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Originally Posted by MRLFO  Hi all. I'm new to this forum and I ask that all bear with me. I have a new yorkie puppy named Xena and she is 13 weeks old. We are in the potty training stage and I know yorkies are very difficult to train. She uses pee pads in the house and I take her outside every couple hours. She usually pees just a little each time we go out and she gets rewarded when doing so. She (sometimes) uses the pee pads in the house but also doesn't bother with them either at other times. She also has pee pads in her crate which she always uses when in there. Her crate is quite large and I only like to crate her at night or when we are not home during the day. Anyone have any other suggestions on this process? Also, she does not like to have her harness or collar on. She scratches at it or tries to "rub it off" against the walls inside. How long should it take Xena to get used to this harness? Thanks for any help or suggestions. |
I always remind people that little dogs have little bladders. They don't have control over the bladder at that age either. She needs to be kept near the pee pads at all times. Never give her free run until she is totally trained. You can try tethering her to you so you can see her at all times and make sure she gets to the pad in time. If you keep her near the pad she will use it if you are training her right. It is going to be a while before she can control her bladder so it is a full time job for you to make sure you get her to the pad on time. If you consistently put her on the pad and reward her when she does it right she will learn but if you let her wander she will pee where ever she is. You really need to continue the repetitive training. Remember you are dealing with a baby that doesn't know what you want at this point. It is good that she does pee on the pad at all so you are doing good. It takes months of watching and training to get a puppy totally trained.
You should not keep her harness on her all the time. It is very bad for the skin and fur and also a coking hazard. A puppy her age should only have a harness on when you are taking her out. It's usually best not to use collars on small breed dogs. A puppy that young should not wear a collar. I use a cat type break away collar on Gracie just to hold her tags but she is an adult.
I trained Gracie to her pads first and when she got a few months older I started taking her for walks to potty. She now pees outside mostly but has her pad for in case she has to go at night time or when I am not here. I also keep her inside during bad weather.