How old was your dog when FINALLY house broken?
 

I am going crazy. I have a 6.5 month girl who was pee pad trained from her breeder. Brought her home at 16 weeks, and she began ripping up the pee pads & eating her poop. Bought the holder for the pads and it did no good. Used FOR-Bid on the poop issue, and that seemed to take care of it. So, I finally resorted to taking her outside to do her business. She will not go if I am looking at her and she will not go on a leash. She only goes if I let her loose in the back yard and of course, then I cannot praise her when she does good, because I am inside or too far away. I cannot stay outside with her for the 20 min. it takes her to go because I have small children who are left alone in the house when I take the dog out. I am wishing I never got the dog and really need some encouragement. I have her on a feed schedule & she is crate trained. Still, she will go outside for up to 30min. and then come right in and poop in the hallway!!! I am furious! I don't know what to do now, other than have her crated the entire day and only let her out for brief play sessions and for her pee/poopp schedule. OH...did I mention she will pee & poop in the crate also! I didn't think a smaller crate than 13x24 was very humane, but she still thinks it is too big I guess! Agh!!! I have used the book "How to Housebreak your dog in 7 days." but it doesn't seem to work on this dog. Please someone give me a ray of hope...I am seriously thinking of giving this dog up. It has been 2.5 months of frustration since I've had her.

charlie is 6 months and we are still in the process of potty training..he is pretty good now however we are still having a few accidents inside the house. I can't wait until he is fully potty train. Charlie has been going inside his crate as well. I know what you are going through. When I first got charlie it was really frustrating for me to potty train him. My husband and his parents were all against me and telling me how bad of a job i am doing..I got so fed up with them so I decided to crate train him. I felt bad letting him stay in the crate all day except for potty time but it works. Within 2 wks he learn however we are still working on him letting me know he needs to go. It is hard. Please don't give up. Keep trying eventually she will catch on like charlie.

Amy was about 7 months old and Samantha was 3 years old. She just didnt want to "leave the action"!!LOL Now ask me how many years it took her to not do her business OFF the porch!!








I moved after about 2 years and didnt have a porch at my new place.

I lucked out with Winston, he learned to go potty outside quickly, like the day we brought him home...he was 8 weeks old. He was amazingly easy to train. But I have to give the credit to a local dog trainer, she told me "when you bring him home, do not bring him in the house, IMMEDIATELY take him outside and keep him outside with you until he goes potty" Plenty of praise, then and only then can you let his paws touch your floors. It worked for me!

A dog trainer told me once that puppies cannot control their bodily functions until 6 mos. of age. I did see a difference in both my males at 6 mos., they seemed to slowly 'get it'. By 9 months they were 90% trained, and by 12 months I was able to trust them.

Potty training yorkies can be a slow process. It's frustrating and exhausting. But it CAN be done! :aimeeyork

Potty training is about giving the dog your complete attention - which can be difficult if you have a young family - as you mentioned. I feel for you, I really do. Here's my suggestions - I hope they help you:

I don't know if you work or not - but either way, the dog should have a small area to call her own (I use a 4x4 ex pen in the basement with a small piece of vinyl underneath it) - include a crate, small throw rug (or blanket), water and safe toys. This area gives both you and the dog a break from any and all rules. Let her pee, chew pee pads and do what ever she wants in there guilt free (excpet eat poop - but you have that under control now - yay!). Expect to clean the area daily - and swap out the rug with a clean one daily. It takes 5 minutes to clean and gives you back your sanity. Eventualy, as the dog learns bladder control, she will not soil her area - but we're not there yet, so don't sweat it.

When she's not in her small area, she should be in potty training mode - which means all attention on the dog. So, I suggest doing the potty training when the kids are either napping or being supervised by someone else - so that someone is watching and training the dog. Her area in the house should be small - so block off the family room, lay down some blankets (to swap out as they are soiled - to save the carpet and to remove the odor). Don't allow the puppy to run down the hallway or find quiet places. If at any time, the dog can't be supervised while in potty training mode, then put her in her crate. The golden rule is don't try to do two things at once.

Going outside with the puppy is important so that you 1) know she went outside and 2) so you can mark the good behavior. And while your at it, get a service bell. When you scoop up the dog as she has an accident, take her paw, hit the bell and say "outside".

Some undivided attention right now will give you years of stress free enjoyment. Bailey was trained in 2 mos - reliable in 4 mos. It wasn't easy trying to live my life and potty train - but it was sooooo worth it!!

Good luck!!

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I got lucky with Maximus. He was puppy pad trained 2 days from bringing him home and at 6 months, he was outside trained.

So i had this whole thing typed up and then got kicked offline....
What I had was basically...you have to watch them constantly. All the time, every minute.
It took about 2 weeks for me to get Bella trained (She is 15 weeks old)and I was exhausted and had no life because I was following my puppy around all day. But now its been over a week and it is wonderful. I still make sure I know where she is and watch her, but not like I did. She now knows where to go and waits by the back door to be let out. She goes right away and is ready to come back in.

I am by no means an expert on this, but I do know its like potty training a child (I have 4 skin kids) Consistency is the key.

I never use treats just lots of praise.

Sorry about the last post. I must have been half asleep:confused:
I got my Abby when she was 12 weeks old and the breeder did NO training what so ever!!:mad:
She is 6 and 1/2 months old. We have to watch her always, as she does , in her own way, let us know when she needs to go potty. I take her out on a leash and sometimes she goes right away and sometimes I'm out there with her for a good 20 minutes or more and when it's below zero out, it isn't fun. But................it needs to be done. She still messes in her crate at night. Sometimes I can get her out in the morning before she does but most times not. I just wish she could hold it longer at night.
Some days it's one step forward and one step back:(
We will get there, eventually.........I hope:)

Sophie was potty train a 4 months old. i put her pads were she had pissed before and i moved them closer to the door until they were at the back door. that worked for me. It just takes time. and all dogs are different just like kids. i had a back room with tile floor and pocket door i could keep her in. Moving the pads worked because dog go back to the same places to go potty. she still uses the pads when we are gone for a long time she is only 6 1/2 pds she can't hold it 8 hrs about 6 is her tops. hope this helps. you can as look in to a trainer if you don't have the time with the little ones.

One other tip - in the morning, pick up the puppy and take directly outside until fully trained. Don't let their little feet hit the carpet. Its easy for them to get side tracked on the way outside.

Now that Bailey is fully potty trained - she can take herself to the door in the morning, but I always to let her go first, then me.

Jackson is about 4 months old and he is doing fairly well. We have the back area of the house gated off for him (it's sort of like an in-law suite) and it's all tile floor. He hardly ever goes when he's back here and he will now wait at the door to go. However, the minute he's on the other side of the house, he will sneak off and go somewhere. He's so fast and sneaky. I just constantly let him outside and leave no room for accidents. Praise him, etc. I'm not sure what to tell you. It's tough. But I know it will get better.

Nobu is almost 3 and is just NOW finally starting to hold it till he goes out or going on the pee pee pad all the time. Be patient...they are stubborn and have tiny bladders.

Sorry you are having such a hard time. I was lucky. I got Nolee at 12 weeks and 1 month later he was potty trained. Of course, he did have some accidents, but he did learn very quick! Best of luck!

Don't be down -- took Sadie a good 10 mos, but when she got it, she really got it. Hang in there, it gets better, just be consistent and patient.

Sara was 6 months when we got her, and partly trained to go outside. Within a month, we trained her to use piddle pads, and now, at 3 years old, she knows exactly where to go. She also has a doggie door so she can go outside during the day. The problem is that she is so stubborn that we find little surprises periodically in the house. She always pees on the pad or outside, but likes to try our patience with the poop. Mostly goes on the piddle pad...but still likes to surprise us... Can't help but love her:).

Britster, we used a slightly unconventional way to gradually begin expanding Nikko's territory that he hopefully didn't want to pee in... We had recently moved, so we collapsed some of our moving boxes, taped them together, then taped them to walls and desks and other places to create whatever extended or oddly shaped "gate" we wanted. To convince him to not chew on the cardboard, we sprayed the edges with bitter apple spray for the first week or so and since then he hasn't bothered with trying to chew on his cardboard "gates." This enabled us to gradually expand his area by six square feet at a time or less, even if there was no conveniently placed doorway to put a traditional baby/pet gate in. We expaned his area approximately once every two weeks or so, but only by these small increments.

From what I understand, the idea is to make your dog feel like your whole house is his 'den' that he doesn't want to pee in.... and if you can expand his 'den' very gradually he may not make as many mistakes. It has been working well for us so far. If Nikko isn't in his "gated" "den" area, he is in our arms or in our crate. And we occasionally allowed him to sit/lay next to us on the couch before the living room was a part of his 'den,' but only under the closest supervision.

Lauren & Nikko

I agree, pick her up when she wakes and take her outside. Give her a command, mine is HURRY UP..You need to take her outside about every 20 min....

Don't give up. I have 3 and it took over a year for each one to finally be dependable.
The problem I have now is everyone who comes by wants to give the cute little beggars a bite of something...
Causes diarrhea..........anything that is not what I feed each day..

Good Luck......

There are a lot of great suggestions here. I will say consistency is key!

Paisley is 16 months old and I believe she is finally potty trained. She rarely had an accident in the house, but I believe this was because I took her out at all the "right" times. It took lots of patience and time. I was outside ALL the time.


With small children you will need help and a plan. I am a mom of two (7 and 9) so I know how hard it is to have small children.

Things that worked for me: crate, regular feeding times, blocking off small space for her, putting her on a leash when going outside to "potty", noting times for pooping, cleaning accident areas well, watching her like a hawk when she was given the room to run around.

Good luck and let us know how things are going!

My first Yorkie (male) was completely housebroken within a couple weeks and never had accidents. Piper is another story. She has been very difficult to housebreak. When we first got her at 9 weeks she piddled every 30 minutes. I was convinced that she must of had an urinary infection. Took her to the vets had all tests down on her urine and she was fine. The vet said she had an immature bladder and she just didn't realize she was capable of holding her urine. Piper would go potty every time you took her out but within a half hour she would have to go again. Luckily it was summer and was nice to be outside. She is now 10 months and just when I think this is it she's housebroken she'll have an accident. Piper doesn't ask to go out so you just have to bring her out every hour or so. I'm getting to know her body language when she runs back and forth you better take her out. When she does pee on the floor it's not a puddle but a dribble line where she had been running back and forth. I pick her up bring her out and then she goes. She still doesn't have good bladder control. When she has to go she has to go. Hopefully she will outgrow this.

THANK YOU everyone for the encouragement! I do believe I am doing the right things with her, so hopefully...she will get it within the next 6 months! Now I can see a light at the end of the tunnel. :rolleyes:

My girls just turned 2 years old and I STILL have problems with them .. I have to let them out , the still dont tell m when they need to go .. If they are in the kitchen all day when the grandkids are here they are fine, I let them run around the house they crap and pee.. even after ive let them out and theve gone they still do it !! They are the most stubborn dogs i have ever raised!!!! I see it must be the trend with these Yorkie breed !!! ;)

Buster is a little over a year old and he's finally getting pretty reliable. Maybe one accident every few days.

For the longest time, he'd get probably 80% of his functions on a pad, and one accident a day, sometimes while he was looking right at us.

He has been surprisingly difficult to train despite pretty consistent efforts from us, but he's getting the hang of things. Every once in a while, though, he'll have a span of a couple of days where either his housebreaking or obedience training go completely out the window before he behaves again for a month or so. :) We love him, but man he can be frustrating!

Mitzi is five months old. Since I have allowed her to sleep on the bed at night (I know, I know, a no-no to most of you) she has improved greatly. She holds her potty (both of them) until around 6:30 A.M. She is pretty good about going 'piddles' outside in the afternoon and evening, but the poop thing is driving he crazy; it's hit or miss. From what I've been reading on this site, it seems that six months of age is the golden rule for yorkie puppies. Here's hoping.

Well, you probably don't want to hear this but Ellie is 7.5 and while she knows where she is supposed to go, she sometimes doesn't want to wait for me to take her out, so she goes wherever she wants. And yes, I do take her out usually at least five times a day but she just has her own schedule I guess.:rolleyes: I expect that this will go on forever...

You may want to reconsider allowing your pup to be outside unsupervised. Some of us won't even let our adults out alone. There are just too many dangers.

Ive been "hard core" training Tucker since he was 7 weeks old. His breeder started him on pee pads, I kept using them because he was use to them and because it was really cold out, snow on the ground when I got him. I will never ever pee pad train a dog again. I do beleive this is why we have had so much trouble training him. He was the first dog I tried to pee pad train, all of my other dogs were fully outside trained by 4 months old. Tucker is 5 months old and is finally getting it, he is still averaging 1 accident a day but he is now going to the door most of them time when he has to go. I know where he is at all times, I take him out every hour that he is awake and we stay out there untill he goes, which usually takes about 5 to 6 minutes, the entire time we are out side I repeat, go potty, go potty. As soon as he goes, he is told good boy in a very high pitched voice and I give a treat (usually a cheerio). Then we go right back into the house, no playing. Untill he "gets it".. we only go outside to potty. If he has an accident in the house then he is told a firm NO and we head to the door, the entire time saying "potty outside". He doesnt have accidents in his crate and hasnt since he was 3 months old so Im no help there. I agree that if you cant train her outside because of the little ones then you need to get her an x-pen and possibly try washable pee pads. If you want her to continue to go outside then try putting her out every 30 mins untill she goes, then extend it to an hour etc. You can praise her and give her treats when she comes in. The biggest key is to be consistent, find something that works for you and your family and stick to it untill she gets it. House training alot of work!!
Good luck!! :)

Tucker is now 6 months old and he still has a few accidents in the floor occasionally. Sometimes though I dont think they are always accidents. I think he does it on purpose if he gets mad at me. The way we trained him was with an exercise pen lined with his pee pads. With using the pen I was able to lock him in the area till he pee'd and I was able to praise him for it when he did it. Because they dont have bladder control for long periods of time, if I was going to be gone more than an hour or two I would put him in the exercise pen instead of his kennel so I knew he could potty while I was gone if I needed to. If I wasnt going to be gone to long or just needed him out of trouble for a bit while I was doing other things I put him in his kennel. Now he jumps in the exercise pen on his own and does his business. I have recently reduced the pen from the full size that it was to just being about 2ft x 4ft.