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Seems we all have part and parcel of the same problem . Wizard is 7 months old now and is still a pee & poo work in progress . Having had shepherds who were house trained at 10 weeks old , I find you need a lot of patience to head into a year for successful house training . It helps somewhat to know we are not alone in this .. sure hope one year old is the magic number . These little guys are so smart in so many other ways that I just do not get why they cannot get the potty thing right ... patience is a virtue . |
I haven't read all the responces but I am threwing my 2 cents in. Training Brutis my 1 yr old yorkie mix was driving me crazy but he is finally trained!!! I did use the leash method so I could watch him at all times then slowly went to keeping him in one room with me then 2 ect. If he pottied in the new space I closed it off for a week or 2 again. When the cold weather hit here we went back to one room and it is going to stay that way until I feel safe that he will only go out side even though it is cold. Don't give up!! |
Housebreaking My Reagan is now 9 months old - he came home when he was 3 months old. The breeder (a terrific woman) crate trained him so I have been very very lucky. After nearly 6 months I can count only about a dozen times that he he had an accident in the house - and they were all my fault and once cause he wasnt feeling very well - so I cant blame him. I am just so amazed that he is perfectly content in the crate - and that he has a bladder of steel. he always lets me know if he has to go outside. As he gets older I will keep expanding the area that he will have access to in the house. I do keep an eye on him if he is out of my sight. When he wakes up in the morning - he stretches for a few minutes - not in any immediate rush to get outside, suprisingly. Even when I come home from work - same thing - no rush to get outside but I take him out and hang out with him in the backyard. In evenings weekdays and on the weekends he spends all of his time he has the run of the kitchen, living room and my ofice. When I walk him he does what I call "faux peeing" lol - he will lift his leg a half dozen times only actually urinating the first few. He is not yet spayed - when should I do that? I am hoping that it doesnt cause a setback in his house training but should I expect that he will? Thanks Gina |
I don't know about "holding it", but my little Seymour is 4 years old and he STILL gets up at night to go to the bathroom. He will wake us up about 3 hours after we go to bed. Yes, he does go out before we go to bed, too. I think he just has a small bladder and now the habit of getting up to empty it is just routine. Does he drink a lot of water? |
Housebreaking I always have water out for him but he doesnt drink all that much. He doesnt even care much for the food that I give him - so I usually mix a tablespoon of wet in with the dry. He goes to bed around 10 or 11 and usually wakes me up around 6 or 7 - although sometimes he gets me up at 5 for a quick walk and then he goes right back to bed. :animal36 |
Hi there. I'd just like to say, Mocha is 8 months old and fully trained about a month ago. I fenced her and used a pee pad with the tray for about 2 months. She used to go on mats but now no more. If you use the tray, it might help him know the difference between where he should go and where he shouldn't. She used to have accidents like twice a day for MONTHS. Situation was very much like yours. I did not give up. Fencing him might be the answer here. Keep him in a pen, have water, food, pee pad, and his toys in there. I know you said your husband doesn't want a dog that has to be kept in a pen, but this is not forever! If he doesn't wanna do it, then what does he want to do instead that will help with this problem? Please remember, it's most likely not the dog. When people has trouble housebreaking a dog, most of the time it's the humans that are making mistakes with their training methods. To be honest, I am very bad with discipline and consistencies too. Trust me, I am the very worse dog trainer ever. But I trained her alone. ALONE. I also cleaned up all that pee/poo alone. So if I can do it, I fully believe you can do it too. :) Don't give up. Rehoming him should be the very last option. I truly do not believe a Yorkie is any more trouble housebreaking than any other dog. Mocha is my very first personal dog, my very first housebreaking, but I DID IT. YOU CAN TOO!! Good luck!! |
There is lots of good advise here but one thing that I don't think was mentioned. When he does pee it HAS TO BE CLEANED with one of the wonderful cleaning products just for that purpose you can buy at pets mart or other pet stores. This scent will stay there forever and it tells them this is where I should go. (regular household cleaning products will not work) Tethering is a great idea and this idea goes back hundreds of years so keep that up. Now I do believe that a yorkie can be 100% trained but if two people are working, five days a week, you will have to live with some miss haps and we must realize it is not the dogs fault. I love belly bands as well and with a male so great for visiting but when you get in the dog's mind, they can't understand why it is ok to pee sometimes and at other times not. It really reinforces the problem.....yet I know if it means the difference between keeping the dog or not, I'd go belly bands too. All of this is just my opinion and I am no expert. Good Luck with this little guy. |
Peeing all over I hate to tell you this but my Rocky is 12 years old and still pees wherever he pleases. I have wee wee pads all over the place for him when I am working and he gets to go outside also. It's awful because sometimes I don't realize that he's gone right away. Rugs or hardwood floors - it makes no difference. I have a 14-1/2 year old female minerature poodle with heart disease and she has rarely had an accident in her life. I think she is alot smarter than he is. I love him to death though and will just see him through to the end. I think in his case it is territorial. I will say that I can no longer use my hall runner or any throw rugs because they both think they are wee wee pads and are fair game. Good luck! |
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I am sitting here laughing out loud! Sounds like my life. I gave up on throw rugs long ago. The only thing good about the damage I had from Hurricane Ike is that it finished off the wood floors .. I will never have wood again! Porcelain tile is my next move. Only a true yorkie lover would write what you did....and put up with what we put up with! :D |
..."I know we've been very slack about watching him all the time. I keep telling my husband that we need to keep one eye on him at all times and if we can't, he has to be contained to one little area. My husband hates to do that, though, and doesn't want a dog that's always gated somewhere. I keep trying to tell him that I don't want that either, but for now, it's what's best for him and us and that it won't be like that forever (hopefully). But we just don't do it. I know I need to take a stand and gate him into his play area when we aren't watching him constantly, but I just don't." I am not trying to be rude or judgemental, but honestly when I read your post a portion copied above I got very upset for your Yorkie...the problem is not the Yorkie but the Owners!!! YES an 8 month old PUPPY needs to be contained that's part of the housetraining process!! You and your husband are getting upset at a dog acting LIKE A DOG!! You are the problem because you are not containing nor giving proper training to your dog. PLEASE READ Before and After Getting Your Puppy by Ian Dunbar it discusses crate training, how to NEVER have tiolet or chewing issues BECAUSE YOU TAKE PROACTIVE (NOT REACTIVE) STEPS AND PREVENT THEM FROM HAPPENING. If you and your husband don't want to take the time to train your puppy then definitely rehome him with someone who will. I know I sound harsh but I am really ticked off for that INNOCENT Puppy!! :mad::thumbdown p.s. Regardless of how old your dog is he should NEVER have total complete unsupervised free rein of your home, both for his protection and to prevent damage... would you give a 2 year old human child unsupervise complete free rein of your home??? NO! Why a dog or puppy then??? |
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zenzele I agree with you for the most part. I had always had big dogs who I potty trained in a couple of weeks. It took me months to potty train my Yorkie. Not because he is dumb but because he was so little I couldn't tell he was peeing!!! He never sniffed around!!! He could pee and poo so fast that I didn't even know he did it!! That is why I finally put him on a leash. He would try to go away from me to go potty so I knew when to take him out. Other wise I don't think I could have watched him close enough to potty train him. He still doesn't give any sign he has to go out. I just let all the dogs out when we get up, after we eat and every 2 hours or so. Or when my lab comes over and tells me he has to go out. Little dogs are sneaky pottiers which is why I think they are so much harder to potty train!! |
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Actually you are on a soap box. Not every yorkie is 100% trained....don't care what you say! :D I do not sell my yorkies short, but I owe you no explanation. |
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Take a look at the website Jilli Dog - the world's only poker playing dog - one of America's top trick dogs that's a trained dog not an "extra-ordinary" dog... the average owner, myself included don't and won't have a dog like that, but anyone that thinks a Yorkie is all looks and no brain need to see this website. Besides any trainer will tell you is all you need is 5 minutes a day REPEITION not time spent is the key. I am not an owner of a supertrained dog, my dog knows 2 basic commands Sit and Stay and you know what... those 2 commands alone go along way. So I'm not an owner of a super trained dog, nor advocating that anyone have one, I am the owner of a dog that I can prevent (for her and everyone around her wellbeing) from being out of control. :aimeeyork:thumbup: |
To be fair, not all yorkies are brilliant. I know as a breed they are smart dogs, but I really think my yorkie is on the dumb side. I say this with love. Just because one dog can play poker doesn't mean they all can. That being said, I do think it's really helpful to learn as much about training as you can, because it helps you understand your dog, and that makes for a happier family. |
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hahahaha thanks for making my night! :D |
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I think you and your husband need to sit down and talk about how you're going to go about the training, and get on the same page. It sounds like you do fine with the training on your own, by crating him when you can't watch him closely. But, if hubby's not being consistent with what you're doing, the dog is just going to get confused. Consistency is very important in any type of training, especially housebreaking. Also, you need to get one of the special cleaners at the pet store and clean all the areas he has soiled thoroughly. If he still smells it, he will just keep going there. |
Something else I thought of. Have you had him neutered recently? Sometimes dogs seem to backslide a bit after being neutered. |
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If you'd read all my posts, you would see that we HAVE tried to train Samson. We don't just let him run around, and pee whever he'd like. We don't sit on our asses, not let him out and then yell at him for peeing in the house. We have him ring a bell before he can go out, we treat him when he goes outside and we praise him when he goes outside. All we're asking for is a little sign from him that he needs to go outside. We've taken him outside, he pees, then comes back in and pees a HALF HOUR LATER in the house, without any warning. That's where we are at a loss. It's like he's not making the connection of going to the bathroom and outside. He hasn't flipped the switch yet by going "Ooooohhhh!!! THIS is where I'm supposed to go, not there" and we have no idea how to help him flip it. He's been neutered recently (about a month ago now) and the peeing in the house at night started before the surgery. We took the advice of the PetSmart guy and have really started watching him, leashing him and then crating him when we can't supervise him 100%. Also, this dog has never had free reign of the house like some of you have said. We shut off the two bedrooms and then it's just the main room, the kitchen and the bathroom where his water, bed and toys usually are. The kitchen and the main room are connected, so I could gate the hallway so he'd only be in the main room, so maybe we'll try that. We took a potty training class at PetSmart yesterday and they told us that crating him during the day while we're at work should help. He should learn to hold it for longer. They've said that, even being crated in a small bathroom, he's more active in there, hence drinking more water and then peeing on the pad or bathtub (yup, something new!!!) So, today was our first day in crating him all day. Hubby and I are both freaking out. It breaks my heart to think of him not being able to hold it then have to lay near/by/in it for the rest of the day. My hubby keeps saying that Samson will not go in his crate, so it breaks his heart to think that our little one will be uncomfortablel all day TRYING to hold it. Another idea we got from the trainers at petsmart is to hook one of those water bowls to the inside of his crate and put only ice cubes in there. That way he has some water, but not a ton. She also suggested an ice cube in his water dish in the evening so he has some, but we won't have to pick up the filled water dish so early. We'll see how it works. Since we started all this a few weeks ago, Samson's been better. He's only had a few potty accidents (all our fault) and one poop (which is so weird, he hardly ever poops inside). So it's still a ton of work, but we are working on it. I think if we got a little sign from Samson that he's maybe starting to get it, it would be a heck of a lot easier. We just have no idea if what we're doing is the right thing or if we're doing it the right way. |
Also wanted to add, for those who've mentioned it, we always clean the floor with Nature's Miralce. Never just soap and water or carpet cleaner. |
I think you are trying and that is great! How long is he crated for though? I say this, b/c most ppl that crate train, do come home for lunch and let them out to do potty. I know Yorkies have very small bladders and holding urine for 8 + hours during the day, may cause issues like a UTI. But I don't have much experience with crate training, I just choose not to do that. I kept mine contained in a spare bedroom, that I made smaller with expen pieces and cardboard boxes. I bought the doggie litter boxes and put the pee pads inside. They have 1 area upstairs for potty (in that room) and 1 area downstairs for potty. Havng to 'step inside' the pee boxes let them know the difference between peeing on the rug (no-no) and peeing in the boxes (good) It takes time, hang tight your a good Mommy ;) |
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I am gone from home for about 11.5 hours a day. My husband works less, but it varies from day to day. He could be gone from 8:30am until 1pm or anytime there after (he's a contractor, so it just all depends on his work load). I know that's a long time, and I asked the trainer at PetSmart over and over again if it's too long and they said it wasn't. They said that with him being crated, his metabolism and activitly level will go way down. Even in the small bathroom we've been crating him in, they say he has tons of room to play and jump about, hence all the peeing. I am just so nervous to hear what my hubby finds when he gets home. The trainers told us to give him at least a few weeks to get used to the crate and being in it. We still expect accidents at first, but they said he should adjust and will be fine. If after three or four weeks we find it just isn't working, the suggested a kittly litter box with a piece of sod/grass in it. That way, even though he's inside, he smells/feels the grass and will then connect that the grass outside is where he's supposed to go. The pee pad is soft, just like the carpet, so they've said he might be confused. We've gone back and forth with the pee pad in the litter box. I like that he has to step up and over to get to the pad, which might help him realize that the carpet is not the place to go, which is what you suggested. |
I first started with newspapers, then throw away pee pads, then washable pee pads, then back to throw away pee pads, then I introduced the liter box with the pee pads, and now I too bought the artificial turf (I still use the throw away pads under the turf in the box). My boy is 99.99999% trustable. He pees where he is suppose to, he may miss a tiny bit, but no marking inside what so ever. My girl is a different story, but she has a few screws loose at times, so I don't hold it against her... I know the crate training has it's bonuses, but I think he should be able to be let out and go potty every 4 or 5 hrs :confused: I don't think you are a failure, trust me, we ALL had to go thru the ups and downs of potty training....They get it and then they do regress at times, but as he matures more it will get better. I forget, did you get him some Belly Bands? |
No, I don't think we are going to try the belly bands. We discussed it, but feel they are more of a band-aid to put over the problem, not a long term solution. We feel he's right on the edge of connecting it, but will need a little more pushing to get it. I know, it seems like an awfully long time, and I know I am going to get yelled at some more for putting him in the crate for that long, but that's what we were told by the trainers. Three of them told me that their dogs are in a crate when they are home. We asked more than once if it was too long, and we were told that it might take some time for him to get used to it and he might have a tiny bit of anxiety with the change, but in the long run he should be fine. Trust me, we are totally nervous and worried that we did the wrong thing by putting him in his crate this morning. If we get home and he has had an accident, I will feel horrible. But, if he doesn't have one, I'll feel a bit better about it. |
Sounds like a plan to me....I agree that you should listen to trainers, but just keep in the back of your mind that his bladder is way smaller than a big dogs bladder and just keep an eye out for signs of UTIs - if he has difficulty peeing, or kind pee walks and sprinkles :cool: |
There is no reason at all at your dogs age he can't be in a kennel for 8 hours. So if between you and your hubbie you can get to him in about 8 hours he will be fine!! Please don't listen to people who tell you it isn't nice to kennel your dog. They are not people and will feel safer and more comfortable when alone if in a kennel. My Yorkie loves to burrow in to a blanket or squeeze under a chair to nap. If it is around bed time he just goes and sleeps in the kennel! So please don't feel guilty it really is the best thing for him!!!;) I wouldn't give him any water while in the kennel.[ Not even an ice cube ] He will sleep most of the time so doesn't need it. If it is there he will drink it than have to be uncomfortable trying to hold it and will be more likely to get a UTI or have an accident. I know this goes against what feels right. But he is a fur baby and you have to think of him as one. PS It will help to try to tire him out before you put him in the kennel too! |
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Chloe only uses her pee pad. I make sure to use a favorite treat that she only gets for doing that. Since you want to train him outside maybe find a treat he loves and only give it to him when he pees/poos outside. Make sure to take the treat out with you so he can get it right away , the second he is done , so he knows he is getting it for going potty outside. If you bring him in then give the treat , he thinks he's getting it for coming in the house and may rush to get back in ..( you wouldn't believe how long it took me to figure that one out :rolleyes:) Our other dog Syd Vicious ...aka Sydney ( not a Yorkie) goes outside. And that's what I did with her. It took about a year to get her trained to the point I can trust her and take my eyes off her while she walks around the house ( just our main floor , the stairs are gated) . She will hold it all day if she had to. I just remained as consistent as I could and didn't let the ( many) set backs get me down. I know it's hard but they will get it. I did eventually cut back then cut out the treats for peeing outside , I just gave her lots of praise and she responded just as well. But I never stopped giving her the treats for pooing outside. She is 3 now and I will continue it , because she likes it and tries hard for us , and well , it works:) |
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