[rik20101]

Yesterday we had a cookout for 4th of July. We had a friend bring her Westie over. He is NOT reliable in the potty business at all so she was keeping him outside with her. We had quite a few guests over and she was worried about him getting lost in the mix. SO, I brought out a play yard I had to put around the Christmas tree when the kids were babies (and will come in handy this year with Piper in the house!). It is kinda like an x-pen.

Fast forward to this morning.....I took Piper outside and sat and sat and sat. She walked around everywhere, sniffed everything, looked like she was going to potty several times, and ran around. It is so frustrating when she has been in her crate all night. I KNOW she has to go!! The usual would be I take her in and she will eat, drink and either pee on the kitchen floor or her pad. (No matter how many times we crate, outside, and repeat she just won't go!)

So, I move the pen over a bit to a different spot in the yard and put her in it. I tell her to go potty and I go sit down about 2 feet away. Within a min she has peed!! YAY! So, I take her in, she eats and drinks...then she squats to poo! I pick her up and take her out to the pen. She poos within 2 min!

Four hours pass and I take her back out. I let her walk around at her leisure for about 3-4 min telling her to go potty... then I put her in the pen. Within a min she pees.

So, in your more experienced Yorkie(mix) opinions, do you think the pen could be the key to our potty outside training? I was thinking of going to get a wire pen that is slightly smaller so we could leave it outside without it looking like an eyesore. (This one fits around a Christmas tree, is 3 ft tall, and plastic)