I have another question that might seem stupid to some. Each time I get Deb out of her crate she is so excited and squirms so much that it is next to impossible to get her harness on her quickly. I know that her little bladder is very full when she wakes but it takes me forever to get her situated. Do you keep your babies harness on all the time or do you take it off when he is not going outside? I just bought her a harness that is like a little shirt on her. It velcros on her back. Is it safe to leave it on her?

We kept Chewy harnessed all the time, partly for the very reason you just mentioned. Perhaps that's why our potty training went so well....

I never leave his collar, harness or clothing on him when he's not in my eye sight. That's of course my own personal preference. Harley's a punk and likes to try and ditch his 'gear' and has become caught up in or torn apart his things when they are left on him. He also is EXTREMELY insane when I wake him up in the morning to go outside but every morning since I got him I pick him up, walk him to the table, make him stand and slip his harness on as quickly as possible. He knows the routine by now but it took some practice and lots of patience on both our parts. (and on his bladders too I'm sure!) But personally I don't feel safe leaving anything on my darlin that he could get himself caught up in or chew on or eat. That was a good question btw!

All of this advice has been so helpful! Deb and I just went for a little walk and now she is in her new little kennel. Keep your fingers crossed that she likes it and sleeps well tonight :) I also just realized that I have been upgraded to a Yorkie Yakker from a Newbie :) I just love this site!!! It has helped me so much in the last month since I got my new baby :)

Good luck!
 

Good luck w/ her tonight! But remember when you fail.. try, try and try again! :D Practice makes perfect!

YT is AWESOME isn't it? I too would be lost w/o it too! :)

LeeAnn <3 Harley

I had that exact same problem with Roxy when she was a puppy. I think she associated confinement with going to the bathroom, like if I put her in the crate, she thought she was supposed to go there. If the gated area is working out better for you I would just use that method and try crate training LATER. Roxy wasn't crate trained until she was about a year old.

Well here is my morning update :) Deb stayed in her new kennel all night. I woke her at 6 am because I couldnt believe she had stayed dry and clean all night. She had :) I took her right to the peepad and she peed. I was so proud and excited!!!! I played with her for a little while and then tried again but she had no interest in going. I put her in her penned area to eat, and the minute I turned my back, she pooped sort of next to the pad...not on it :) After she ate, I walked her outside where she chased a bee. I put her back in her pen while I got ready for work and she peed on the floor. Should I have then put her in her kennel? I am going to keep her in her kennel today while I am gone and hope that she holds everything til we get home at 2. I feel sort of guilty keeping her in the kennel so much, but I guess that is what I need to do for a short time until she associates going with the pad. So I guess we had some success and some not quite....but still progress I think :)

That's AWESOME that she didn't make a mess in her crate! Make sure you spoil her really badly today! :p But I would recommend taking her outside to go to the bathroom in the morning. (Are you planning on training her for strictly "inside business" ?) If not I think that would be your best bet. Harley too would rather play w/ bugs and the other dogs in the morning than go potty but he got over it w/ time. :D

Ok, I'm sorry for getting off subject.. But I just realized that I've been promoted to Senior Yorkie Talker! YAY!!! :D hehe

Congratulations on your promotion :)

I am definatly going to spoil Deb today!!! I am very proud of her for going all night. I keep going back and forth on my decison about training her strictly to the pads or to outside. I cant help but think about the New England winters. And it is so rare when she actually goes outside. Maybe if I take her straight from the crate to outside she will start to get it. What do you think about during these initial weeks of strict training...should I put her in her crate when I am getting ready for work or can not be watching her completly?

Help :)
 

Ok so the first night in her new crate was a total fluke!!!! I am sooo frustrated. Not at Deb....just with the situation. Like I said, she went all night in her crate the first night....but then during the day, I would take her outside and she would be out there for over an hour and NEVER dribble a drop!!! When she was in her pen, she sometimes peed on her pad, but most of the time, she would just pee in whatever spot she was standing in. In her kennel she pooped twice....once when I had tried to take her outside for another hour with no success and once last night. The only reason she hasnt peed anywhere else in the house is because we are pretty much holding her every second so she is not able to :( When she does finally go, we let her down to play. Its not that I expect her to be accident free....but why does my baby poop in her crate and not mind lying in it? THis morning she wouldnt go outside again and she had not peed all night(just pooped). I would have thought she was about to explode. I put her in her pen to eat and she went right to the pee pad and went. Maybe I should stick with that???? But then how do I get her to go back there when she is not in the pen?????PLEASE PLEASE TELL ME SUGGESTIONS!!!

sorry jen,
i feel your pain. they say some yorkies are easy to train and some are very hard. sounds like your baby is going to take lots of patience. i didnt have the poo in crate problem but lucky was very difficult to train ( at least i thought til i heard your story ) :) ......i only know routines work. they learn to adapt to what they see you do day end and day out. maybe you should work out a tight schedule.
also once you start your routine stick to it dont change it .......b/c it doesnt seem to be working in a few days it may take weeks for her to finally get it. i gave lucky 1 month to show improvement and after about 2 weeks he kind of new the routine. so maybe the 1st week he had 6 or 7 accidents by the 2nd weeks maybe 5 and so on...they will learn..... but changing up alot confusing them and frustrates you too.
i had to learn that we both have to be trained.. he has to know where to poo and when...... and i have to be consistent all the time even when its inconvinent....i get up every morning at 615am to get ready for work so it was easy to get up a little earlier to take him out every morning to potty...well lately ive been sick and not going to work but he doesnt care he knows hes suppose to go out. so i have to get up every morning at 545am to take him out even on the weekends when i use to sleep til 10 or 11...now everyday (sat and sun's included) i have to train myself to get my behind out of bed and take him out to potty. its hard b/c sometimes im very tired but again consistency is the key to learning...
so this was all to say find a routine that works and stick to it..she will adapt gradually and you'll see that now your training her...if you make lots of changes now its her who is training you :eek: . good luck

That makes so much sense. I have probably made it worse by making changes to quickly when I see something not working! If you had seen the mess I just cleaned up...you would understand my frustration :) I swear I think she has been holding all her poo inside and not pooping when I want her too...and she just let it all go....how can something so tiny poop so much??? And then play with it??? I am going to take your advice and stick to this routine for a month....train myself :) Thanks again for the advice!!!

just a thought.....when my boy pooped alot it was the food he was eating. since i put him on a healthy premium dog food (wellness ) he doesnt take as many dumps as before. this could have just been timing but i think it was the food. also his poo doesn't smell as foul as it use to and its moist but firm not hard and dry and not wet and stinky :eek: . but before you change her food i would do a little research.
1st. what kind of food ar you using now and whats in it?
2nd. look at other food, read labels and ingrediants
3rd. talk to other yt member to see what food there using and how it affects their babies pooping
4th. they say its not good to swtch food alot, so i would really do my homework b 4 swtching. once you find a good food stick to it.
last but probably should have been 1st. talk to your vet maybe a tiny young pup poop's alot anyway. like i said mine pooped alot at first but hes 5 months now and he poops about 2 times a day. unless he has lots of snacks then he will poop more. i've also noticed carrots come out quick maybe it had fiber in it that i dont know. but snacks and carrots come out within a few mins 20-30 but when he eats his last meal at night he normally doesnt release it til the next morning. just a thought....these are just my opinions and my experiences with my own pup. im sure there are real experts on this site somewhere...hehehe

You may have hit on something. Deb had been doing so much better with the training until last Saturday. All of a sudden we were back at square one and actually worse. She had been on Eukanuba puppy chow and I switched (slowly) beginning last Saturday to the Nutra from Petco. It is supposedly supposed to make her go less often (or at least that is what the sales rep said) and supposed to be healthier for her. Maybe the switch has something to do with her not having as much control as she seemed to have had a week ago.....does this make sense to anyone????

It totally makes sense. Some furbabies have real issues w/ switching to new foods. I started mine off on Royal Canin but it had corn in it so he was itching all the time and his doodie was pretty hard and seemed to be straining him. So I slowly changed him onto Canadiae over about a week of blending the two foods together and then finally strictly onto Canadiae. He does very well w/ this food and has regular doodie times. But then again Harley is an odd furbaby bc he will eat ANY kind of dog food and never grows tired of the same kind. He's a weirdo! (since they're supposed to be so picky) :p The change in food could definately be the culprit in this issue.