DH (and I) can not take much more of this potty business!!

[jlafred]

Please dont give up so soon...I think yorkies are comparable to children when it comes to potty training. It can take from about 10 months -18 months(even 2 yrs.) and you wouldnt expect your baby to be potty trained at 6 months would you? How old are your kids? Maybe they could help out? And can your hubby help out too? It is a family responsibility so I hope the whole load isnt on your shoulders. there has already been a load od good advice given here so I cant really add to it but if you think it thru and decide it's still too much for you just send her on over here to my house...Sassy would LOVE to have a little sis to play with! LOL! Good luck and God bless you dear!

[caitriona]

Originally Posted by Erin

She knows she's upsetting you, not that she's "doing wrong" Nothing will work "quick" as she is 6 months old. She may not be fully trained until she is 8-12 months old, especially since she has so many bad habits already.

are you sure that is right, i am having the same issues with my 12 month puppy and he immediatly goes into that cowering "I did something wrong pose" before i even discover that he did something wrong.

[happy bunny]

Please don't give up just yet! You will find a lot of heartfelt, positive advice on here, so just keep the faith. My Lucy is crate trained and every morning, the FIRST thing I do, before ANYTHING else, is I take her outside. When she was younger, I had to literally pick her up and walk to the door, out to the lawn and start with the "go potty" command. Now, I have heard that saying nothing until they start to actually go versus saying it consistently until they do go and then giving an absolute enormous amount of praise. Personally I liked the constant saying it, in a firmer voice, not a high silly one, since I felt she would rather have me talk to her than just silence. I also felt that it kept her on task a little better. Probably no difference, but I made me feel a little more successful.

You might feel silly out there, and I have had neighbors that actually got a kick out of my praising her, but the happier you sound and the more enthusiastic you are, she will want that kind of attention and will begin to understand and connect the two. I'll take looking silly and having people look over at me, rather than being upset and frustrated in the privacy of my own house anytime! And i loved the idea of the Peanut Butter baking chips idea! I'm going to start doing that also!!

It is a hard road, and it is NOT easy. But these little babies are so worth
it. After Lucy ate, I tried the 30 minutes, then 20 minutes and then I figured out that her potty time was about 15 minutes after that. Sometimes on the way to the door she'd start sniffing and wham! there she went. Again, you might have to carry her to the door. I have heard that they cannot pee/excrete as soon as they are lifted up. So if you "catch" her just before or even as she has just begun, pick her up immediately and high tail it out the door! And remember that once outside you say the "go potty" or whatever you choose to say and not scold her for spotting on the floor.

If she did make a mistake, it was hard to just go and clean it up, out of their site, and not scold them. Cleaning it up out of their site also does not give them the idea that they have left you a present and that you are accepting their gift and keeping it. Sounds stupid, but dang, I really believe that is the trick!!

It is difficult to realize that their mistakes are actually because of our inattentiveness, cluelessness, or just (sorry) laziness. At first, I was kind of the laziness problem. I figured she should know better. Well tough cookies for me, she didn't know better. They actually have to be taught with patience and positive enforcement.

My husband thinks the old way; "they know when they are doing/have done bad by pottying inside and should be scolded". It took me a lot to change his way and I literally would have her leased to my pants/leg and she went EVERYWHERE I was going inside the house. I watched her constantly taking her out no less than EVERY 30 minutes. It's alot of HARD work, but it can be done. Now, she has free time to roam around the house some, but she is still watched and when she disappears, I find her immediately and out we go. Because I bet she needs to go and is trying to find somewhere to go!

I have had to stand out in the rain with them (Lucy and my other dog Max) and walk around with them, yes ALL of us getting soaked, until they go. If they don't, crate them and do it again in @ 15 minutes until they finally go outside. You will tire and get more frustrated with being wet and cold and tired than they will at first, but just do it!!! They will get the clue that that "hey, I better go because these crazy people keep taking pout here and getting me wet. If I go, I can then get dry and warm again!!"

Sorry this post is so long and I hope you are not upset by anything I had said or suggested. Good luck and keep reaching out for help.

[harleyyorkie]

I have a six year spayed female. I got her just a month ago, as a rehome. The lady who had her let her pee inside (all tile floors) and just mopped the floor when she got home from work. She told me the dog was pee pad trained, that's joke! So, for me it is like potty training a puppy all over again, only harder as she has been allowed to pee at will wherever. My house is carpet not tile. I let her have a little free time in the room I'm in right after she pees outside, but if I can't watch her every move, she is in a confined space with her bed and a potty pad. She has two choices, pee in her own bed, pee on the pad or wait for me to take her outside. This has resulted in her learning to hold it for 2-3 hours at a time. Before she would pee every hour or less on my carpet, thank goodness for a good steam cleaner! I know it will be a year or more before she is totally housetrained like my other two. They use the doggy doors and never have any accidents. Please don't get rid of your furbaby, she's young and will eventually get it. When I take her outside in the morning, I pick her up from her confined space & carry her to the doggy door and give her a nudge to go through and outside, I then go out and wait till she goes. Praise her when she goes outside bigtime! Soon she will associate that praise with pottying outside and want to receive that praise more, resulting in a trained dog. I still keep "potty treats"in a container outside for my other two even though they are trained just to reinforce good behavior. If I happen to be outside when they go I give them one, but mostly they go out alone and potty. It's alot of hard work, we all know what you're going through. Just remember all hard work is rewarded!
Good luck!

[caitriona]

Originally Posted by harleyyorkie

I let her have a little free time in the room I'm in right after she pees outside, but if I can't watch her every move, she is in a confined space with her bed and a potty pad. She has two choices, pee in her own bed, pee on the pad or wait for me to take her outside. This has resulted in her learning to hold it for 2-3 hours at a time. Before she would pee every hour or less on my carpet, thank goodness for a good steam cleaner!

Wow your comment is so funny, i actually went out and bought a steam cleaner the other day just for that reason, it was such an improvement. And I have been training my yorkie the same way you have, Lestat spends time with my husband and I after he goes out and as long as we can keep him supervised, he sleeps in his crate the entire night (thankfully this is one area i have never had issues with) and he holds it for the whole night. i am having a problem with him right now with excessive urinating but i think it may be a UTI.

[muffinmom]

I am right there with you! Our Muffin is about the same age. Sometimes she does so well - and she knows when she does well because she actually comes and stares at me until I say "show me" and she takes me back to her "room" and shows me! I think that is why it is so frustrating. When she does well we are over the top with praises and a special treat.

And she is so STUBBORN. I will put her in her confined area with her potty tray when I know she has to go, and she will hold it - forever, it seems - until I let her out and then she will go immediately on the floor! It is so difficult to make her stay in there for so long but that is what I have to do, I guess.

Good thing I love that little challenge!!

[Gingergirlsmom]

LuvBnaMom, I see you haven't been back. I hope all is going well and that we were able to give you some advice that helped. Please let us know, even if things aren't working out.

[Conjure_Girl]

Please don't loose faith in your dog. I'm sure your baby doesn't do it on purpose. Dogs LOVE attention, whether it's positive or negative. So scolding her is still giving her attention.

When we got Lulu at 13 weeks she was pad trained. We had her enclosed area in the living room, with her pad there. In the first few days she went only on her pad, but then started marking different areas of the carpet. She especially loved to poop under the coffee table, when no one was watching her. We ended up removing all the furniture under where she could hide and potty, but that didn't help because she would still go on the carpet 50% of the time.

So my husband had a brilliant idea. We made a little alcove around her pad with the doggy fence we fenced off the living room with. After each time she ate, played, or slept we'd put her on her pad saying "go potty," and if she wouldn't go we enclosed her on her pad and didn't pay attention to her till she went. Lulu re-learned her potty skills in one day + the command "go potty". She didn't enjoy sitting on the pad as much as walking around on the carpet and being with us, so she forced a potty sometimes but at least I was sure she won't go on the carpet.
We continued to supervise her and putting her on the pad for about a week, and then she really got it.

We still have accidents and she is under supervision, of course. She is only 5.5 months. And it is frustrating. She'd go a couple of days without accidents, and then I'll find her poop in the hallway But i know she's trying and that she is still a baby. And if I tr to "translate" the situation into human terms, at 5.5 months, I was far from using the toilet as a baby.....

[QuickSilver]

Originally Posted by Gingergirlsmom

LuvBnaMom, I see you haven't been back. I hope all is going well and that we were able to give you some advice that helped. Please let us know, even if things aren't working out.

Yes, please, come back and let us know how it's going, if it's worse, better, or neither. Those of us with stubborn potty-ers really do know where you are coming from, unfortunately.

[caitriona]

Originally Posted by Conjure_Girl

Please don't loose faith in your dog. I'm sure your baby doesn't do it on purpose. Dogs LOVE attention, whether it's positive or negative. So scolding her is still giving her attention.

When we got Lulu at 13 weeks she was pad trained. We had her enclosed area in the living room, with her pad there. In the first few days she went only on her pad, but then started marking different areas of the carpet. She especially loved to poop under the coffee table, when no one was watching her. We ended up removing all the furniture under where she could hide and potty, but that didn't help because she would still go on the carpet 50% of the time.

So my husband had a brilliant idea. We made a little alcove around her pad with the doggy fence we fenced off the living room with. After each time she ate, played, or slept we'd put her on her pad saying "go potty," and if she wouldn't go we enclosed her on her pad and didn't pay attention to her till she went. Lulu re-learned her potty skills in one day + the command "go potty". She didn't enjoy sitting on the pad as much as walking around on the carpet and being with us, so she forced a potty sometimes but at least I was sure she won't go on the carpet.
We continued to supervise her and putting her on the pad for about a week, and then she really got it.

We still have accidents and she is under supervision, of course. She is only 5.5 months. And it is frustrating. She'd go a couple of days without accidents, and then I'll find her poop in the hallway But i know she's trying and that she is still a baby. And if I tr to "translate" the situation into human terms, at 5.5 months, I was far from using the toilet as a baby.....

That is a really good idea, my babies favorite spot to eliminate in the house is the laundry room where i also happen to keep the Cat's litter box, so i'm thinking of installing pee pads in there and useing a baby fence if i need to keep him in there.

[Princessangela3]

All our other dogs were potty trained effortlessly. My Yorkie was exactly like yours. I did not think she would EVER learn!!! She did not comptely potty train until a year old. What helped me the most was giving her TONS of happy excited praise any and every time she went potty where she was supposed to and then she receieved a "special" treat that was only given for going potty. We also EVERY time she went outside told her "Go Potty" and then when she did in our very excited happy voices told her "Good Potty Good Girl" over and over while petting her and giving her special treat. She is now completely trained and goes out side and goes potty when told without the treat. She is worth 1000 times EVERY frustrating second I spent potty training her. Try not to lose hope, your baby will learn.

[LuvBNaMom]

I have been able to read on my new phone, but no time to respond. Thanks for understanding. My DH and I were on the swing and he was holding her the other night and he says "she really is a sweet dog, I hope we can get this licked". We lost a lab of 12 years before Christmas so we want that dog spot in our hearts filled. She was just SO easy and eager to please. We are listening to your advice. Restricting movement, wearing her on a leash. We are evening getting an old piece of carpet out to soil with her scent and put it on the deck in a corner........thoughts on this idea?
I don't get on line very often so please don't think I was ignoring you. I wish there was a school nearby b/c I think I would send her.
Wish us luck!

[Gingergirlsmom]

Good luck!!!!

[happy bunny]

We are all here for you! Best of luck and pop in whenever you can!!

[darnlora]

Everyone is right do not give up on her it is a long process to potty train... You did not potty train your children without accidents did you ?????? She only knows your moods... senses you are mad at her she has long forgotten an accident????? Use a leash as suggested then have someone go out and walk her to designated area "the potty spot". I would not have given up on my Son he had Attention Deficit Disorder he wasnot potty trained till almost 2 1/2 years old. It is hard Yorkies are real hard!!!!!! Do not use potty pads and try to train to outside to confusing for pups.