breeding this dog..
 

Mister, if you think you have problems NOW, wait until she tries to breed him and wants to bring the 'pick of the litter' home with her... You will have a NEW PUPPY and more mess than you can even imagine.. IT WILL pe and poop where ever and when ever before the training is instilled. I have TWO PUPPIES that are 4 MONTHS old and they still have Accidents..... I have been working constantly with both since they walked into this house. It is a hard, time consuming and stressful time for everyone. Thank goodness they are almost 90% trained but they have accidents.. They are confined to the living room where we spend our time. I am training them to pee pads so we don't have to go out in the weather.
Good Luck, your gonna need it... BTW, you should let your girlfriend read all of these posts, see if it matters to her what your doing for her. She sounds spoiled.

I've heard yall talk about that and it sounds as if he needs to be neutered, but she is dead set on breeding him. Her apartment and furniture is already trashed and the fact that he hasn't been trained is why I refuse to allow her to bring him to my place. I own a house.

He's already been bread by accident as her roommates 10 year old mutt went into heat and they did the deed. My game plan was to train him, restrict his movement, and then see how things go after he's neutered. If he still marks, which I'm expecting he will, then it would be belly bands and scored concrete on my house for the rest of his life. We've already discussed that she cleans up the messes, but I just saw how that works out tonight...

He's got a crate and he's fine in there. If he has an accident it means he was left there over 12 hours and medically had to pee.

I hope that you read some of what you are posting and see why some are a bit up in arms. Time for me to go to bed.

:eek: Okay, you seem decent enough, but we need to talk about your lady friend.... You probably know we have a terrible pet overpopulation problem in this country. You know where all these extra pets are coming from? Accidental matings and casual studding because he's a pretty dog. Has this dog been tested for liver shunt and other afflictions common to yorkies? Will the pups be sold under a spay/neuter contract?

If you're going to bring lives into this world, even pet lives, you need to think about what kind of life you can promise them, and what kind of life their offspring in turn have. How sad would it be to learn that some of the pups your dog sired ended with a bad owner who had them PTS?

Breeding is major, way more major than potty training.

By inside I mean indoors other than the crate. If he goes in the crate its because he was left there too long. He's left in the crate a minimum of 7-4 every day. Both of us have full time jobs. When I'm at home I usually let him out a time or two before she gets home. Most of the time I'll play with him too. I usually work 50-60 hours a week. As a military officer there's no way around it. She's a school teacher.

I'm actually impressed with how much he's learned in a month, but he's more mature, so its not unheard of. If it I had put him in the crate I feel comfortable this wouldn't have happened. I was gonna be letting him out shortly anyway.

I'm not so furious we had an accident. I was curious as to whether it was a jealousy thing which I've heard about before or whether I'm not letting him out frequently enough. It makes much more sense now.

I agree with you about the "Same page" comment. There will be talk of that tomorrow. She needs to be giving treats every time too. Consistency is a key to teaching.

I know. She's told me she's not keeping it. Unless she's lying then I won't have to worry about it. The fact that he's not really a puppy anymore is what has got me frustrated. I'm doing all the day 1 work for her 18 month old and not getting much help. I have no problem with training puppies, because you expect that. You get a puppy knowing it has to be trained by you.

Thank god my girlfriend is so beautiful, smart, funny, and treats me so well and that is what is going through my mind as I'm putting all this effort and money in.

I understand that and stepping on the dog is what scares me more than anything else. He's always underfoot even when I'm carrying things and have no idea where he's at. I'm also learning NOT to just plop down on the couch because he loves to run right underneath both of us. Thankfully he's vocal about it so I know he's there.

I don't want her to breed him, but she's dead set on it. I've seen him with other Yorkies and he's obviously more attractive. I do need to spell it out that if she does then she can't keep it. From what it sounds like, she isn't taking care of him now and I'm not even talking about the house training.

He is marking because "she" bred him and did not train him. That is her mistake and not the dogs. He is doing what nature tells a adult dog that has been left unneutered and has been bred to do.

This maybe impossible to fix at this point. The dog should not be punished ever for doing this. I would stop with the punishments and use a belly band.

I think I'm prepared to keep him in a belly band forever over the marking. There won't be punishment for the marking, because I view that as waaaaay different. When it comes to stuff like that over sexual stuff no dog can learn different. You just have to prevent the pee from getting everywhere. Simply squatting and peeing is done for a different reason in most cases. Please tell me if I'm wrong on that though. Tonight he peed because he had to pee, not because he didn't want another male dog to infringe on his territory.

He's marked her whole apartment and my girlfriend either really didn't know about it or was so embarrassed to have me bring it up that she lied to me about it. He's marked most of her furniture.

IF she thinks she can get 8 or 9 hundred for a puppy, GOOD LUCK.. with this economy people just are not paying that much, she might be lucky to get 5 or 6 depending on where your located, but don't count on it. I recently spent a grand and got TWO, and they are beatiful with great bloodlines..... good luck, your gonna need it with little miss spoiled.. she's not doing the dog or you any favors..

HEAVEN forbid you have real children together... will she be able to change diapers and keep the house clean... just sayin......

I agree with you 100%. They had the 10 year old spayed immediately and that prevented any puppies.

When it comes to grooming and vet visits she's been meticulous about it, so I'm assuming all that has been done. I don't know about all that breeding stuff at all. This is one of the reasons I've prodded her to get on here, but she's been lazy. I've even compared knowing about her dog to me knowing about my airplane, but it hasn't worked. Hopefully a talk tomorrow will help.

I don't think what he was doing today was marking. It wasn't a few dribbles like I see on the furniture. It was a larger puddle in the middle of the carpet with nothing around. Unless that could be marking too...

Maybe those aren't bad things to bring up. The $ and the kids. She does everything to take care of the dog except house break it or prevent the breeding. She also does everything to take care of me, except housebreak (or whatever) the dog. There's no way she'd take my word for it on the money though. She swears by $800-900. Another reason why I'd love to get her on here with yall. I'd pay for the neutering if she'd let me, along with the carpet cleaning and belly bands. I just want sanitary living conditions instead of feeling like I'm living in the men's room of a professional wrestling event.

Also... She had a cat that started peeing in the house outside of its litter box around the time she got the dog. Is the cat urine part of the problem? I'm assuming it is... The cat always went in the same spot so I'm thinking I can hit it with a cat enzyme cleaner and knock out most of that smell.

Am I better off cleaning the areas he's marked without an enzyme cleaner so that he won't remark it? Maybe I could just hit it with some sort of other cleaner...

cats will go outside their boxes if they are not cleaned often enough.....maybe that was the problem. now that's a stinky smell more than a dog....euwww.... Now I'm starting to feel sorry for you... what a mess she's created.. dosent' sound like she is really a pet person 100%.. just doing the fun stuff.

I have learned several tricks from reading this site and one of them may help your concern about the Yorkie's whereabouts...

Have you thought about putting a collar with bells on him? I prefer the breakaway kind that are generally considered a cat's collar. I plan to use a harness for walking so the collar witll simply be for the id, bell(s), and proof of rabies vaccination (required by state law).

Just from the outside looking in (from the descriptions you have provided), it appears that your girlfriend and you have totally opposite views on housekeeping. (For instance, clutter doesn't bother me but odors are a totally different story.) She sounds much more lax in her tolerance of uncleanliness than your military training is going to accept. Again, from the outside looking in, it seems to me that the training of the Yorkie is merely a symptom of a much bigger problem.....

You might also examine the way you are trying to "encourage" her to change. Since she is an educated, professional adult, she may be resisting your "training" methods. Your girlfriend, I mean......just a thought. (You sound very frustrated and I would suspect she feels she is being judged and criticized much like a child. The normal reaction? Rebel and/or do nothing. You might want to refine your approach and show a little of your "softer" side. In her apartment, you are not the highest ranking officer.)

And, by the way, one of the easiest ways to escape a situation you don't want to deal with is to fall asleep.

I think you are (more than likely) a well-intentioned guy who is forgetting to leave the military bearing at work. Just my view from the outside looking in based on your descriptions... Change your goal from a war to be won to a cooperative peacetime and I think you'll see a major improvement.

No, shoving his face in it won't make him know it's not okay to go inside... it will make him HIDE it when he's inside so that YOU don't see it and punish him. He won't know the difference and probably thinks your just screaming at him and shoving his face in his poop because he went. That leads dogs to not want to go in front of you even outside cuz they think they're gonna yelled at for reliving themselves.

LOL... Yeah... I attack a problem like this head on with a regimented plan. Her brand of training is essentially nonexistant, but I'm assuming it's because she doesn't know how and is also ebarrassed. I just think we need to be on the same page and consistent because anything else is confusing him. He's probably confused enough thanks to the cat. At a minimum the dog needs out every 3 hours and to be rewarded when he's good. If she wants to breed him then she needs to get on board with restricting his movement too.

I'm at my wits end, but as important as this is to me she needs to make it important to her too. I know she loves her dog, but I need help and not just with the fun stuff.

I think it's really good you're so passionate about it, that's a good thing. :)

All I can say is wow! I can't believe half of what I've read in this thread...it's amazing.

First of all...rubbing a dog's nose in it's urine or feces is so mean and old school...it does nothing for the proper care of training or teaching your dog. It does, however, feed into your desire to be in control of the situation or to relieve the stress of it.

There is a big difference between discipline and punishment. Discipline teaches in an appropriate way not to repeat the same behavior...punishment only releases anger and stress on the part of the punisher and teaches the poor victim nothing but fear and possibly aggression at some point.

You said the dog marked when you walked him. If he is not neutered I would consider having that done...it may fix the house training issues.

I would also consider a puppy playpen or x-pen for proper training until you get this under control. Can you install a doggie door with a potty area for him to come and go as he needs to? No dog should be allowed free run of your home until it is properly trained and that falls squarely on the shoulders of the humans who have taken it into their home and made it part of their family.

You can't blame or punish the dog for areas where you (or your girlfriend) have failed them by improper or no training...it all starts with you. Take a step back and look at the whole situation...you, your girlfriend and the dog...put all past feelings aside and be honest with yourself...once you have things in the proper perspective you should be able to start dealing with things appropriately.

Good luck...we're here for you if you need us.

This dog is in its crate for 9 hours during the day? :eek:

That's way too long. That is a long time to wait to go to the bathroom, it's a long time to be physically confined, and it's a long time for a highly social animal to be alone.

You guys need to get a dog walker, or take him to doggy day care, or she needs to come home at lunch... something!

Also, on marking vs. peeing: they may be driven by different needs, but I think if a dog smells its urine in the house, it's going to assume it's okay to pee indoors. I don't know if it's going to be feasible to let him mark indoors but forbid indoor pottying. Add that to the fact that the rules are different when you're not around, and you have one confused dog. Heck, I'm confused!

Basically, you need to clean up behind him with an enzyme cleaner like Nature's Miracle. All efforts should be made to take him out before he's forced to relieve himself in his crate. If that happens enough, he's going to get used to it and pee in there regardless.

I haven't had experience with a studded yorkie, but I've been around other types of terriers after they mated, and they still didn't mark indoors. They may have wanted to, but they were not allowed. I don't know, maybe it's different for yorkies since they are already such little pee monsters.

There is a great book called "The Loved Dog" by, Tamar Geller. I think you would really benefit from reading it. It is not a story, but a wonderful training tool.

It has worked wonders for me and my 3 yorkies, potty training included.

My Boyfriend has only had large breed hunting dogs and has gone through the stages of frustration that you are going through right now. We have both read the book and the simplicity of the training works with our schedules (he works a split shift, kind of like you) and our lifestyle.

I am glad you came on here to seek help and I hope you find a solution to your housebreaking issues. I also hope you can convince your girlfriend to have her dog fixed. Maybe show her some articles and video on pet overpopulation. Also you can do a search on here to see what kind of defects yorkies are prone to and let her see that it is not going to make her $ in the long run if done properly. Breeding is WAAAYYY more complicated than it seems if you research it.

Please PM me if you have any questions.

OMG THIS just made me sick, I cant believe you rub that poor dogs face in his urine and feces that is so mean and obviously not working! My heart broke when I read the dog runs and hides from you!! Im sick to my stomach thinking about that!! If my boyfriend did that to my dog I would be single the next day or buy him a choke chain for his own neck! I hope your treatment of this poor dog doesnt reflect how you would treat your furture children!! My children have peed on my floors my couch , peed my bed. Yikes!!

Every 3 hours may not be enough. I said that if my dogs don't *ask* to go out and they haven't been out in 2-3 hours I will send them out, even if it means waking them up. They often ask to go out much more often than that. It's 11:15 and they have been out at 7:30, 9:45 (after a nap) and are now asking to go out again at 11:15...

Get a cleaner (I like simple solution, i think it smells better) and clean up the carpets and furniture. Confine or monitor him at all times, taking many potty breaks. Teach him to ring a bell when he needs to go outside. If you do this consistently for a few months, he will figure it out. DO NOT rub his nose in it!

By the way, marking outside does not mean you have to allow marking inside. Loki was neutered at 6 months, before he even learned to lift his leg. He is house trained but he still marks when we go on walks outside. He just pees twice in every yard. Actually, a walk is a good way to housetrain because not only will he pee until he is completely empty, but he will be tired and take a nap for a while so don't have to watch him so closely. As soon as he wakes up, go back outside. If you fall into a pattern like this you will learn when he needs to go. Also, you don't mention if pooping is an issue but if he is fed on a schedule he will poop on a schedule which is very helpful too.

I also agree that you should hire a dog walker. That way you can reinforce training during the day when you are not there and give him a potty break. He will also be a lot less hyper in the evenings if he gets a good walk mid-day.

Finally, you are not going to win the argument of rubbing his face in it - not because we are a bunch of wimpy Yorkie owners, but because it's scientifically unfounded. You never want your dog to be afraid of you. I know you said you have trained other dogs that way, but those dogs probably would have been trained no matter what methods you used. Yorkies take a lot longer to train, although being 18 months old at least you are talking every 2 hours not every 30 minutes! There is no reason to make the dog hate you when other methods are MORE effective.

By the way, what is the dog's name?

P.S. - Beauty has nothing to do with breeding. Sammy is absolutely beautiful. She also doesn't conform to the standard (she is too long, Yorkie bodies should be a square) and she has grade 3 LP's. If your girlfriend didn't understand that sentence, she should not be breeding her dog. Breeding just to sell puppies is wrong. Did you know that often times Yorkies only have 1 or 2 puppies and vet bells and other expenses (like genetic testing, she will have him tested, won't she? oh and a C-SECTION) can far outpace the "profit" from the puppies.

There are the usual problems that come up, like liver shunt or luxating patellas. There are also rarer genetic conditions. Loki has a genetic disorder that requires medicine that costs $130 A MONTH. For the rest of his life. Is she prepared for something like that?

Also - typically the owner of the FEMALE is the one who sells the puppies. The owner of the male traditionally gets a small stud fee OR pick of the litter. The stud fee *will* be small since your dog is neither a proven "breeder" meaning no one knows what quality his puppies will be, nor is he a champion. You don't have to be on Westminster to be a champion - people who show their dogs attend local competitions to see if their dog measures up to the standard. Someone who has been breeding for a long time can pick out these qualities, but someone who is just a "dog owner" typically cannot. I love both of my dogs and I think they are gorgeous but I would never breed them.

I don't mean to pick on you - SHE is the one pushing this. But you should bring up these issues to see how educated she is on the subject. For example, you say she think she will get $800-$900 a puppy (which she won't, since she owns the male) but what if the female has 2 puppies and needs a C-section, does she know how much that costs? She should call a local vet and ask. More importantly, an owner of a female who will breed to an "unproven" male is likely as uneduated as your girlfriend on the subject, which complicates matters even more. I would strongly encourage you to bring up these issues with her, because perhaps she will re-consider getting your boy neutered which will help tremendously with your problem!

He always makes it without messing up in his crate, but I agree with you that the amount of time stretches the boundaries of what is humane. I'm an hour drive round trip when working in her town so I can't do it. She could do it on her breaks but I'm guessing she won't be receptive.

I do understand that Yorkies like a ton of attention, but that is the least of my worries...

Thanks! I may take you up on that.

That is the one thing that is working. After this happening twice he now at least knows peeing in the house is bad. If my girlfriend wants to break up with me for that then she's more than welcome and I wish her the best of luck finding a slob who's accepting enough of living in urine the rest of his life. This wasn't the point of the thread and my whole life it's worked in far less time.