Originally Posted by BaileyMommy  Hi everyone...
new to this site and I must say, so far all the posts I have read in response to Violin's potty training issues are everything I went through with my yorkie, Bailey. Bailey is 4 years old and I still have minor issues with her doing her business inside...I tried everything from crate training (I also read dogs will not soil their crates...definitely not the case with Bailey), wee wee pads, diapers, standing outside for 45 minutes in the dead of winter to see who was more stubborn, me or Bailey-Bailey won! Some days were great, some days were horrible! Yorkies can definitely be trained to go outside, but I personally have come to realize that all of Bailey's business will never be outside. As we all know, yorkies are tiny-Bailey is only 3 lbs. and since she is 4 years old, she is done growing. I have realized that she can only hold it for so long (even compared to other yorkies), so I expect accidents. So, we have a compromise, and that is that the accidents are where I let them happen and when I let them happen. Unfortunately, due to my work schedule, Bailey is in her crate for approx. 9 hours a day (I know...horrible...I feel so guilty!). Since she is so small, I expect Bailey to have an accident in her crate b/c she physically cannot hold it that long. I don't like it, not just because she is peeing in her crate, but mostly b/c my poor baby has to sit with the pee all day. So each day, I replace the towel in her crate with a fresh one (Bailey has her own set of towels). At night, Bailey sleeps in our bed (this started happening when she was approx. 1 year old, before that she was in her crate at night). We put down two wee wee pads in our room (in the same spot every night) and Bailey uses those for her business, while we are asleep-otherwise we would be up every 2-4 hours taking her outside, even at 4 years old. These two instances are the only time "accidents" are acceptable and Bailey knows this...believe me. I say "accidents" in quotes b/c I no longer look at these as accidents-they are the nature of her extremely tiny bladder, my long work schedule, and my need to get some sleep so I can function. So, this works for us. Obviously, you need to find what works for you and I'm sure some people (especially dog trainers) would not agree with my methods or thinking, but I think you need to find what works for you and your yorkie. Good luck and don't get discouraged...it may take awhile...it did with Bailey, but we finally found what makes us all happy! Sorry everyone for the long-winded post. |