i have found the excercize pen to be the best method to potty train. my girls have their own large area to live in (xpen)...they have their bed in one corner, the peepad in another, their food in another and a chewing/play area in another. its a great set up (which i picked up from the breeder). the thing is, u must be diligent and consistent. the second jaya goes on the pee-pad she gets let out and has free roam of the house. At six months she can hold her pee in, and i have found that when she has to go potty again, she simply hops into her playpen goes pee and then hops out. My xpen has a little door that i leave wide open when the girls are out of it... a few times the door was closed and jaya would go potty right outside the pen where the peepad was - so that was my fault for having the door closed. Even jenna has caught on, the second she goes potty, she comes stands by the door.
when i dont know if they've gone potty, and they are just sitting at the gate wanting to be let out, i stand near the end with the peepad and say "Go Pee". and ive found that they can go potty on command! And if they have already gone, jaya's signal is that she sits on her bed rather than coming to the peepad. The little one is still learning, and because she's only 12 weeks she can't always hold it, but its not a big deal.
I have found that as long as u are consistent, it will work. i had to be consistent for about a week for the 'go pee'-reward is free roam- method to work. But that cud also be due to her age... it may not have been as easy if she was younger (she was 5 and half months when she learned this method). Before that she got a treat and praise every time she went on the peepad. Once that goal was accomplished, i upped the reward to freedom. So then, everytime she went on the pee-pad, i'd open her gate, and sit down on the floor by it and wait for her to hop out to praise her...she'd go crazy happy. Jenna simply mimics Jaya.
Now whenever I come home, i go directly to the side where the peepad is, say "Go Pee". They pee, and i let them out. The little one I just keep an eye on. When she starts sniffing, i pick her up and put her on the peepad. A few times, i've just put out another peepad in the middle of the room and she'll know to go there.
The important thing is commitment. I have commited to using the pee-pads and that is how it will for their whole life. I can't change it on them. But then again, i live in a city where it rains all the time, so there would be no possibility for them to ever be the type of yorkie that could go outdoors.
How did you guys with nice weather teach your pups to ring the bell to go out? If i ever move, i'll still be stuck with the peepads though lol. I can't change the system on them when theyve been so great with it |