · 05-06-2008, 12:21 PM

Hi there! I'm new to the boards, as well as new to being a yorkie owner. My fiance and I brought home a 9-week old (today!) male yorkie named Samson. He is the cutest little sweetheart and we both instantly fell in love. He's got a sweet and spunky personality and we are so glad he's a part of our family.

We've only had Samson since Friday night, 5/2, but we are both just so confused on what to do for potty training. We've heard and read so many different things, it's hard to know what to do or if what we're doing is the right thing.

This may be long, but I want to be as detailed as possible. My fiance and I both work pretty full days. I'm away from the house for about 9 - 9.5 hours, and that's if I only go to and from work with no detours. My fiance's schedule varies, but it's usually a 6 - 8 hour day.

We don't expect Samson to go the entire day with out relieving himself, he's just too small right now, but we got advice from a friend who has a yorkie herself and she was successful with crate training and so we decided to try that. I know we haven't properly acclaimated Samson to the crate yet, but he he goes in and out of it when his water is in there and when prompted by us (or a treat). Sunday night was our first night with Samson at our home (we got him up north, so didn't get home until sunday evening) and we brought the crate in to the bedroom with us around 10pm. He cried at first, but settled down in about 10 minutes. He woke up around 12am, cried, we took him out, returned him to the crate, he cried, settled down and went back to sleep. He slept until 6:15pm, cried and woke us up. We took him out and I think he went pee (it's all starting to run together now) and brought him in. We put him back in the crate to try and get a bit more sleep and he really couldn't settle down. He was quite for a minute, then started up again. At that point, we started to smell poop. He had gone poop in his crate. How can we tell the difference between whining to get out of the crate and whining to go to the bathroom? At this point, we got up for the day, took him out, fed him, took him out again and then crated him in a small space (our crate comes with a divider to make it as small as you'd like) with no water and left for work. Again, we knew he probably wouldn't make it the entire day without soiling himself, and we were right. He peed but didn't poop.

We had our first vet appointment yesterday and he checked out healthy. We spoke to the vet about crate training and no water during the day. She said since we were gone for so long, confining to an area like a bathroom with water would be better, since he's just so small and has no control yet and also so he wouldn't become dehydrated.

When we're at home, we continue to take him out whenever we think we saw signs and 50% of the time he goes outside. We bring him back in and play some more. We don't really want to crate him when we're at home, so one of us always tries to keep an eye on him. We had one accident last night when we got home from the vet. He peed before he came inside from the car and once we were inside, he started sniffing really fast and squated before I could get to him. I said "NO" and picked him up and took him downstairs (we live on the second floor) and I think he went potty again.

The vet told us to continue crating him at night in the small space. Last night, cried when we put him in the crate for just a few minutes. He woke up again at 12am and cried. My fiance got up and took him out and didn't pee. Samson woke up again around 2:15am and cried. I struggled to wake up fully for a minute, but then got up and took him out. I am pretty sure he peed (again, it's all starting to run together). I took him back in and put him back in the crate. He got quiet for a bit, but 10 minutes later, he started crying again. My fiance got up and took him out again and I got up to check the crate. Turns out, at some point, he had peed on the blanket he was laying on. I put a new blanket in the crate and that seemed to settle him down and he slept until almost 7am.

He wouldn't eat when he first got up, but he peed. He finally had something to eat right before we were leaving, so now I know I'm going to get home to some poop on the floor of the bathroom.

Also, it's probably good to point out that the breeder didn't give Samson a dewormer past 3/28 (and we bought him on 4/30) so the poor little guy now has worms. I'm sure that's not helping with the poop situation either.

I am just so confused at this point. I don't know what's working and not working for our Samson. I don't expect him to make it the whole day, but I worry that I'm not doing the right thing and he's learning bad habits. Does anyone have ANY advice?

If you've made it this far, I really appreciate you reading my story. I'd love any help at this point.

chachi · 05-06-2008, 01:54 PM

I think you are doing fine it just takes time and repetition. I think it is good that you are keeping him in the crate at night. I am retraining one right now and I keep her in her crate at night and during the day when I cant watch her

KathyinCali · 05-06-2008, 02:58 PM

Welcome to YT

It sounds like you are doing fine! Persistence and patience

PinkGir · 05-07-2008, 12:04 PM

I'm having roughly the same problem...is it okay that they have accidents in their crate once in a while?

yougetthesmiles · 05-07-2008, 12:51 PM

Welcome to YT! Congrats on your new baby boy! Arent they just the best!!!

I would also suggest a expen, this will hold a pee pad, bed, water, food and toys. Gives him plenty of room.

Also for when he is out of the crate you may want to look into wee wee wraps. I make them and they are perfect for puppy training.

Good luck with your baby!

Lolasmom1211 · 05-07-2008, 01:42 PM

You sound really confused and the same that I did when I brought Lola home one month ago. I had no idea what to do or how to housebreak, so I bought every book and looked at every website I could but still could not find answers that would help me - and Lola wasn't doing it "by the book". My first piece of advice to you is to get a collar and leash - they hate them at first, but adjust quickly - that way you will know what he is doing while outside instead of just chasing him around! Then try to get him on some sort of schedule. I did the crate training because I am home most of the time, but with you being gone, putting him in the bathroom or kitchen with pee pee pads is probably the way to go. I take Lola out when she first wakes, after every meal, after she plays for about 15 minutes (because she gets so excited), and I try to take her out about every 1 - 1 1/2 hrs during the day (she is very small and can't hold much!).The advice I have gotten from these threads has been the most helpful and these ladies are most knowledgeable when it comes to these babies...another good website is thehousebreakingbible.com. I can tell you we are only 50% there, it has been a long process for us - others seem to have success much quicker, but we are not giving up! There are lots of accidents, but I think we will get there with time and patience. Good luck!

hotpod · 05-07-2008, 05:35 PM

all of your story sounds normal...welcome to being a pet parent LOL its continous taking them out. eventually they will get it. it just takes time patience and maturity.

annabelle's mom · 05-07-2008, 07:37 PM

Pee pee pads are wonderful. That way you won't have to worry about your baby being left alone while you are at work. We trained our girl first in an exercise pen on newspaper then found out about the pads. Drs.Smith and Foster is where I order hers.
She still goes for a walk in the yard if she's out there anyway. She trained herself to use the pads....its amazing how smart a puppy can be !

Itspuppyluv · 05-07-2008, 08:44 PM

Crating at night...
At this point you aren't going to be able to tell when he's crying just to be let out of the crate or when he needs to relieve himself. Once he's used to the crate, then when he cries you'll know he actually needs something. For now you have to ignore him except for when you think he needs to go. Usually it doesn't take that long for the crying to get out to stop. Try putting something in the crate with your scent on it. The crate actually becomes a place they like when done right.

He may or may not ever be able to hold it the entire time you are at work. Gus is almost four years and most days needs to relieve himself about every four hours, some days more often.

When crate training, you are supposed to be home most of the time. You have to be there to let them out when needed or they will go in the crate and then you aren't teaching them anything. It can make it even worse. That's one of the reasons pet store puppies can be so difficult to housebreak.
I agree with the vet, I would keep him in the bathroom with a pee pad, toys, water and food...you are gone too long for him not to have any food. It could cause hypoglycemia, which can be deadly for these tiny puppies.

At this age (and probably for months yet) they give very little warning so you must watch them very closely when running free and take them out a lot. The more accidents he has in the house the harder it is for you to get through to him that's not where he's supposed to go.

Good luck. Like the others have said, it takes time, persistence and patience (and then some more time, persistence and patience!). And maybe some caffeine to stay awake during the day.

Itspuppyluv · 05-07-2008, 08:56 PM

Lolasmom, that is good advice about leashing them when going out but it's better to use a harness than a collar. Collars can cause damage to their tracheas.

Lolasmom1211 · 05-08-2008, 03:52 AM

You are right! I inadvertently put collar...I have always used a harness and am waiting on my new harness from chattiesmom! Thanks for mentioning that.

Jessilynndoll · 05-08-2008, 10:56 AM

Jac is almost fully trained now (he has an accident every couple weeks most of the time because we didnt take him out soon enough) But what really helped was the potty pads, anytime he had an accident we would bring him to the pad and let him sniff it and he was soiling the pads within days, when we get home the first thing we do is take him out, even if he has already used one of his pads, and he normally goes. I work all day too, but i come home on my lunch breaks and let him out of the bathroom and clean up the pads if he has gone, Jac sleeps on the bed as of 2 weeks after we got him and he has never had an accident there, we take him out before bed and as soon as we wake up. What REALLY helps was to take him to the same patch of grass every time and give him a treat if he went on the grass for outdoor training, if he didnt go potty, he didnt get a treat. Theres alot of trial and error but it sounds like your getting the hang of it!

05-06-2008, 12:21 PM	#1
GrayC25 YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: May 2008 Location: Metro Detroit Posts: 1	Confused about potty training Hi there! I'm new to the boards, as well as new to being a yorkie owner. My fiance and I brought home a 9-week old (today!) male yorkie named Samson. He is the cutest little sweetheart and we both instantly fell in love. He's got a sweet and spunky personality and we are so glad he's a part of our family. We've only had Samson since Friday night, 5/2, but we are both just so confused on what to do for potty training. We've heard and read so many different things, it's hard to know what to do or if what we're doing is the right thing. This may be long, but I want to be as detailed as possible. My fiance and I both work pretty full days. I'm away from the house for about 9 - 9.5 hours, and that's if I only go to and from work with no detours. My fiance's schedule varies, but it's usually a 6 - 8 hour day. We don't expect Samson to go the entire day with out relieving himself, he's just too small right now, but we got advice from a friend who has a yorkie herself and she was successful with crate training and so we decided to try that. I know we haven't properly acclaimated Samson to the crate yet, but he he goes in and out of it when his water is in there and when prompted by us (or a treat). Sunday night was our first night with Samson at our home (we got him up north, so didn't get home until sunday evening) and we brought the crate in to the bedroom with us around 10pm. He cried at first, but settled down in about 10 minutes. He woke up around 12am, cried, we took him out, returned him to the crate, he cried, settled down and went back to sleep. He slept until 6:15pm, cried and woke us up. We took him out and I think he went pee (it's all starting to run together now) and brought him in. We put him back in the crate to try and get a bit more sleep and he really couldn't settle down. He was quite for a minute, then started up again. At that point, we started to smell poop. He had gone poop in his crate. How can we tell the difference between whining to get out of the crate and whining to go to the bathroom? At this point, we got up for the day, took him out, fed him, took him out again and then crated him in a small space (our crate comes with a divider to make it as small as you'd like) with no water and left for work. Again, we knew he probably wouldn't make it the entire day without soiling himself, and we were right. He peed but didn't poop. We had our first vet appointment yesterday and he checked out healthy. We spoke to the vet about crate training and no water during the day. She said since we were gone for so long, confining to an area like a bathroom with water would be better, since he's just so small and has no control yet and also so he wouldn't become dehydrated. When we're at home, we continue to take him out whenever we think we saw signs and 50% of the time he goes outside. We bring him back in and play some more. We don't really want to crate him when we're at home, so one of us always tries to keep an eye on him. We had one accident last night when we got home from the vet. He peed before he came inside from the car and once we were inside, he started sniffing really fast and squated before I could get to him. I said "NO" and picked him up and took him downstairs (we live on the second floor) and I think he went potty again. The vet told us to continue crating him at night in the small space. Last night, cried when we put him in the crate for just a few minutes. He woke up again at 12am and cried. My fiance got up and took him out and didn't pee. Samson woke up again around 2:15am and cried. I struggled to wake up fully for a minute, but then got up and took him out. I am pretty sure he peed (again, it's all starting to run together). I took him back in and put him back in the crate. He got quiet for a bit, but 10 minutes later, he started crying again. My fiance got up and took him out again and I got up to check the crate. Turns out, at some point, he had peed on the blanket he was laying on. I put a new blanket in the crate and that seemed to settle him down and he slept until almost 7am. He wouldn't eat when he first got up, but he peed. He finally had something to eat right before we were leaving, so now I know I'm going to get home to some poop on the floor of the bathroom. Also, it's probably good to point out that the breeder didn't give Samson a dewormer past 3/28 (and we bought him on 4/30) so the poor little guy now has worms. I'm sure that's not helping with the poop situation either. I am just so confused at this point. I don't know what's working and not working for our Samson. I don't expect him to make it the whole day, but I worry that I'm not doing the right thing and he's learning bad habits. Does anyone have ANY advice? If you've made it this far, I really appreciate you reading my story. I'd love any help at this point.

05-06-2008, 01:54 PM	#2
chachi I Love My Yorkies Donating Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Indianapolis, Indiana Posts: 21,258	I think you are doing fine it just takes time and repetition. I think it is good that you are keeping him in the crate at night. I am retraining one right now and I keep her in her crate at night and during the day when I cant watch her __________________ Chachi's & Jewels Mom Jewels http://www.dogster.com/?132431 Chachi http://www.dogster.com/?132427

05-06-2008, 02:58 PM	#3
KathyinCali Love My Li'l Lucy Donating Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Southern California Posts: 6,558	Welcome to YT It sounds like you are doing fine! Persistence and patience __________________ Kathy and Lil' Lucy Buster and Jammies Member of the Spoiled Rotten Club

05-07-2008, 12:04 PM	#4
PinkGir Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: San Francisco Bay Area Posts: 108	I'm having roughly the same problem...is it okay that they have accidents in their crate once in a while? __________________ ~Proud Member of The PINK Club and The Spoiled Rotten Club~ ~PinkGir~

05-07-2008, 12:51 PM	#5
yougetthesmiles The Brat Pack Donating Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Indiana Posts: 8,976 Blog Entries: 3	Welcome to YT! Congrats on your new baby boy! Arent they just the best!!! I would also suggest a expen, this will hold a pee pad, bed, water, food and toys. Gives him plenty of room. Also for when he is out of the crate you may want to look into wee wee wraps. I make them and they are perfect for puppy training. Good luck with your baby! __________________ Is your being a Pee Pee Brat? Think of me and get a Wee Wee Wrap! TAIL WAGGERS

05-07-2008, 01:42 PM	#6
Lolasmom1211 Yorkie Talker Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Texas Posts: 23	You sound really confused and the same that I did when I brought Lola home one month ago. I had no idea what to do or how to housebreak, so I bought every book and looked at every website I could but still could not find answers that would help me - and Lola wasn't doing it "by the book". My first piece of advice to you is to get a collar and leash - they hate them at first, but adjust quickly - that way you will know what he is doing while outside instead of just chasing him around! Then try to get him on some sort of schedule. I did the crate training because I am home most of the time, but with you being gone, putting him in the bathroom or kitchen with pee pee pads is probably the way to go. I take Lola out when she first wakes, after every meal, after she plays for about 15 minutes (because she gets so excited), and I try to take her out about every 1 - 1 1/2 hrs during the day (she is very small and can't hold much!).The advice I have gotten from these threads has been the most helpful and these ladies are most knowledgeable when it comes to these babies...another good website is thehousebreakingbible.com. I can tell you we are only 50% there, it has been a long process for us - others seem to have success much quicker, but we are not giving up! There are lots of accidents, but I think we will get there with time and patience. Good luck!

05-07-2008, 05:35 PM	#7
hotpod Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Norman Posts: 154	all of your story sounds normal...welcome to being a pet parent LOL its continous taking them out. eventually they will get it. it just takes time patience and maturity.

05-07-2008, 07:37 PM	#8
annabelle's mom Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: jacksonville, fl Posts: 73	Pee pee pads are wonderful. That way you won't have to worry about your baby being left alone while you are at work. We trained our girl first in an exercise pen on newspaper then found out about the pads. Drs.Smith and Foster is where I order hers. She still goes for a walk in the yard if she's out there anyway. She trained herself to use the pads....its amazing how smart a puppy can be ! __________________ Eunice and "Annabelle" my. Last edited by annabelle's mom; 05-07-2008 at 07:37 PM. Reason: misspelled word

05-07-2008, 08:44 PM	#9
Itspuppyluv Gus Is The Fuss Donating Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: New Jersey Posts: 2,230	Crating at night... At this point you aren't going to be able to tell when he's crying just to be let out of the crate or when he needs to relieve himself. Once he's used to the crate, then when he cries you'll know he actually needs something. For now you have to ignore him except for when you think he needs to go. Usually it doesn't take that long for the crying to get out to stop. Try putting something in the crate with your scent on it. The crate actually becomes a place they like when done right. He may or may not ever be able to hold it the entire time you are at work. Gus is almost four years and most days needs to relieve himself about every four hours, some days more often. When crate training, you are supposed to be home most of the time. You have to be there to let them out when needed or they will go in the crate and then you aren't teaching them anything. It can make it even worse. That's one of the reasons pet store puppies can be so difficult to housebreak. I agree with the vet, I would keep him in the bathroom with a pee pad, toys, water and food...you are gone too long for him not to have any food. It could cause hypoglycemia, which can be deadly for these tiny puppies. At this age (and probably for months yet) they give very little warning so you must watch them very closely when running free and take them out a lot. The more accidents he has in the house the harder it is for you to get through to him that's not where he's supposed to go. Good luck. Like the others have said, it takes time, persistence and patience (and then some more time, persistence and patience!). And maybe some caffeine to stay awake during the day. __________________ Erin & Gus Gus You lost me at stay! "He is a good heart and a kind soul, and an angel on four feet." MW

05-07-2008, 08:56 PM	#10
Itspuppyluv Gus Is The Fuss Donating Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: New Jersey Posts: 2,230	Lolasmom, that is good advice about leashing them when going out but it's better to use a harness than a collar. Collars can cause damage to their tracheas. __________________ Erin & Gus Gus You lost me at stay! "He is a good heart and a kind soul, and an angel on four feet." MW

05-08-2008, 03:52 AM	#11
Lolasmom1211 Yorkie Talker Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Texas Posts: 23	You are right! I inadvertently put collar...I have always used a harness and am waiting on my new harness from chattiesmom! Thanks for mentioning that.

05-08-2008, 10:56 AM	#12
Jessilynndoll Yorkie Talker Join Date: May 2008 Location: Beaverton Posts: 12	Jac is almost fully trained now (he has an accident every couple weeks most of the time because we didnt take him out soon enough) But what really helped was the potty pads, anytime he had an accident we would bring him to the pad and let him sniff it and he was soiling the pads within days, when we get home the first thing we do is take him out, even if he has already used one of his pads, and he normally goes. I work all day too, but i come home on my lunch breaks and let him out of the bathroom and clean up the pads if he has gone, Jac sleeps on the bed as of 2 weeks after we got him and he has never had an accident there, we take him out before bed and as soon as we wake up. What REALLY helps was to take him to the same patch of grass every time and give him a treat if he went on the grass for outdoor training, if he didnt go potty, he didnt get a treat. Theres alot of trial and error but it sounds like your getting the hang of it!