The YT Potty Log

[Kristen44]

Gretzky has good days and bad days with the potty training. Somedays I swear we will never have an issue again then I'll come around the corner to at little surprise.

A lot of times he poops under our bed. He gives no clues he has to go, I'll turn around and he's gone .. then I know where he went. I run in lift up the bed skirt he runs out and goes and sits on the pad .. with this look like "I didn't do anything mom!"

I'd say 75% of the time he's going where he's supposed to. He will pee outside and/or on the pad but poops forget it! And if he does poop outside its just a little and he will save the rest for under our bed!

Somedays I feel like we'll never ever be 100% potty trained! But god I hope so!

[ParrotLady]

Oh Hellen, we have Penny "pogo" and understand perfectly!! LOL It is scary what they can clear. We are having a hard time with the potty training also.

She wets the pad most of the time and leaves piles on the pad and other places too. My daughter and I are leaving for California on Thursday for almost 3 weeks, then we are going to double our efforts to train her to use the Pet Loo. We hope that climbing up on something will "click" better than something on the same level as the floor.

[QuickSilver]

Hey! I can't see the video (browser problems), but we have several spiderman yorkies and some flying yorkies too. I believe people have had success in doubling up baby gates, or switching to xpens with covered tops.

I just wanted to pop in and say that Thor continues his march to potty perfection. He has full run of my apartment now except for one half of the bedroom, AND it's been 3 weeks since he's tried to mark at my office. I feel good about it. He tried to get creative during his first good streak, and I would find myself diving to prevent him from marking the wall next to his potty pad, or standing on the pad but peeing on the floor, etc. We've got a system in place now. I've also switched over to Breathies Chicken Minis for potties. He gets 1/2 a mini for a good potty, and progressively tinier pieces if he tries to go several times in a row.

For a while I would sometimes give him a piece of my food (healthy! I promise), but of course that encouraged him to pee a lot if I was cooking or eating. He still tries to get extra mini's when he's hungry, but eventually he gives up and eats a couple bites of his six star dog food.

Anyway, I feel like I've been potty training for YEARS now, but I looked back at the start of this thread, and it's only been two months. I tried some not-so-effective methods for a couple weeks before that, so Thor and I have been working on this together for maybe three months, and it's been pretty serene for the past two. The real killer was that 10 day period where I watched him every second he was awake, and the rest of it has been relatively easy (except for the heart break when he messed up).

I want to tell everyone, don't give up! I definitely despaired a few times at the thought of ever getting Thor trained, but he's really on top of it now (knock on wood). Your yorkie can get it too! And believe me, it is sooooooo nice to be coming out on the other side of the woods.

[carlyn6884]

alright i am officially joining this thread

I have had Toby a little over two weeks and he is 10 weeks old. He has had 2 accidents in the house, one of which was this morning which is why i decided to do this now... Before today his last accident was over a week ago (last Sunday). Both were my fault b/c i wasn't watching him close enough... soooo here's to day #1 of no accidents!

[Bellaandhelen]

I think I cursed myself by posting that Bella hasn't been having accidents over night... I woke up to a spot where she had peed while we were sleeping and was really bummed. She did perfectly yesterday- I don't know what happened overnight- and she definitely didn't try to wake me up . It's good to hear from Quicksilver that persistance has paid off. I hadn't thought about putting two babygates up- it's a good idea. I'm also intrigued by the pet loo idea- I may invest in one come May 1st and restart with the indoor training. Have other's had success with it rather than the potty pads?

[kathallan]

Hi Everyone!

I have a 2 1/2 year old that is ~ 95% trained to go outside (sometimes has accidents inside) but I have someone home during the day. That is going to change the end of the month and my Yorkie will be left alone for ~ 10 hours each day...YIKES! Do you all think it's a good idea to re-introduce the wee wee pads as she used them for her first year, or is it too late to go backwards? And if not, how do I re-introduce them? I look forward to your input and your advice!

[Audey]

Well, I won't say I am happy to hear that someone has the same problem as me, but I understand the "pee walk". I can only figure they just don't want to take the top to stop and go!
Audey is 7months old and for the most part outside trained. He will still leave me a freindly little puddle outside of whatever room I do not allow him to access with me. I look forward to the days of puddle freedom!

[QuickSilver]

Originally Posted by kathallan

Hi Everyone!

I have a 2 1/2 year old that is ~ 95% trained to go outside (sometimes has accidents inside) but I have someone home during the day. That is going to change the end of the month and my Yorkie will be left alone for ~ 10 hours each day...YIKES! Do you all think it's a good idea to re-introduce the wee wee pads as she used them for her first year, or is it too late to go backwards? And if not, how do I re-introduce them? I look forward to your input and your advice!

Welcome to the Potty Log! It sounds like this will be a hard transition for your yorkie, because they are so attached to humans. To answer the potty question, I think you can always train them to do something else, especially if it's something they've done in the past. You may want to get an xpen to start with and keep a pad in there.

I am of the opinion that dogs should not regularly be left alone for 8+ hours. I think it goes against their nature. I'll admit this is easy for me to say because I can work from home, and when I do go into work, I can bring Thor with me. In any case, I would strongly recommend that you consider a dog walker to come in and break up his day. Or get him a buddy, seriously. Or take him to doggy daycare a few times a week. Or go home at lunch. Just some ideas. Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

[Tobie22]

Well we were doing great! But for the past THREE days now I walk into the dining room and what do I see under the table? POOP!! I have no idea what is going on, he is going poo outside in the morning when daddy takes him and I mean not 30 minutes there is poop under the table.

[QuickSilver]

Channing does this mean you are going to officially start potty training??

[Tobie22]

Originally Posted by QuickSilver

Channing does this mean you are going to officially start potty training??

I thought he was! I guess I am just gonna be picking up poo for the rest of my life!

[QuickSilver]

Heh. Well, the space under the dining room table is one of Tobie's favorite haunts, correct? Have you thought about restricting him to one room or getting an xpen for a while? I seem to recall a sad story about a class project and Tobie's creative pee habits....

[Tobie22]

Originally Posted by QuickSilver

Heh. Well, the space under the dining room table is one of Tobie's favorite haunts, correct? Have you thought about restricting him to one room or getting an xpen for a while? I seem to recall a sad story about a class project and Tobie's creative pee habits....

Well thats the thing, is the dining room is part of the living room and there is no way to keep him from going and pooping under the table, and I do have a xpen but that is where he goes while I am gone. So I am not really sure what I can do.

[QuickSilver]

It's boot camp time. If you can take one or two weeks to watch him every second that he is out of his xpen (or napping), I bet you anything he'll get it. He's ready!

You can either keep him in his xpen even while you are in the house, which he won't like, but it will only be for a week or two. Or, you can keep him on a leash so he never gets too far away.

One thing I did during this time is exercise Thor as much as possible, so he was usually asleep on the couch while we were home. It's much easier to watch them when they are not moving.

You already have a schedule in place, so if you set him up to succeed, he can get all the way there. Do you treat him for pottying outside? Also, do you clean up his messes with an enzyme cleaner?

I know Tobie can do it!

_______________________________

Oh, I forgot the easiest way to divide up "territory" - cardboard boxes. No, they aren't pretty, but they are cheap, and they can stretch a lot further than a baby gate.

[skellington]

So, we've got the potty training blues! I won't go into a lot of details, but when we brought Riot home at 11 weeks, he seemed way ahead of the game! We were using pads and after a couple weeks he was using them consistently, ans he was able to hold it in his crate until about 6am, go out, then go back to bed. We mainly kept him from outside because it was snowy, and it was wet snow and there was mud and puddles all over.

After a few weeks seemingly accident free, he would still pee on his pad, but poop on the floor. Luckily it was always in the kitchen on the hardwood floor. Fast forward to now, and we have started taking him outside, as well as his pads for when he's in jail during the day, or in bed with us at night--we'll put one next to the bed so he can go.

Now he will pee and poop almost always on the floor, although it's still just on the hardwood floor, I think only once or twice on the carpet. The thing is, he KNOWS he gets a treat when he does a good potty on his pad. If he does (and now it's so rare!) he will come running full speed and jump all over you and get you to follow him in to see the used pad and get a treat.

When we first started taking him outside (because the weather is no longer wet and out frustration with him no longer wanting to use his pads), he would go potty then explore the backyard. Now, he seems to take all his time exploring and running around, and doesn't understand that he needs to potty and still expects a treat when we come inside. We don't treat him if he doesn't potty when outside.

I know I can start putting hi on a leash outside until he goes, then he can go exploring, but what about inside? Should we go back to having him in a crate all the time unless he's just pottied? He loves running around the house and he never has accidentd exccept on the hard floor in the room with his pad but I just don't know =(