snowwa on darn, i was so hopeful...thanks for the suggestion. i'll go ahead and try leaving his crate unlocked for 6 hours between the start of bed time and his anticipated morning poop. so i can monitor him for that. i'm just concerned that if i allow him that flexibility now, it'll spoil my chances of training him to go outside.
firstyorkie i actually have that website bookmarked
thanks for your suggestion as well. i'm currently confining him to the kitchen area. i have a pretty small kitchen, maybe about 4'x10' worth of walking space. should it be even smaller than that?
i tried getting him to go outside by taking a potty pad with me and laying it on the ground for him to go potty today. no such luck. he just sat on it and looked at me as if to say "Mommy, you got it wrong, the potty pad is suppose to be UPSTAIRS, not down here. I'll wait." sure enough when we got back inside, he went for the potty pad in the kitchen and went. but that's a whole other battle...