S.O.S My 3 month puppy stopped using his Pee Pad

[kworkie]

When i got my at pup from the breeder (10 weeks), he was using the pad. The past couple of weeks my 3 month old yorkie has been peeing and pooping outside of the pad. Now he has been pooing and peeing by his feeding bowls. He still stays in a x-pen and because of his "accidents", i've started to put him back in the crate at night. i'm out of my wits end with frustration.

Any ideas on how to re-train him to use his pad???

[AprilLove]

You have only had him a couple of weeks. You should be teaching him to go on the pad, not expecting him to know it yet. Take him to the pad every hour or so (after eating, playing, napping etc) put him on it and say "potty". When he goes reward him, praise him, do a happy potty dance. Make a big deal out of it, every time he goes!!! Positive reinforcement works wonders. Also, I would not let him have the run of any room unless you can watch him like a hawk at ALL times and when you see a sign that he has to go ... walk him to the potty pad and go through the routine. Puppies don't know what you expect of them, they have to be taught. He is still a puppy, patience, love positive praise and before you know it, he will have it down. Good luck with your little one!!

[Grayson's mom]

Grayson is going on 6 months and still has accidents! We have relapsed he was doing so great too!

[yorkieaddict]

I love Yorkies but I still do not completely trust my almost 3 year old 100%. I am in a Yorkie meetup group and most all the owners say the same thing. If I give her the whole house she sometimes has an accident. I limit her area to a few rooms and then she is fine.
Puppies take a while to train and they are all different. I am "training" my two 4 month old puppies. They are doing good but I would not fully trust them. Their x-pen has grown to a whole room now. They go on their pee pad 99% of the time.
Take baby steps in increasing their area and you may have to go backwards. Have lots of patience and set him up for success.

[kworkie]

Thanks for all your valuable advice. I'm really glad to be part of this yorkie forum/website. I don't feel like I'm all alone in raising my furbaby.

Ok for the update..

I placed 2 pads in Toby's x-pen and noticed that he prefers to do his business on different pads. Is this common? Instead of saying "No Toby" when he makes an accident, I tried to say "Be good boy and potty on the mat". He seems to be more receptive to positive words. To show his approval... he did his poo on the mat when i turned my back and of course got rewarded big time for it. We're taking baby steps but we're moving along.

Next question i for your guy.... how long should I keep 2 pads in his x-pen??

Looking forward to your response!

[kworkie]

Originally Posted by AprilLove

You have only had him a couple of weeks. You should be teaching him to go on the pad, not expecting him to know it yet. Take him to the pad every hour or so (after eating, playing, napping etc) put him on it and say "potty". When he goes reward him, praise him, do a happy potty dance. Make a big deal out of it, every time he goes!!! Positive reinforcement works wonders. Also, I would not let him have the run of any room unless you can watch him like a hawk at ALL times and when you see a sign that he has to go ... walk him to the potty pad and go through the routine. Puppies don't know what you expect of them, they have to be taught. He is still a puppy, patience, love positive praise and before you know it, he will have it down. Good luck with your little one!!

Hello AprilLove! Thanks for your advise. Toby seems to be responding to the positive reinforcement. Nowadays I don't feel like I'm sending mixed commands and look like a meanie to him. We now have 2 pads in the x-pen. How long should I try to put 2 pads?

[Kodak]

Originally Posted by kworkie

When i got my at pup from the breeder (10 weeks), he was using the pad. The past couple of weeks my 3 month old yorkie has been peeing and pooping outside of the pad. Now he has been pooing and peeing by his feeding bowls. He still stays in a x-pen and because of his "accidents", i've started to put him back in the crate at night. i'm out of my wits end with frustration.

Any ideas on how to re-train him to use his pad???

Kodak is 2yrs old, and uses it outside well, but when left at home, he still misses the pad. He get's on there to pee, but misses it when he poops. Plus when in heat, he starts marking. (about to be neutered). You may have to put 2 pads right next to each other. Make sure to get the scent up so he dosen't think it's ok to pee back in the same spot. Good luck!

[mychico4]

I went out and purchased grass pads yesterday after reading about them in another forum. My Chico still hasn't went potty yet while on any pads. But I guess this is just the beginning since I've only had him for a week now and he's 14wks. I heard you should only make them potty for like 15mins. But the past few days I will sit there with him for an hour and he still won't go. I don't know what else to do besides playing this waiting game. Any other advice is welcome!!!!!!!!!

[kworkie]

Originally Posted by mychico4

I went out and purchased grass pads yesterday after reading about them in another forum. My Chico still hasn't went potty yet while on any pads. But I guess this is just the beginning since I've only had him for a week now and he's 14wks. I heard you should only make them potty for like 15mins. But the past few days I will sit there with him for an hour and he still won't go. I don't know what else to do besides playing this waiting game. Any other advice is welcome!!!!!!!!!

I can relate with your frustration of waiting (for what seems like an eternity!) for them to do their potty. Toby used to go 3 - 4 hours and i would sometimes get up and there he goes off the pad when i turn around. I haven't used the grass pads but maybe you can try to limit his space first for a couple of days then limit the size of the pad or increase the non-padded area.

I tried to go back to basics with Toby. I reduced his x-pen space to accommodate his bed, and placed a large pad around the area. So far so good. I also noticed that he would now eat and drink and go potty in 15-30 minutes and he poops and pees approximately a foot apart and never on the same spot. I also changed my strategy in coaxing him to potty. Now i would say.. "good boy Toby..time to potty" and wierd thing is that he does go after a few minutes Next week will be the moment of truth.. i plan to increase his x-pen area with more non-padded areas.

Hang in there.. try to stay positive with Chico. You guys should work as a team. We're all here so you can let some steam off when it just starts to get to you.