I don't think I can handle this any longer!!!
 

We have an 11 month old yorkie/ shih-tzu mix. He is bell trained, and does okay for the most part, but lately he has taken to peeing and pooping upstairs. He is neutered, so I don't think he is marking. Our kids' bedrooms are upstairs, and he likes being around them, but it seems like every time he goes upstairs, he pees somewhere, and we don't find it until much later. I was very reluctant to get an inside dog because I really didn't want my house to smell like dog pee! I have had to clean my carpets so many times lately and I still don't feel they are clean.

He was crate trained from the time we got him, and he still has to stay in it at night. When we got a dog for our kids, I never envisioned it being this way. We have a 6 month old goldendoodle that has been so much easier! I really want to get rid of the yorkie, but the rest of the family gets upset when I mention it. I just found three pee spots upstairs, and I just want to cry. I called my husband at work and told him that either the dog goes or I go!! I do not want a dog that we have to keep corraled in one room all the time. It is different when they are a few months old, but this is ridiculous. Had I known at the time what it would be like, I never would have agreed to get him. I keep hearing from other people that they are notoriously hard to housebreak. A girl I go to church has one that is three years old, that still isn't completely housebroken. I really don't know what else to do at this point. He knows to go outside, he just doesn't sometimes. Please help!!!

I live your frustration lol. Both my yorkies are totally potty trained to know when I say potty they run to the door or tell me when they need to go, they are close to the same age and Nana is almost 2 yrs old, but once in a while they will have as accident and Ive talked to others that their dog will have an accident everynow and then to. Dont give up on the little guy yet! He's still fairly young and Nana took over a year to totally train. I know its hard and soooo frusterating but dont give up hope on him!

My Yorkie is going to be 8 tomorrow (years, not months).
She knows where to go but still goes inside...often.
Yorkies can be potty trained with a lot of consistency but some of them are near impossible.

We can give you lots of suggestions on how to train him but it comes down to this...there may be accidents and there may be ruined carpets. If you are constantly frustrated with him, I think it would be better for the dog to rehome. If you don't want to do that, then go back to the beginning of potty training and when he goes outside, praise and treat like crazy. You can also try belly bands.

They do regress, and yes they are harder to train. But it can be done ;)

However, if you truly want him to go, than please find a suitable adoptive family for him. Please do not dump him at a shelter or pound and please make sure his next family is up to the potty training task. You don't want him to be passed around from family to family bc of pee problems. My advice is to seek out a Yorkie Rescue to surrender him to in your area (there are plenty that will take him in and make sure he finds a suitable home for him).

Are you making sure that you use an enzyme cleaner, like Nature's Miracle, every time he pees or poos on the floor? If not he will go back every time. There are also belly bands that work great. Several YTers make them. I have several.

My solution is to have all the carpet removed and tile or Pergo installed. Yorkies do sometimes get lazy. With mine I sometimes can't believe they do fine for months the all of a sudden pee on the floor?? :eek:

I love them more than my house so I just clean it up....... They bring more joy than a nice house.....

lol, our carpet has been torn out and replaced with vinyl and linoleum just for Ellie.:rolleyes:

I have debated about the carpet, but we have a fairly new house, and his issue is mainly upstairs. I really think he is just being lazy and doesn't want to come downstairs to go outside. The problem with taking out the carpet is that it is fairly new, and it would cost several thousand dollars to replace it with hardwood, which is what we would put down if we took up the carpet. To make matters worse, my kids sound like a herd of elephants uspstairs with CARPET; I can't imagine what it would sound like with nothing to pad the noise. I guess we are just going to have to gate off the upstairs entirely. I just really hate to do that. My little girl loves when he sleeps with her, and I hate to keep him crated at night for the rest of his life!

I think it's just a matter of watching him like a hawk while you're upstairs.
Jackson is nearly 9 months old and is 99% potty trained but once he sneaks upstairs,
that's another story. It's about being consistent and it sucks but if you want him upstairs with you, he has to learn... so bring him upstairs, and do not take your eye off of him, if you see him going to sniff, squat, etc clap your hands or make a loud noise (such as coins in a can) and say NO and bring him to the correct place to potty.

Make sure you're cleaning up the carpet really good too with an enzyme cleaner such as Nature's Miracle to get rid of the urine smell the dogs smell but we won't.

try some belly bands they are a godsend for when you cant be with them and they are roaming the home....and they arent $$$ either

Yay!!!! for belly bands i wouldn't be without mine.a true godsend :)

Have you tried treats for good behavior
 

I am new to the Yorkie world, but have always had a dog of some kind. Smokie was housebroke when we got him, but I still go out with him, praise him when he goes outside, and give him a treat. I may find in the future he will have an accident, but I am finding that he responds very highly to praise and a treat. I use a treat called Jerky Treats - comes in a tan bag and is natural - not high fat "junk food" treat. He just gets a little bite, but knows when he is good he is going to get a treat. A gate to make him stay downstairs because he hasn't been good is a good idea. When he can show you better manners, he can try upstairs again. Can't hurt to try.....Good luck

i would get odo ban they use it in kennels and it smells really good and kills every odor. I have 4 yorkies they are not all completely potty trained and my house still smells good because i use it. Yorkies are hard to train and it took my oldest a whole year to be potty trained. One day it just clicked in her head and i had no mistakes with her after that day. give it time confine him to one room and after he goes potty outside give him a little free time and then back in again.

For the first 4 months or so my baby Zelda was always on a leash in the house. I kept her leash attached to my belt loop even if we were just sitting on the couch. When we went outside and she pottied she got a treat of chicken and then let off leash so we could play. The leash was inconvenient at times but paid off in the end.

thats a good idea

I recommend you to use the belly bands.

Have you tried pee pads upstairs?

This is just a suggestion. Maybe you can start from scratch and crate train him upstairs. Go outside to use the bathroom, play time upstairs, back in crate. Do everything the way you did before but do it upstairs so that it clicks in his head "I need to go downstairs and outside". Just a suggestion. When I switched from pee pads to outside I started from scratch and it didn't take long at all.

You've had a lot of good suggestions.

If your main problem is upstairs, have you tried gating off the upstairs?

Myah is 16 months old and would sometime go upstairs that the top of the step when we weren't paying attention to where she was....mainly when I wasn't home. We put a baby gate up at the bottom of the stairs so she can't go up there. She doesn't go anywhere downstairs in our living area.

Make sure to use a product that is make for urine removal. You have to get rid of all the smell. You can use a black light to see where the spots are that you may not know is there.

I hope you don't have to get rid of him...but if you do, I know you'll find a really good home for him.

I would try the wee wee pads upstairs and really monitor him. Unfortunately some furbabies are harder to train than others. Rockie is 2 and l still monitor his pee time.

Any updates from the OP??

I don't want to ruffle any feathers, but I am a bit surprised at the amount of responses that kind of took a "so be it" attitude towards this problem - allowing that Yorkies may be stubborn or lazy and so that's that? Pulling up carpets in your home just so your dog can 'go' where they please?

Honestly, I think any dog can be trained, you just need to put in the time and effort.

Loose-Black Tarry Stools in my Yorkie
 

I have a 4 year old yorkie,he is the smartest dog in the world,he is pooping black loose tarry stools,this yorkie has always had a picky diet eating only boiled chicken,he refuses to eat anything else,Any ideas as to what his problem is? Please anyone? :(

Hi, it would be advisable for you to start a new thread so people can see your post. This thread is directed at the original posters problem with her dog. If you start a new thread of your own, you'll get more answers, ok. Hope this helps. Just don't want you to think you're being ignored in this thread. And welcome to YT! :D:D

To the OP, I would definitely try pee pads upstairs. If he/she feels like he has to go in a hurry, there is always a pee pad available for him. Perhaps you can do as a poster above stated. Put him on the leash for a lttle while. Pee pads have a certain scent, people can't smell it, that brings the dog to the pad and allows them to eliminate ther.
Good luck, I ave a little Shorkie such as yourself. She is 8 months now. She goes on her pads. But she won't poo and pee on the same pad, grrrr. So I have 2 pads where she now goes. And in seperate areas in the house. Better that than all over the house.

I would def. gate off the upstairs. I understand your frustration. I have two puppies who still have accidents. They've been really good but on occasion...uggh! In fact, Ksena jumped over the baby gate to my daughter's room and pee'd on her fairly new Ikea round bed....I was beyond mad to say the very least. If my eyes aren't on them...they go in the crate and that's that. Maybe the kids aren't paying close enough attention to the pup while upstairs. Or maybe you could try the potty patch or wee wee pads in the spot the pup likes to go up there. You could always call Animal Planet and request some help from "It's me or the dog" show...

Alot of great advise has already been given ;) Just wanted to add, My boys are from ages 1yr-8yrs :) I still have one that is a challenge to train, I suggest using the belly bands :thumbup: It really helps, He dont wear them all the time, Only when he has free range and knows mom is not looking, lol
they can be stubborn, I also make sure they go out on a schedule ;)

I feel your pain
 

I can completely relate to you. Duke is 22months old, he has been trained to use the pee wee pad since I got him, however, besides from the times that he peed on my area rugs - which I no longer can have any types of rugs in my apt, I've recently found stains on my couch. His pad is only about 6 feet away from the couch and he would only does this when I'm at work. I would find these stains and smell his urine once I get home.

I got really frustrated the other day that I considered giving him away too but then is it really him or me not able to train him and be there consistently to train him? Who knows, but I can understand the frustration. I left him alone today with good faith, hoping he won't pee on the couch again since I had to wash the couch cover over the weekend. We'll see what happens once I get home.

And I can't crate train him since I work 9-5. He's been so good with the pee wee pads and not sure what's going on lately, and he's in good health too.