Potty Training Problems solved.

[Mamajeaux]

Zip is 5 mos. and doing pretty well with training. Or I should say we are trained. We always crate train. My problem is she won't go out without me and especially at night and we have a dog door! We have two other big dogs and she will go out with them in the daytime but I have to take her to her spot to poop. I have learned she poops at 8am, 10-12 after breakfast and 5pm! I am well trained! LOL! Think she will get more brave as she gets older? She is really bonding with our Lab.

[Susanleet]

Hey, hope everyone is well! I have to be honest in that I have not read the entire thread. I have an 8 week old that does not stay in a crate. I use an exercise yard...found it at babies r us. I have a piece of linoleum from home depot under to protect the floor. He is using news paper with pee pads under, that is spread out in 2/3 of the pen which I will make smaller over time. I hope that I will one day be able to litter train him. I really am not concerned with going outdoors since he will remain somewhat small . I also have a potty patch I bought from petsmart. The reviews online for the "as seen on tv" potty patch were impressive so I thought I would try it. So...am I doing something wrong by not using a crate? Not really wanting him to go outdoors to do his business? Does anyone else litter train? I figure if a litter box is good enough for my 20 pound cat, my little Henry baby can make it work.

[Rainbows]

Originally Posted by Susanleet

Hey, hope everyone is well! I have to be honest in that I have not read the entire thread. I have an 8 week old that does not stay in a crate. I use an exercise yard...found it at babies r us. I have a piece of linoleum from home depot under to protect the floor. He is using news paper with pee pads under, that is spread out in 2/3 of the pen which I will make smaller over time. I hope that I will one day be able to litter train him. I really am not concerned with going outdoors since he will remain somewhat small . I also have a potty patch I bought from petsmart. The reviews online for the "as seen on tv" potty patch were impressive so I thought I would try it. So...am I doing something wrong by not using a crate? Not really wanting him to go outdoors to do his business? Does anyone else litter train? I figure if a litter box is good enough for my 20 pound cat, my little Henry baby can make it work.

I got my girl 3 weeks ago and started crate training her at 9 1/2 weeks old when I got her. I didn't actually train her to go into the crate, I made her go in there nicely and made sure she had toys, her food and water bowl, and the crate is big enough for her to walk around, stand up in, have a sleepy area, her food, ect. I put her in there, shut the door and she whined for a few minutes and realised the crate is good, now she runs in there to sleep if I have her out about in the house...She knows its her den lol.

She hasn't once peed or pooped in her crate. I'm a housewife though so I am home all day to listen for her cue's, and she gets a lot of free time out for play time/exercise time. I bought her a potty patch like thing, not the same brand but similar...I have it in my spare bathroom where I want her to go because I live right off the ocean and my grass is not fenced, when the tide comes in it can be very dangerous so I don't want her outside roaming on the beach to pee and poo! She goes on her potty patch 90% of the time, there are still accidents, usually a few inches away from it or somewhere else ( my fault! ) if I'm not paying attention. So here's what I've done so far... I'm still learning myself! lol :P

So she'll be in the crate all night I wake up twice hearing her whine to let her go pee pee, she's small so it's not surprising she has to go, the breeder told me his puppies are night pee'ers and made a joke about one of his puppies that went to someone else that called him up complaining about how they're like newborn babies at night haha. So everytime she has to go, day or night I pick her up out of her crate, give her lots of kisses and greet her...Carry her to the bathroom where I have the 'potty patch'. I use a pee pad inside the potty patch thing, and also put a pee pad under it now since she sometimes misses the grass thing by a few inches and hits the floor, it's been better that way. Everytime she has to potty she goes to the potty patch, she knows the bathroom is where everyone else in the house does their business and where she does it too. I place her on it and keep putting her on it if she roams around sniffing the floor, until she pees on the patch. When she goes peepee on it I give her a potty only treat like dried liver. She associates that favourite treat of hers with potty only, from that they learn everytime they go on the potty patch or litter box they get a treat after releiving themselves.

If the puppy misses and goes near it, thats okay it means its trying and you should still reward the puppy, but don't reward the puppy for household mistakes outside of the area you want it go, and dont reward the puppy for going too far away from the spot and relieving without any warning. If you catch the puppy during playtime/outside crate time about ready to go, sniffing, crouching, ect. pick up the puppy take it to the potty patch, keep putting the puppy down on it until it goes if it tries to walk away from it, and give a treat. If puppy has an accident somewhere just clean it up, don't make a fuss or scold or even acknowledge it, just clean it and forget about it. Spray/wipe the area with disinfectant pet odour remover stuff, never anything ammonia based because they will think its pee still, so no bleach based cleaners!

Eventually, they will smell their peepee/poopoo on the area potty patch and over time they associate that's the place they have to go. It's really challenging but if you give treats and be consistent it will happen in no time at all. What helps is when you place the puppy on it, give them 1 treat, get them excited about it make them realise that even stepping on it means a treat. When they go, give lots of treats, like 2 or 3 at a time, like a jackpot reward, oh yeah they love that! Also praise them and give them little massage and scratchies, it gets them very happy and they feel proud.

To clean the potty patch, the grass part, stick it in the shower and squeeze dish soap on it, run it under the shower stream until the water runs clear off it. Do that once every couple days or once a week, whatever you feel is best. Shake it to dry it out and stick it back on the plastic frame thing. From my experience poop doesn't stick to the fake grass, I just pick it up with TP or a baby wipe and flush it because my girl will not go where there is already poop, she wont even pee on a spot if she sees a poop there she's picky about that.

Also I recommend using velcro under the fake grass on all four corners of the frame, puppys even the tiny ones grab it and pull it off the frame thinking its a toy to chew on, the velcro stops them from being able to do that! All you need is the adhesive kind, it sticks to it well even through washing, and if any edges of the grass fray just clip it off with scissors. If you ever need to replace it or want better grass the hardware/DIY store sells peices by the metre for a good price!

The reason why crates are great is because it limits the puppys access to where it can potty, and is a safe haven, thats it really. If you can give your puppy 100% attention or dont mind having papers/puppy pads in an xpen then thats fine too. In your case I think it would work good if you waited until the puppy finds a particular spot on the pee pads you have laid down in the x pen and as you slowly remove the pads and allow more freedom, stick the potty patch over the pad on his preferred spot. It might take some experimenting lol!

Another thing you can do, since you mentioned the xpen, put the potty patch at the furthest end away from the bed/crate side of the pen, put lots of toys on the floor between the two, thats the puppys play area and they wont pee right next to their toys for some reason..what they will do is go to the most available space which would be the potty patch.

[Rainbows]

Originally Posted by Snoopy1984

Hello, I have a few questions on the housebreaking.
I plan to purchase the book everyone is talking about. I have a 10
Week old male. Is it to early to start training him or putting him
On the schedule? Is it true a puppy can't be fully housebroken before
6 months old due to bladder size?

Hi, no its not true about the bladder size and how long it takes for them. I've known people with shih tzus and pekes that have had those puppies broken and on the grass within a month without any accidents. It just depends really on how consistent and rewarding you are with the puppy, also some puppies can be really stubborn and each one learns at their own pace it could be 1 month, 1 week, just keep up the training and be very very diligent about it and it really should take no time it all, its really hard to when you work to be 100% obsessive about when and where they potty but don't lose hope!

[Susanleet]

Thanks rainbows!

[pixandzig]

We have had the hardest time training our two Yorkies. Then the weirest thing happened...we took them to camp!

My husband's family has owned a campground for many many years. On the ground is a trailer, with indoor plumbing, electricity...all the comforts of home. So, we spend a lot of time there.

Last winter we had the whole family there for Thanksgiving dinner (in the indoor pavilion out back) - yes it doesn't sound like camp but it is in the woods LOL. My husband and I decided to spend the entire 4 day weekend there. We took the dogs out regularly and for the entire time there they did not have a single accident.

Once we got home, we kept with that schedule and if there was a time in between that they had to go, they started letting us know. So, we gave them a treat if they asked to go out. It kind of became a rule...they only got a treat if they asked to go out, not if we took them automatically. IT WORKED!!

Now, several times a day, they let us know (one dog is much more vocal than the other) and they get a little treat when they come back in. They have made me one proud Mama!!

[jason26]

im at my wits end kayla my 3month old yorkie thinks that outside is just for playing she never uses the potty outside she waits till shes back inside then she goes what am i doing wrong

[STLyorkies]

Greetings from St. Louis. I'm a YorkieTalk newbie, but not a newbie to Yorkies. I have had my first Yorkie for 2+ years. She was fairly easy to housebreak (though I remember those COLD nights the first winter standing out in her potty area!). A couple of days ago, I adopted a second female Yorkie, 6 months old. Kali had many issues developed from her first home. She was very timid and pottied in the house. My issue is that I take Kali out for 15-30 minutes, and she does not pee. At times, she will poop, but no pee ... until she comes in the house. I have been reading the vet's pdf on the schedule for training. I work at home, so I can follow the schedule (though we don't have a crate large enough yet). Has anyone else run into the problem of taking so much time outside and not peeing or pooping? Thanks in advance, and to YorkieTalk, thanks for the great site!

[Minniesmthr]

I cannot say what has changed, other than she is now almost 6 months old, but she even stands by the door growling or wakes us up growling if she wants to go out.

We were pretty much using the crate methods described in this or other areas of this site. For a while it was pretty tense and I was taking her out multiple times per day.

A neighbor has a female Yorkie who was housetrained in 4 months. She was VERY rigid on the crate training schedule/time and I don't see how she did this but her dog was taken outside exactly every 4 hours. I believe she got a neighbor to take the dog outside when she was at work. Our Gracie might hold it during the night that long, but I am not sure she could hold it that long in the daytime...

Cathie

[Minniesmthr]

I can sympathize with you in your struggle. I thought I would lose my mind there for a while. One thing my neighbor from the post above mentioned that might be of help to you: she felt walking the dog on a leash every day morning and evening contributed heavily to her housebreaking...

Also, a trainer at Petsmart suggested getting two kinds of pet spray: one for a "no no area," the other for a "go here area." He said to get some pea gravel and create a small area in the yard with the gravel and spray the "go here" spray over the peat gravel. Take her/him to this area on a leash every single time you take her/him out... Perhaps walking combined with this might help. You are supposed to use the "no no" spray in areas where you have seen the dog go after it is well cleaned up.

Good luck!
Cathie

[dogdood]

Originally Posted by AmeliaBadelia

It seems that most of the posts in this area are in regards to potty training. Instead of answering every single one, I'm just going to start a new thread. Hopefully it'll help someone.

The key is confinement when you can't watch them & consistency. Like, clockwork consistency. Setting yourself an alarm if you need to. Buy the book "How to housebreak your dog in 7 days by Shirlee Kalstone." This book worked miracles for us.

If you can't afford to buy the book, a Vet has made a .pdf file of the schedule from this book that you should follow. The key is to tweak it to fit your dog's schedule once you figure out their body's natural rhythm. Then, STICK to it. This has worked wonders for us. Please look this over if you're having potty training issues. It's very highly rated & even recommended by trainers. If you can, definitely buy the book. It's only a couple of bucks and it's packed with good information. It's also a very quick read.

Hope this helps & good luck!!

Hi Catherine

I also wanted to share the concept of an indoor dog toilet with your great article. I am a physician, and I work 9 hours a day. When I am work, my dog has learned to use the Piddle Place Home Page - Piddle Place When I get home I take her for a walk. I am new to this forum, but see so many questions on this topic, and as a physician I don't understand why a dog should not allowed the same comfort that I enjoy. Being able to relieve myself when I need to. Gone are the days messy puppy pads, and the stink and odor. As we rethink some basic freedoms for our pets, I think this should be a priority for any dog that stays inside while we are at work. Remember, housebreaking issues are the number one reason people abandon their dogs.
David

[dogdood]

another great housebreaking article for thought.
Welcome to Puppy Litter Boxes | Puppy Litter Box Reviews
Freedom!

David

[akaryendy]

I have a 16 weeks old for about a week now. I have been consistently taking him out on a schedule after he wakes up, play time, feedings, before bed, etc. but he never goes when we are outside. Instead he would go after we get inside the house, and this is does not matter how long I keep him out (more than an hour). I even tried taking him in, wait 10, 15 mins and out again. Still does not work. I watch him and get all the signs so I know that he needs to eliminate, but the outdoor is just too distracting for him. Any thought?

[Minniesmthr]

Recently, I read an article written by a vet. This stated that the puppy could become used to the substrate (surface) he learned to eliminate on. She also said that changing this would be best accomplished at around 8 weeks of age.

I don't know if this is correct or not. If it is correct though and the dog is used to wee wee pads, I would crate the dog and set the crate in a playpen whose surface is half wee wee pad and half grass or fake grass. Watch and see if the dog eliminates on the wee wee pad only. Perhaps gradually reducing the available area of wee wee pad might help him learn that a grass or fake grass surface is acceptable...

The other thing I saw at a pet store was a crate that was half bed and the other half an area for elimination. There was an opening between the bed portion and the elimination area (which was covered with grass or fake grass.) This would probably be the easiest choice in my opinion.

If you have access to a housebroken dog that your puppy gets along with, sometimes they learn well from one another in the yard...

Cathie

[akaryendy]

Originally Posted by Minniesmthr

Recently, I read an article written by a vet. This stated that the puppy could become used to the substrate (surface) he learned to eliminate on. She also said that changing this would be best accomplished at around 8 weeks of age.

I don't know if this is correct or not. If it is correct though and the dog is used to wee wee pads, I would crate the dog and set the crate in a playpen whose surface is half wee wee pad and half grass or fake grass. Watch and see if the dog eliminates on the wee wee pad only. Perhaps gradually reducing the available area of wee wee pad might help him learn that a grass or fake grass surface is acceptable...

The other thing I saw at a pet store was a crate that was half bed and the other half an area for elimination. There was an opening between the bed portion and the elimination area (which was covered with grass or fake grass.) This would probably be the easiest choice in my opinion.

If you have access to a housebroken dog that your puppy gets along with, sometimes they learn well from one another in the yard...

Cathie

Thank you for the advice. We don't crate him, just put him in a gated tile bathroom with his bed and toys. He generally does not eliminate there but pretty much everywhere else in the house, tile or carpet, right after walks. We always take him out when there's signs indicating that he needs to go, but as soon as he gets out, he is more interested in exploring. Like this morning we were out for 4 hours and nothing.

Anyway, I will definitely try the fake grass idea. Hopefully it works. Thank you.