Smokie sleeps with us. Our bed is by the window, so he sleeps next to the window - our precious guard dog. He only wakes up if something is wrong outside. We are fortunate to have a fenced yard, so Smokie goes out quite a bit during the day, gets lots of exercise. He is just over a yr old. If we do not pay attention to him trying to tell us he needs to go out, then he has had an accident (pee) twice since we've had him. I tell him in a not nice tone of voice that is not a good boy. Then we take him out. We've had dogs for years. So he can learn that if he needs to go bad enough, he can get our attention. He does not have an accident during the night, he eats and drinks when he wants, and we always take him out last thing before we go to bed and first thing when we get up. I guess I'm old fashioned, but I just can't imagine a pee pad in my house where my dog would use the bathroom regularly. But then, like I said, we are fortunate to have a nice fenced yard, and I'm sure that makes it easier. When we first got him, I considered the pee pads, but I didn't want him to learn that it was okay to use the bathroom in the house. So I did not get them. Instead, I got some real good urine cleaner, and I clean up an accident immediately. Today was Smokie's first day home alone for a few hours. He did not tear anything up, did not use the bathroom in the house, but was jumping 10 ft high when I got home and was certainly ready to go out. I dearly love my Yorkie. I believe they learn what you teach them. |