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Originally Posted by Helene46  Hi, my name is Helene..I joined this forum several months ago when I got my first yorkie. Unfortunatly I was not able to keep her because I just could not house train her. I tried EVERYTHING!! and nothing worked. It made me sad to get rid of her, but I just could not keep her any more. I have another dog in the house (lab) who is housebroken, but she would pee on my carpet after the yorkie did.
To try and make a long story short I am the proud mama of another yorkie. I love the breed and so want one! I had one all picked out and was going to get her after she was weaned from her mama. For many reasons tha that I will not get into right now, I wound up getting her at 5-1/2 weeks. The main reason, the owners wanted her gone! Sooo...needless to say I took her and have been playing "mama' to her. She is doing wonderfully..eating puppy chow drinking water from a bowl etc and has been for almost 2 weeks. She will be 7 weeks on Tuesday.
I keep her in a crate and while I realize she is too young to potty train I would love to be able to get her in the habit of going on a puppy pad. I do not want her to think of the crate as her potty..but rather her "safe haven"....So this is where I am having problems and am looking for a little advise...I have read the threads on house training, but we are not there yet...
So this is our schedule. I get up at 4:30am and leave the house at 6:15. My husband doesn't leave the house until about 11:30 for work, so he can help me that way...the problem is, I do not get home from work until about 5 which means puppy will be in her crate from 11:30-5...
So my question is..should we be using another approach? I was thinking gating her off in the bathroom...maybe putting her box in the bathroom and lay some pads down ..so she has her crate to sleep in and a place to go potty. Oh of course a lot of chew toys too because she loves chewing on things already...
Another question is, how do I get her to realize that the pad is the place for her to pee and poop, not the floor and not the crate? Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Helene |
I strongly suggest that this pup is not crated from 11:30 - 5, that is asking so much of a pup that shouldn't even be weaned, much less be away from it's mother. This pup is still an infant.
I strongly suggest that you obtain an x-pen with a lid (there are great canvas ones, with washable floors. Put her crate inside of the x-pen, without the door to insure that she doesn't get caught on it. Place a washable pee pad in a corner (not a throw away. Too dangerous as they tend to rip them apart and the fuzz gets in their little nostrils). Make sure she has water, food and toys. I'd get a coop type plate and water bottle. The coop/stainless steel plates are hung on the side of the x-pen.....less chance of puppy turning the food over. Water Bottle is also hung on the side, pup can't turn it over and it's more sanitary. Do not allow your pup run of the house, that is the one mistake made by most owners. You wouldn't bring your baby home from the hospital, put in on the floor and tell it here's your house. Dogs have to earn the right to full access of the house.
I don't know what age you "got rid" of the other yorkie (how sad) and I hope this pup doesn't go by the same route as your last yorkie. I tell all my yorkie families not to expect miracles until about 6 months of age. They are growing and teething, everything hurts them and they have the attention span of an ameba. This pup you should have more patience with, it was taken away from it's mother too soon. A pup shouldn't be taken away from it's mother until 12 weeks of age. The first 8 weeks of a pups life is for mom to nurture, feed it and provide to all their needs to survive. From 8 to 12 weeks mom does so much more. Teaches it proper behavior, socializes it, teaches it where to potty, how to play, where they fit in the scheme of things.
Needless to say you have to be consistent, patient and be a mom to this poor little pup that has had a poor headstart.