Jan - I've put up MANY posts about this before and even a poll asking people to rate what are their primary concerns/issues training Yorkies and sorry to say the overwheliming issue IShousebreaking. But it isn't just Yorkies or Chis, or Italian Greyhounds, it's common among all toy dogs. My friends have a Pug and as their residient dog "expert" they are constantly telling me tails of woe about pee-peed up rugs, furniture, even shoes. If you want an easily trained, housebroken dog, you are probably best to stay far away from the Toy Group. Little dogs have little bladders. They will need constant vigiliance and a lot of time and patience simply because they cannot hold it in as long as a big dog. Most of this group, too, you must understand, were not developed as working dogs (the Yorkie, actually is an exception here as they were ratters originally). These are dogs that are not what we call "bitable" like a hunting or working group dog, developed to follow commands. So training just isn't always so easy.
What's more, the choice of withholding food from them is not really an option because a small Toy puppy can easily become hypoglycemic of dehydrated that way.
I applaud you for doing your research first and, as a caveout, I agree with the people who say each dog is different. I have one Yorkie who is absolutly saintly when it comes to housebreaking and will wake me up from a dead sleep and race to the front door to beg to be let outside before ever going inside. I have another one who pooped in her crate for four months before I gave up on crate training and go an exercise pen which was big enough to keep her from stepping her poop and making a mess of herself.
I am completly devoted to Yorkies and can tell you a hundred different things about how wonderful they are but if you are someone who wants a clean house, this Toy terrier may not be the dog for you. |