Potty Troubles & Need Advice on Transition from Pads to Outside - YorkieTalk.com Forums

TishaMoon · 12-08-2009, 06:33 PM

Please help me! I knew yorkies were supposed to be hard to train, but I'm at my wit's end! Bailey's almost 11 months old and peeing on the carpet almost once a day. The very frustrating part is that she never had this many accidents as a tiny puppy! She was started on potty pads by the breeder and it only took a couple days for her to readjust to my house and pads, then she was pretty consistent. I'm a teacher and when I was off with her all summer it was great. At this point she was around 5-6 months and rarely if ever had any accidents.

But as soon as I went back to work and had to leave her 8-9 hours a day she started going on the carpet like crazy. Not while I'm gone, but when I get home (she's gated in the kitchen when I'm gone, and only goes on the pad. Based on how well she was doing and now this, I completely think she's trying to act out and show me for leaving her. I've mentioned this before and people always say no, she can't be doing it on purpose, but what other explanation is there? It's crazy to me that it took me months from the time she was 10 weeks old to about 7 months old to go through 1 bottle of Nature's Miracle to clean accidents, and I've gone through more than 3 in the last 7-11 months age range.

So since the carpet is becoming so problematic, and rugs and things have always said "potty" to her (and she just peed on my new Christmas tree skirt, which is why I'm finally posting, so frustrated!), I want to FINALLY get her going outside! This has been another issue, as I always wanted that to be the goal, but I had a just dirt backyard and she ate rocks and things and freaked me out, so I stopped taking her out for a while. She has just never realized that outside is a potty spot. I've only seen her go outside about 2-3 times on very long walks, and only on grass (there's no grass in my backyard, just ground cover and wood chips). When I get home from work and see she hasn't used the pad recently (or sometimes at all) I talk her out back and sometimes I've waited close to an hour with nothing, then she goes when we come in. I've tried taking used potty pads out there and using that training spray that smells like pee, no luck. But I have 3 weeks off for Christmas coming up and want to really buckle down and use this time to get her going outside.

SO really what I want is help/tips from anyone who's had pad trained dogs that they transitioned to outdoors.

-Do I remove her pads altogether or keep them and try outdoor training at the same time? (She's less than 4 pounds and I really can't see her holding it the whole time I'm at work, so pads will probably still have to be around while I'm gone.)

-Is there a point in doing the bell training (to signal she needs to go) this late in the game? Anyone had success with this?

-What exactly should I start to do? At 11 months do I still take her out every hour or so? What if she doesn't go?

-Is there anything I can spray on my carpet and rugs to tell her they're not okay for potty?

TishaMoon · 12-08-2009, 06:41 PM

I want to add that Bailey's very smart and that's why I believe she knows better. A lot of times I'll see her starting to sniff around the carpet and just say her name sternly or even point toward the direction of the pad and she looks and me and heads straight to the pad. She KNOWS where to go, she just CHOOSES not to!

JasmineNoelle · 12-08-2009, 07:48 PM

When I got Prissy I was working then and we crate trained her and that is how we house broke Jasmine also. I was able to come home on my lunch break and let Prissy out for potty break, I don't know if that is an option for you or not. The crate training worked very well for us with both our girls. We did not use pads with either one of them, and we always used the same one word command for them to potty when ever we took them outside. When ever they potty outside we praise, praise, praise them and they always responded to that. I know a lot of people use treats when their furbabies potty on command but we chose not too, but that is an individual decision. We always keep food and water in their crates at all times and take the girls out every hour when we were at home during house training. It took our poodle about 5 months and our yorkie 10 1/2 months before being house broke. There are alot of people on here with alot of good advice that will be able to help you. I know it can be very frustrating and takes a lot of patience and no one way is the right way for everyone, but when your furbaby is housebroke...........it will be soooooooooooo worth all the time and effort. Good luck!

TishaMoon · 12-08-2009, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JasmineNoelle

When I got Prissy I was working then and we crate trained her and that is how we house broke Jasmine also. I was able to come home on my lunch break and let Prissy out for potty break, I don't know if that is an option for you or not. The crate training worked very well for us with both our girls. We did not use pads with either one of them, and we always used the same one word command for them to potty when ever we took them outside. When ever they potty outside we praise, praise, praise them and they always responded to that. I know a lot of people use treats when their furbabies potty on command but we chose not too, but that is an individual decision. We always keep food and water in their crates at all times and take the girls out every hour when we were at home during house training. It took our poodle about 5 months and our yorkie 10 1/2 months before being house broke. There are alot of people on here with alot of good advice that will be able to help you. I know it can be very frustrating and takes a lot of patience and no one way is the right way for everyone, but when your furbaby is housebroke...........it will be soooooooooooo worth all the time and effort. Good luck!

I would feel bad having her in a crate all day while I'm at work. She does well gated in the kitchen so I figure it's like the same thing. She can go on command but doesn't always (and never does when outside), and I already and still treat her for going on the pad. When I've tried taking her outside I take ever tastier treats but nothing will seem to persuade my baby to go outside! I think the hardest part is just getting her go out there in the first place! Then I will be better about being consistent because I'll feel it's not useless.

Britster · 12-08-2009, 09:43 PM

I would bring a pad outside for her. Maybe she will associate going potty outdoors then. I've also heard of slowly moving the pad closer to the door and then eventually bringing it all the way outside. I would also give her a TON of water before taking her outside... you know she's going to have to go pee EVENTUALLY. So that's the time to do it, and then praise praise praise and treat when she finally does. Once her smell gets going outside, she should get the hang of it. I personally don't like the pads for that reason... I felt it encouraged them that it's ok to go in the house and I see more people with potty training issues that use them than dogs who strictly go outside. Also, sounds gross, but when she poops on the pad, put the poop outside!

TishaMoon · 12-10-2009, 11:53 AM

Yes I do regret using the pads at all now. The breeder had started her on pads and she had NEVER been outside before at 10 weeks when I got her, so my resolve to get her home and outside train her turned out to be trickier than I thought. Now I'm almost out of my giant box of 200 pee pads and I am sick of using them.

No one answered this, but I'm really curious, at what point in this transition process should I remove the pads altogether? I think I will probably continue to use them when I'm at work, so she doesn't have to try and hold it all day.

TishaMoon · 12-10-2009, 12:24 PM

Oh, one more thing that just came up, when she goes on her pad I often still praise her and give a treat (because I'm happy it's not on the carpet), but should I stop doing that and instead telling her "potty outside" and taking her out even though she just went?

I just tied a bell by the door and rang it on our way out. I took out a used potty pad AND the training spray, but she wouldn't go outside. She went 5 minutes after coming in. Now she's ringing the bell to just play with it and growling. I know every time she rings it I'm supposed to take her out but right now I figure she's just getting used to having it there. Plus I'm afraid when she realizes what it's for she'll ring it all the time to go out and play.

westieboy · 12-10-2009, 08:05 PM

Your dog is just very confused and really not potty trained except for the kitchen. To her everywhere else is fair game. She doesn't know how to go outside because you never trained her. Treat her like a 10 week old pup and start all over. Go cold turkey on the pads. Take her outside whenever you think she needs to go. Treat and praise if she does.

This would be a lot easier if she was crate trained but since you don't use crates this will require a tremendous effort to watch her and take her out often on your part. I suggest you seriously reconsider the crate.

Yorkiemamma78 · 12-13-2009, 01:13 PM

Get rid of those pads completely. A crate is the best thing. After a couple of days mine started to like just going in it to hang out. I gave a treat just for being inside the crate. I take him out every two hours that I'm home. If he doesn't potty then I take him immediately back to the crate. He won't potty in his crate. Thirty minutes later back outside to potty. Usually this next time he will go right away. Grass never matters to him. Dirt, gravel, mulch, anything is fine with him as soon as I took those stupid pads away. I don't give him a fraction of an opportunity to potty in my house after he pooped on my Christmas tree skirt. I was furious. Poop isn't cute or funny. I'll never be mean but I'll be damned if I ever forget it. I'm not a nasty person and I'll not tolerate urine and poop inside of my home ever. I don't care bow much I love my dog. I'm the boss. You are too!

12-08-2009, 06:33 PM	#1
TishaMoon YT Addict Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: So. Cal Posts: 367	Potty Troubles & Need Advice on Transition from Pads to Outside Please help me! I knew yorkies were supposed to be hard to train, but I'm at my wit's end! Bailey's almost 11 months old and peeing on the carpet almost once a day. The very frustrating part is that she never had this many accidents as a tiny puppy! She was started on potty pads by the breeder and it only took a couple days for her to readjust to my house and pads, then she was pretty consistent. I'm a teacher and when I was off with her all summer it was great. At this point she was around 5-6 months and rarely if ever had any accidents. But as soon as I went back to work and had to leave her 8-9 hours a day she started going on the carpet like crazy. Not while I'm gone, but when I get home (she's gated in the kitchen when I'm gone, and only goes on the pad. Based on how well she was doing and now this, I completely think she's trying to act out and show me for leaving her. I've mentioned this before and people always say no, she can't be doing it on purpose, but what other explanation is there? It's crazy to me that it took me months from the time she was 10 weeks old to about 7 months old to go through 1 bottle of Nature's Miracle to clean accidents, and I've gone through more than 3 in the last 7-11 months age range. So since the carpet is becoming so problematic, and rugs and things have always said "potty" to her (and she just peed on my new Christmas tree skirt, which is why I'm finally posting, so frustrated!), I want to FINALLY get her going outside! This has been another issue, as I always wanted that to be the goal, but I had a just dirt backyard and she ate rocks and things and freaked me out, so I stopped taking her out for a while. She has just never realized that outside is a potty spot. I've only seen her go outside about 2-3 times on very long walks, and only on grass (there's no grass in my backyard, just ground cover and wood chips). When I get home from work and see she hasn't used the pad recently (or sometimes at all) I talk her out back and sometimes I've waited close to an hour with nothing, then she goes when we come in. I've tried taking used potty pads out there and using that training spray that smells like pee, no luck. But I have 3 weeks off for Christmas coming up and want to really buckle down and use this time to get her going outside. SO really what I want is help/tips from anyone who's had pad trained dogs that they transitioned to outdoors. -Do I remove her pads altogether or keep them and try outdoor training at the same time? (She's less than 4 pounds and I really can't see her holding it the whole time I'm at work, so pads will probably still have to be around while I'm gone.) -Is there a point in doing the bell training (to signal she needs to go) this late in the game? Anyone had success with this? -What exactly should I start to do? At 11 months do I still take her out every hour or so? What if she doesn't go? -Is there anything I can spray on my carpet and rugs to tell her they're not okay for potty? __________________ ~ Bailey's Mommy~

12-08-2009, 06:41 PM	#2
TishaMoon YT Addict Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: So. Cal Posts: 367	I want to add that Bailey's very smart and that's why I believe she knows better. A lot of times I'll see her starting to sniff around the carpet and just say her name sternly or even point toward the direction of the pad and she looks and me and heads straight to the pad. She KNOWS where to go, she just CHOOSES not to! __________________ ~ Bailey's Mommy~

12-08-2009, 07:48 PM	#3
JasmineNoelle YT 2000 Club Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: USA Posts: 2,774 Blog Entries: 1	When I got Prissy I was working then and we crate trained her and that is how we house broke Jasmine also. I was able to come home on my lunch break and let Prissy out for potty break, I don't know if that is an option for you or not. The crate training worked very well for us with both our girls. We did not use pads with either one of them, and we always used the same one word command for them to potty when ever we took them outside. When ever they potty outside we praise, praise, praise them and they always responded to that. I know a lot of people use treats when their furbabies potty on command but we chose not too, but that is an individual decision. We always keep food and water in their crates at all times and take the girls out every hour when we were at home during house training. It took our poodle about 5 months and our yorkie 10 1/2 months before being house broke. There are alot of people on here with alot of good advice that will be able to help you. I know it can be very frustrating and takes a lot of patience and no one way is the right way for everyone, but when your furbaby is housebroke...........it will be soooooooooooo worth all the time and effort. Good luck! __________________ Jasmine's, Prissy's and Maggie Mae's Mommy

12-08-2009, 09:43 PM	#5
Britster Action Jackson ♥ Donating Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Maryland Posts: 17,814	I would bring a pad outside for her. Maybe she will associate going potty outdoors then. I've also heard of slowly moving the pad closer to the door and then eventually bringing it all the way outside. I would also give her a TON of water before taking her outside... you know she's going to have to go pee EVENTUALLY. So that's the time to do it, and then praise praise praise and treat when she finally does. Once her smell gets going outside, she should get the hang of it. I personally don't like the pads for that reason... I felt it encouraged them that it's ok to go in the house and I see more people with potty training issues that use them than dogs who strictly go outside. Also, sounds gross, but when she poops on the pad, put the poop outside! __________________ ~ Brit & Lights! Camera! Jackson! CGC ETD TKP ~ Follow Jackson on Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacksontheterrier

12-10-2009, 11:53 AM	#6
TishaMoon YT Addict Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: So. Cal Posts: 367	Yes I do regret using the pads at all now. The breeder had started her on pads and she had NEVER been outside before at 10 weeks when I got her, so my resolve to get her home and outside train her turned out to be trickier than I thought. Now I'm almost out of my giant box of 200 pee pads and I am sick of using them. No one answered this, but I'm really curious, at what point in this transition process should I remove the pads altogether? I think I will probably continue to use them when I'm at work, so she doesn't have to try and hold it all day. __________________ ~ Bailey's Mommy~

12-10-2009, 12:24 PM	#7
TishaMoon YT Addict Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: So. Cal Posts: 367	Oh, one more thing that just came up, when she goes on her pad I often still praise her and give a treat (because I'm happy it's not on the carpet), but should I stop doing that and instead telling her "potty outside" and taking her out even though she just went? I just tied a bell by the door and rang it on our way out. I took out a used potty pad AND the training spray, but she wouldn't go outside. She went 5 minutes after coming in. Now she's ringing the bell to just play with it and growling. I know every time she rings it I'm supposed to take her out but right now I figure she's just getting used to having it there. Plus I'm afraid when she realizes what it's for she'll ring it all the time to go out and play. __________________ ~ Bailey's Mommy~

12-10-2009, 08:05 PM	#8
westieboy Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: NY Posts: 139	Your dog is just very confused and really not potty trained except for the kitchen. To her everywhere else is fair game. She doesn't know how to go outside because you never trained her. Treat her like a 10 week old pup and start all over. Go cold turkey on the pads. Take her outside whenever you think she needs to go. Treat and praise if she does. This would be a lot easier if she was crate trained but since you don't use crates this will require a tremendous effort to watch her and take her out often on your part. I suggest you seriously reconsider the crate.

12-13-2009, 01:13 PM	#9
Yorkiemamma78 BANNED! Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Lexington, Ky, USA Posts: 37	Get rid of those pads completely. A crate is the best thing. After a couple of days mine started to like just going in it to hang out. I gave a treat just for being inside the crate. I take him out every two hours that I'm home. If he doesn't potty then I take him immediately back to the crate. He won't potty in his crate. Thirty minutes later back outside to potty. Usually this next time he will go right away. Grass never matters to him. Dirt, gravel, mulch, anything is fine with him as soon as I took those stupid pads away. I don't give him a fraction of an opportunity to potty in my house after he pooped on my Christmas tree skirt. I was furious. Poop isn't cute or funny. I'll never be mean but I'll be damned if I ever forget it. I'm not a nasty person and I'll not tolerate urine and poop inside of my home ever. I don't care bow much I love my dog. I'm the boss. You are too!