Quote:
Originally Posted by ourfirstyorkie  Hi Kathy,
I feed Farrah TOTW. I give her 1/2 a cup a day. She generally will eat 2/3rds that amount. I give it to her at 7am and take it away at 8:30am.
I sadly agree that she may have "dirty dog syndrome". I googled it and read a lot and am very sad. Yorkies are notoriously hard to train and now I have the challenge of DDS along with it. I read that I should feed her meals on the bottom of the crate. What do you think of that? I also wonder if I took away the potty pads during the day and just took her out every 1/2 hour if that would do the trick.. |
I strongly urge you to feed her twice daily. Give her 1/4 cup in the AM, on the crate or floor is fine, bc she will finish that amount. Then give her the other 1/4 between 5-7 PM. Feeding her this way will make her bowels more regular. These pups are too small to function properly on one feeding a day. The goal is to have her potty within a half hour of eating. It may take her a week or two to adjust.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ourfirstyorkie For 2 nights now she has done her business at 9:30pm. So no poop in the crate in the morning. But I heard her this morning at 5:45am and ran down the stairs to take her out but she already peed in the crate. It seems that her signals to me are off. She lets me know when she does her "business" After she does it. Any idea on how to train her to "tell" me before?
I truly appreciate your input and will be giving the vet a call. |
The key times to take her out are:
1. Very first thing in the morning (even if she already went in her crate.)
2. 10-20 minutes after each meal. A walk will help her digestion.
3. After playtime, and after naps (or periods of inactivity)
4.The very last thing before you go to bed at night.
5. Whenever you come home from being out, take her out first thing.
6. Take her out right before you leave the house.
7. For intense housetraining: take her out every two hours, in addition to the times above. If she's still having accidents make it every hour, (or 1/2 hour) and gradually extend the time as she becomes successful.
Once she gets in the habit of getting a treat for pottying outside, she should figure out that she needs to get your attention to make that happen and get the treat. Or there are bells to hang on the door that she can be taught to ring before going outside. Be patient... one day she'll surprise you!
To learn her signals, you will need to watch her. Look for sniffing the floor, circling, running to the door. (Always use the same door to go potty from). With the schedule above and keeping an eye on her, eventually you will see her repeat some kind of behavior right before she goes potty. That would be her signal.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ourfirstyorkie Very cute. Good Luck.
Farrah has been crate clean for 4 nights now. I have been waking up on her schedule (too early) but I hope she will learn to have a clean den and "want" a clean den. I'm not sure how long it will take but I am already more happy.. |
Yay!
Quote:
Originally Posted by ourfirstyorkie Also, I started to give her a treat as she does her potty outside. A lot less on the floor of her x-pen the past few days and more on the pee pad as well. My best guess is that my crazy cheering wasn't enough praise and that the little "stinker" wanted more!  |
Sometimes it takes a bit more to give them the idea of what you want. Also, as you have more and more positive experiences together, your bond will get stronger, and you'll both be happier. Treats never hurt, and given appropriately can be a great aid in getting through to them.
Good Luck, and keep us posted... Just a warning: Yorkies sometimes slip back into an untrained state, like if you go on vacation or something.... just start over with her and she should get back on track within two weeks or so.