working during the day... help me please? - YorkieTalk.com Forums

y0rkiesR0ck · 03-05-2008, 05:55 AM

okay, i know there are A LOT of threads about potty training, but i couldn't find one through the search engine that pin-pointed my question, so i'm hoping you all can help ease my mind.

Kash is going on 13 weeks this saturday, and i've had him for about 3 1/2 weeks. both my boyfriend and i work during the day, so i understand that potty training is going to take longer than if i were at home with him. my problem is i'm afraid i'm confusing kash. and i'm confused by the information i've read as well.

so, i keep kash confined to our kitchen with a baby gate and his (open) crate. i'm doing this because people on YT have said keeping such a young puppy confined to a small crate for 5 hours at a time is not good. so, i give him run of the whole kitchen, which is about 8' x 8'. i come home at lunch to let him out, and there's always pee on the floor. i wipe it up with a paper towel, take kash and the soiled paper towel outside to possibly relate outside to peeing. i have a pee pad on the floor for accidents, but he doesn't use it.

i don't know what to do... am i doing the right thing by letting him have the whole kitchen? or should i keep him in his crate? am i confusing him by trying to teach him to go outside as well as on a pee pad inside? if so, how can i prevent accidents if i remove the pee pad completely? is it possible to teach both? i feel like he thinks it's okay to pee/poop inside (especially the kitchen) because i don't punish him when he does (because it's usually way after the fact).

i know he's still young, and it will take more time and patience. i just want to make sure i'm going about training the right way so that he eventually gets the point.

**also, i've been carrying him from the kitchen to the back door. i read that i should lead him to the back door, not carry him. is this right?

thanks in advance!

KathyK09 · 03-05-2008, 08:03 AM

Hi!

Our Mariah is now 15 wks old and we have the same situation as you.

We originally kept our Mariah in our huge bathroom but the pee-pad training just wasn't working. She would go on the pads but also all over in the bathroom.

We decided to put an x-pen in the bathroom. It is about 2x6 and she has her pee-pads on one end, and on the other end we have her food/water, crate and bed. She has consistently gone only on the pee-pads since we did this. Not ONE accident in her x-pen.

This is the BEST advice we have gotten from this site and it has worked so very well for us!

When we get home we take her out of the x-pen and closely supervise her. (If there is a time when I can't closely supervise she goes back into the pen.) I always immediately change her pad first thing (so I can see fresh potty). After about 15 min after we first take her out of the pen (since we don't know when she last went potty) we walk her back to the x-pen and tell her to "go potty". I just sit on the floor next to the pen until she goes. I have a treat and lots of praise immediately ready for her when she goes. Then we let her out again. From that point on every 30-45 min we would repeat that process.

She VERY QUICKLY learned to go potty at these times. We are now taking her every 60 minutes and RARELY have any accidents.

We now coax her to go in the pen by herself and she goes pee on the pad every single time and then we praise and give a treat! It's been working really well!

Once she even went into the pen by herself and went potty...YEAH!

We are training with pee-pads because we are gone for such a long time during the day at school/work and also because our WI weather has been really harsh this winter.

When the weather gets nicer we plan to take her outside. We will use bell-training (hang a bell on the door and teach them to ring it when they want to go outside). We will use the same process as above - only instead of coaxing her to go into her pen we will take her outside.

I hope this helps! Good Luck!

MIZBROWN · 03-05-2008, 08:39 AM

Well... I certainly understand your frustrations. My deal, is that since day one with Meka (9wks) we decided on the pee pads. So, I use to confine her to a playpen w/ pee pad during the day while I worked. Left the TV on for her and she was fine. She's always use the pad (if confined to one area). So, now at almost a year, we were a little laxed on the training (because she was doing so good) and gave her full run of the house (big mistake)...

None the less, Im having to virtually start over with training her. Im trying to crate train this time, in hopes that might help her with knowing when to use the potty. And this is something I wished I would have done when she was younger.

Also, though she's mainly trained on pee pads, she's always been able to potty when taken on a walk/outside. I think it kinda comes natural for them. Im by far not an expert, and probably haven't helped much, but I hope you get the answers you need

dagibbie · 03-05-2008, 08:55 AM

I have found that the pee pads work pretty good. One thing I noticed is that they usually have to pee when they get up from a nap. Ours is now using the pee pad pretty much all the time unless I take him out. The weather has been rough at times so we don't get out as much as I had wanted to. I think we are going to have to go back to the pen at night. I put a play pen next to the bed at night with a couple of pads in it. When he wakes up to go in the middle of the night, I put him in the pen and he has to go to get out of the pen. That is how we originally trained him to use the pad. He has never gone in the bed at night.

When we first got him and had to leave for a couple of hours, we put him in the pen. He is now to big to stay in it, but it will be used to remind him that at night he still has to use the pad, not just during the day.

Patience is the most important item.

Knockz · 03-05-2008, 08:55 AM

Another thing that may help is to wake up a bit earlier before work and feed right away. Then give it about an hour and ensure they go potty before you leave home.

They may actually need to go a few times depending on how much water/food is consumed.

Dim Sum usually goes about 3 times in the first hour or two of the morning once I let him out. He pee's, then poo's before even feeding him. Then after the food/water he goes outside to pee once again before finally settling down.

LucyNTuckersMom · 03-05-2008, 07:06 PM

Is your eventual goal to use both the potty pads and going outdoors? Or would you ideally like to just take the dog outside? Some people use the potty pads because they think they "have to" with a puppy, like it's just the thing to do... which it is, if you want to use the pads forever. If you don't, then I would just crate train and make sure they get to go out frequently (every 3 hours or so at this time, and then you can go longer as the dog gets older) I have heard 1 hour for every month, but that can vary by dog. If he has an accident in the crate, just take him outside as soon as you get home, and with time, he'll stop going in the crate. So you can "work up" to the whole kitchen again. (unless he starts to chew the walls like some Yorkie I know, who shall remain nameless).

Teresa

katelin · 03-05-2008, 07:24 PM

An x-pen is an excellent idea to make a smaller space for your baby while you are at work. A potty pad in one area and food/water/bed on the opposite side. When they are so young it is very hard for them to know that the whole kitchen isn't fair game for pottying.

When my little guy was given the "run" of an area, I used belly bands on him until he was about 8 months old. By then he was mature enough physically to hold it and had a clear understanding of where he was to "go". Unless you get the scent completely out, they are likely to return to the same area.

Good luck. I know potty training can be very frustrating.

Katelin:

03-05-2008, 05:55 AM	#1
y0rkiesR0ck YT Addict Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Fairborn, OH Posts: 345	working during the day... help me please? okay, i know there are A LOT of threads about potty training, but i couldn't find one through the search engine that pin-pointed my question, so i'm hoping you all can help ease my mind. Kash is going on 13 weeks this saturday, and i've had him for about 3 1/2 weeks. both my boyfriend and i work during the day, so i understand that potty training is going to take longer than if i were at home with him. my problem is i'm afraid i'm confusing kash. and i'm confused by the information i've read as well. so, i keep kash confined to our kitchen with a baby gate and his (open) crate. i'm doing this because people on YT have said keeping such a young puppy confined to a small crate for 5 hours at a time is not good. so, i give him run of the whole kitchen, which is about 8' x 8'. i come home at lunch to let him out, and there's always pee on the floor. i wipe it up with a paper towel, take kash and the soiled paper towel outside to possibly relate outside to peeing. i have a pee pad on the floor for accidents, but he doesn't use it. i don't know what to do... am i doing the right thing by letting him have the whole kitchen? or should i keep him in his crate? am i confusing him by trying to teach him to go outside as well as on a pee pad inside? if so, how can i prevent accidents if i remove the pee pad completely? is it possible to teach both? i feel like he thinks it's okay to pee/poop inside (especially the kitchen) because i don't punish him when he does (because it's usually way after the fact). i know he's still young, and it will take more time and patience. i just want to make sure i'm going about training the right way so that he eventually gets the point. **also, i've been carrying him from the kitchen to the back door. i read that i should lead him to the back door, not carry him. is this right? thanks in advance! __________________ Mae, Kash & Milan

03-05-2008, 08:03 AM	#2
KathyK09 Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Northeast WI Posts: 97	I have the same situation! Hi! Our Mariah is now 15 wks old and we have the same situation as you. We originally kept our Mariah in our huge bathroom but the pee-pad training just wasn't working. She would go on the pads but also all over in the bathroom. We decided to put an x-pen in the bathroom. It is about 2x6 and she has her pee-pads on one end, and on the other end we have her food/water, crate and bed. She has consistently gone only on the pee-pads since we did this. Not ONE accident in her x-pen. This is the BEST advice we have gotten from this site and it has worked so very well for us! When we get home we take her out of the x-pen and closely supervise her. (If there is a time when I can't closely supervise she goes back into the pen.) I always immediately change her pad first thing (so I can see fresh potty). After about 15 min after we first take her out of the pen (since we don't know when she last went potty) we walk her back to the x-pen and tell her to "go potty". I just sit on the floor next to the pen until she goes. I have a treat and lots of praise immediately ready for her when she goes. Then we let her out again. From that point on every 30-45 min we would repeat that process. She VERY QUICKLY learned to go potty at these times. We are now taking her every 60 minutes and RARELY have any accidents. We now coax her to go in the pen by herself and she goes pee on the pad every single time and then we praise and give a treat! It's been working really well! Once she even went into the pen by herself and went potty...YEAH! We are training with pee-pads because we are gone for such a long time during the day at school/work and also because our WI weather has been really harsh this winter. When the weather gets nicer we plan to take her outside. We will use bell-training (hang a bell on the door and teach them to ring it when they want to go outside). We will use the same process as above - only instead of coaxing her to go into her pen we will take her outside. I hope this helps! Good Luck!

03-05-2008, 08:39 AM	#3
MIZBROWN Donating YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: California Posts: 2,293	Well... I certainly understand your frustrations. My deal, is that since day one with Meka (9wks) we decided on the pee pads. So, I use to confine her to a playpen w/ pee pad during the day while I worked. Left the TV on for her and she was fine. She's always use the pad (if confined to one area). So, now at almost a year, we were a little laxed on the training (because she was doing so good) and gave her full run of the house (big mistake)... None the less, Im having to virtually start over with training her. Im trying to crate train this time, in hopes that might help her with knowing when to use the potty. And this is something I wished I would have done when she was younger. Also, though she's mainly trained on pee pads, she's always been able to potty when taken on a walk/outside. I think it kinda comes natural for them. Im by far not an expert, and probably haven't helped much, but I hope you get the answers you need __________________ Mommy to Meka "MeMe" Brown aka Meka the Diva Member of the Spoiled Rotten Club & CA Yorkies www.dogster.com/dogs/567943

03-05-2008, 08:55 AM	#4
dagibbie Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Kansas Posts: 170	potty training I have found that the pee pads work pretty good. One thing I noticed is that they usually have to pee when they get up from a nap. Ours is now using the pee pad pretty much all the time unless I take him out. The weather has been rough at times so we don't get out as much as I had wanted to. I think we are going to have to go back to the pen at night. I put a play pen next to the bed at night with a couple of pads in it. When he wakes up to go in the middle of the night, I put him in the pen and he has to go to get out of the pen. That is how we originally trained him to use the pad. He has never gone in the bed at night. When we first got him and had to leave for a couple of hours, we put him in the pen. He is now to big to stay in it, but it will be used to remind him that at night he still has to use the pad, not just during the day. Patience is the most important item.

03-05-2008, 08:55 AM	#5
Knockz Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Toronto (Brampton to be exact) Posts: 135 Blog Entries: 1	Another thing that may help is to wake up a bit earlier before work and feed right away. Then give it about an hour and ensure they go potty before you leave home. They may actually need to go a few times depending on how much water/food is consumed. Dim Sum usually goes about 3 times in the first hour or two of the morning once I let him out. He pee's, then poo's before even feeding him. Then after the food/water he goes outside to pee once again before finally settling down. __________________ Dim Sum's Daddy. Proud member of the Little Gentlemen's Club!

03-05-2008, 07:06 PM	#6
LucyNTuckersMom Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: IL Posts: 181	Is your eventual goal to use both the potty pads and going outdoors? Or would you ideally like to just take the dog outside? Some people use the potty pads because they think they "have to" with a puppy, like it's just the thing to do... which it is, if you want to use the pads forever. If you don't, then I would just crate train and make sure they get to go out frequently (every 3 hours or so at this time, and then you can go longer as the dog gets older) I have heard 1 hour for every month, but that can vary by dog. If he has an accident in the crate, just take him outside as soon as you get home, and with time, he'll stop going in the crate. So you can "work up" to the whole kitchen again. (unless he starts to chew the walls like some Yorkie I know, who shall remain nameless). Teresa

03-05-2008, 07:24 PM	#7
katelin YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: California Posts: 1,778	He is still very young An x-pen is an excellent idea to make a smaller space for your baby while you are at work. A potty pad in one area and food/water/bed on the opposite side. When they are so young it is very hard for them to know that the whole kitchen isn't fair game for pottying. When my little guy was given the "run" of an area, I used belly bands on him until he was about 8 months old. By then he was mature enough physically to hold it and had a clear understanding of where he was to "go". Unless you get the scent completely out, they are likely to return to the same area. Good luck. I know potty training can be very frustrating. Katelin: