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CassieW · 08-17-2015, 07:58 PM

I am by no means an expert, but I'll share what I did.

I am a first time yorkie owner. Our pup came home at 10 weeks old and he is 5 months old now. The breeder kept pups in an exercise pen and was working on pad training. I did not want my dog to be pad trained, so I began training him to go outside as soon as we brought him home. I have trained him to ring a bell when he wants to go out to use the bathroom. He has been doing that consistently since 12 weeks of age. Of course, he had accidents at first, but very few now.

I put him in a wire crate at night covered with a blanket. I started that on the first day he was home. He did whine the first couple of nights, but that did not last long. I set my alarm to take him outside twice a night for the first week, then once per night, then none. During the day, I'd occasionally toss a few treats in his crate and leave the door open so he'd go in more often on his own. I never really crated him a lot during the day, but put him in an iris ex-pen when I could not keep a close eye on him. I was at home with him from the end of May until a week ago when I returned to work, so I was able to commit a lot of time to house training. I knew after the summer was over I would be going back to work and did not want to have to crate him for 8 hours. He now stays in a hallway with a pet gate while I am at work. He has his food, water, portable crate, and lots of toys. I also leave the tv on for him so he has it to listen to. He does not have accidents at all while I am at work, so he is doing really well.

I suppose the best piece of advice I have is to be consistent. Do not let your pup out of the crate when she is whining. Be consistent about waiting for the pup to be quiet for a few minutes first. Eventually she will learn that she will not get her way by whining. Use a lot of positive rewards and build up to overnight crating if needed.

08-17-2015, 07:58 PM	#5
CassieW YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Louisiana Posts: 5	I am by no means an expert, but I'll share what I did. I am a first time yorkie owner. Our pup came home at 10 weeks old and he is 5 months old now. The breeder kept pups in an exercise pen and was working on pad training. I did not want my dog to be pad trained, so I began training him to go outside as soon as we brought him home. I have trained him to ring a bell when he wants to go out to use the bathroom. He has been doing that consistently since 12 weeks of age. Of course, he had accidents at first, but very few now. I put him in a wire crate at night covered with a blanket. I started that on the first day he was home. He did whine the first couple of nights, but that did not last long. I set my alarm to take him outside twice a night for the first week, then once per night, then none. During the day, I'd occasionally toss a few treats in his crate and leave the door open so he'd go in more often on his own. I never really crated him a lot during the day, but put him in an iris ex-pen when I could not keep a close eye on him. I was at home with him from the end of May until a week ago when I returned to work, so I was able to commit a lot of time to house training. I knew after the summer was over I would be going back to work and did not want to have to crate him for 8 hours. He now stays in a hallway with a pet gate while I am at work. He has his food, water, portable crate, and lots of toys. I also leave the tv on for him so he has it to listen to. He does not have accidents at all while I am at work, so he is doing really well. I suppose the best piece of advice I have is to be consistent. Do not let your pup out of the crate when she is whining. Be consistent about waiting for the pup to be quiet for a few minutes first. Eventually she will learn that she will not get her way by whining. Use a lot of positive rewards and build up to overnight crating if needed.