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Originally Posted by Ageline  I've been thinking of getting a dog, and would love it to be a Yorkie.
However I live in Canada where the winters can be quite harsh.
My concern is potty time. How would that work out in winter. Has anyone have experience with this? I can't imagine having to dress my dog every time they need to go potty. Would it be better to have doggy litter for the winter, and a spot outside to go in the summer. And would they be able to flip back and forth.
How about always using a doggy litter instead. I mean we do it for cats, so why not dogs. Actually the whole idea of a dog going outside kinda annoys me. It's a bit amazing that in 2016 we still haven't come up with a better solution.
Anyway, any thoughts on this matter? |
I'm from the west coast, so our winters aren't quite as cold as yours. But I understand your concern about the cold weather! I take my two little ones out for potty several times a day. I do put a little coat on them each time we head out in the cold weather. Haha...but lemme say this: putting on a coat is the least amount of work I do for them lol...because if you think
that's troublesome, you're in for a treat
Jokes (and half-truths) aside, I will say that dogs are creatures of habit. It will be a challenge to have them switch potty locations based on seasons, unless you take them to multiple locations throughout the year to get them used to it.
I've looked up training dogs to use cat litter. The only thing is, dogs ...well, they want to chew up and eat anything. I didn't want to risk them eating the litter.
If you are against outdoor potty, that's okay! There are potty pads, which many use. You can train them to potty indoors and then go out once a day for a nice walk for exercise. Problem solved! As an alternative to replacing potty pads, there are a lot of porch potty variations as well - but the challenge with those is the clean up. You have options. You just have to weigh out your preferences.
Last comment - potty training a Yorkie really isn't easy (and can be quite frustrating at times). Scottie took over a year to be fully outdoor potty trained without accidents. Casie took about a year to potty on indoor pads (she unfortunately doesn't have the same holding capacity as Scottie). You'll have to keep an open mind and be very very patient - it may not work out the way you intended it to be (i.e. I wanted both mine to potty outdoors, but it couldn't work out that way. Casie also loves to eat her poop on the potty pad, so I have to watch her like a hawk). Though, it seems many members here have had their Yorkies potty trained after a couple months.