No doubt, housetraining is probably the most frustrating thing about owning a dog.
Start over. It's ok to do that. Train yourself to train your dog.
First things first:
* Decide which room she'll be limited to. Having access to as many as she does allows her the ability to sneak away from you and have a pee. Remove that ability for now and you'll resolve that problem.
*Now either gate off that room so she can't access the others or invest in an ex pen. Walmart has the Superyard XT for $50. An investment I'll never regret. My playpen is only limited by my imagination. It's become so many things. And when I don't need it, it collapses and stores in a closet. If I can't have all 16 eyes on my dogs, they hang out in there with "busy" toys.
* Ok. Let's set up her new environment. I use 3 mil plastic from the painting aisle at Home Depot. I cut it to fit underneathe the panels as a floor. Plastic is easy to clean and cheap to toss. Toss the floor at least every other week, even if you do clean it. Add in a pee pad, some toys and food/water bowls.
* Now we need to find her mistakes and clean them up. Get a stink finder light from the pet store and some Natures Miracle. Wait until dark and go hunting. When you locate the pee spots, treat them generously with the Natures Miracle. I use a mixture of GSE, or Grapefruit seed extract (found in the health food section at your grocery store - 1 drop per 2 oz of water in a spray bottle) to pre-clean the stain and then apply Nature's Miracle. GSE is odorless and colorless, but has the same disinfecting properties as bleach (you can also use this to clean the rest of your house). Spray the area well, blot up the excess with a clean towel until it's barely damp to the touch and then saturate with NM. If you don't clean up her mistakes, she'll find them again and continue this cycle. Add some Boundary after it's dry. It'll probably take a few days. I usually put a piece of masking tape on the carpet as a reminder and a locator.
*Next up, we need a routine. VERY important! Feed her at the same time every day. Play with her at the same time every day. Dogs thrive on routine. If they know what to expect, they'll come to accept your rules and look forward to those times. I set a reminder alarm on my phone to feed my girls every morning at 9am and another that reminds me to take them out at 9:30, Noon, 2:30 and so on. Remember that playtime activates the bladder. After 20 minutes of play, we need a potty break!
*If she uses that pee pad you put in her ex pen, relocate it outside where you want her to do her business. She'll get the hint by smell. Dogs are predictable in the idea that they always go back to where they went before. Leave it outside until you have a few surrounding the area. A kong packed with peanut butter and frozen will keep a dog occupied for HOURS. Boredom is a bad thing. It leads to destruction. So make sure she has something to "do" while being confined.
* No feet on the floor. I think Gabby was 6 months old before her feet hit the floor in anything other than her allowed areas. Cuddling on the couch with your Yorkie is ok. But if she wants to get down, she needs to go to her area. If this is an off limits room, she can't have access to the floor. Period.
* Use the 21 days rule. It takes 7 days to form a habit but 21 days to break it. After 21 days of reliability, allow her access to one more room. Remember that ex pen? It can also be used as gates to gate off areas she's not allowed into yet. All 6 panels break down individually or you can leave as many as you need connected for non standard openings.
* Pottying outside is a lot like winning the lottery. You need to let her know this. Find her favorite treat and make it so that's the only time she gets it. Choose a cue word (mine is pee-pee) and say that word as she's going potty. When she does her thing outside, Praise, Praise, Praise and give her that treat! She'll make the connection quick! Eventually you'll be able to take her out and just say your cue word and she'll know what to do.
* For a little while, keep a diary of what time she eats, plays and goes potty. You'll see a pattern form and be able to adjust your schedule accordingly.
Definitely keep up posted on her progress! And vent to us whenever you need to! |