Potty Training outdoors
 

Hey Everyone!
I need some advice on how to get this started.
Lexi has been almost perfect on her pee pads. She knows exactly where to pee in two locations in the house where her pee pads are set up. I started training her on pee pads because she refused to go outside because it was too cold in the winter for her. Now that it's summer I want her to start getting used to going outdoors to pee and poo. She pees outside on walks, but she rarely ever wants to poo outdoors unless she's desperate, other than that I know she holds it till we get back home.
What's a good way to help her want to poo outside?

I purchased a wire x-pen and set it up in the back yard. We always took my Maddie out to the pen to go potty. This way, her "scent" was in this place, but the main benefit was that it kept her focused. When we took her out to potty without the x-pen, she was so busy trying to play and run around and explore she forgot all about going potty. My Maddie is 2 1/2 now, and we still take her out into the pen. Especially first thing in the a.m. when the grass is wet and I don't want her running around, and when I have to leave for work because she will pee and poop right away in the pen. Also good for night because she is in the pen and I can pick her up and take her in after she goes.... if she's just out in the yard, she doesn't always want to come in when I do! There are these big nasty toads in my backyard and if she tracks one at night, you can't get her away from it.

Also, for anyone who read my infamous OMG its WORMS post, this way I actually "see" her poop at least once a day. If not for that, I'm not sure how long it would have been before I would have discovered the worms (it was tapeworms). And I know I'm not the only Yorkie momma who studies their baby's poop!!!!:D

We had the same problems with Ziva, she'd get outside and forget what she was supposed to do, and chase lizards instead!
I landed up moving the newspaper to the garage since we can't let her out at night ( armadillos, possums,feral cats,raccoons, toads etc)This way I know she has gone, I can check her poo, and she can still go if its cold(rarely) or raining (crazy storms).She prefers to go outside and I encourage it, but she has learned to do either.Had to enzyme clean the inside spots lots 'cause once I took away the paper she still went there! I tried moving it slowly to the door but that did not work- ...

How did you train your puppy on pee pads? I have a 12 week old who I started potty training outside and it goes pretty well but I live in an apartment complex (and have carpeting) so its hard to get him out in time when he has to go. I thought about trying pee pads but when I lay them down by the door he just tries to chew on it. Haha its so frustrating! :p

I slipped a folded paper towel under Ziva while she peed, than put it in the fold of the newspaper than bought her to it when she started sniffing (it helped that the breeder used newspaper too.) The poo was easier- I plastic bagged it, than put some(gross) where I want her to go-on the patio block outside, because I can't find it in the grass!

Oh that's really helpful thanks! I'm sooo new to this whole potty training thing but I'm determined to train him! We've been working for 3 weeks but nothing seems to be working although when I take him outside he does go right away. He's only 12 weeks so I think he's still young enough to still be trained properly!! :p

That is great if he goes right away when you take him out!
Helps if you use the phrase that you choose while she is pee/pooing and a lot of "yay!"afterward. Now that Ziva is trained to the phrase "go potty" if I have to go out I know she is as "empty" as possible.(this took awhile- she is a bit over a year old)-

Yeah when I first got him and took him outside I'd have to wait 30 minutes or so for him to go. I don't mind being patient at all as I really wanted him trained to go outside and not used to going inside the house but with having an apartment on the 2nd floor its hard to train him! I recently purchased this pad of fake grass (it looks and feels so real!) that I put on my deck. His play area is right by the door to go out there and the past 2 days he's actually peed and pooped on the little square grass pad which amazes me! It was hard at first but I think he's catching on....I just really want him to get used to going to the door if he needs to go. Then I can start taking him outside to the real grass haha.

My little yorkie, "Princess" is finally understanding why we go outside thru out the day..... for going potty. But, has only gone pee, until this week and finally has pooped outside also. I am praying she will eventually not have to use pee pads inside, unless the weather is bad.

Princess can't stand wet grass. I can only imagine what she will be like when we have snow on the ground!

I purchased pee pads, which are scented so that puppies want to pee on it. I too have carpet. It was a matter of me watching her constantly if she was out...evertime she looked like she was circling or about to pee i'd carry her straight to the pee pad. It is tiring at first but they will catch on fast, we have the smart puppies =D sometimes when she peed in the wrong spot, i'd get mad at her so she'd know so that she wouldn't want to do that again and punished her (some people just say dont punish them, just watch them closely, but i found punishing her helped). Then eventually she didn't go on the carpet again. She'd only go on on the carpet when she misses the pee pad. Now she knows where to go, and she barely sniffs or circles the pee pad.
Since your yorkie is a boy, I dont know if he will lift his leg up and pee instead. Because Lexi is a girl, i know she will instantly squat down and pee.

That's a great idea! I think I might put back up her play pen outdoors. Today she was chasing flies and bees :S Too distracted and as soon as she came back indoors, she pooed on the floor where her pee pad used to be. :(

Oh that's great :) What did you use as punishment?? I'll try anything!

At the time she stayed in a playpen when she was by herself. But she was more than likely just roaming the house by herself. When she peed somewhere she wasn't supposed to and I caught her, I picked her up by her neck skin (how dogs carry their pups) tell her that she was bad, she doesn't potty there, then pointed where she was supposed to potty. I placed her in the playpen and ignored her anywhere between 30mins-1 hour. No toys, only a pee pad. Sometimes if she already went I'd take away the pee pad, because she sometimes threw tantrums and rips that up. It's so pitiful to listen to her cry and moan, but eventually she gets the point. But be patient with them yet stern. They usually get away with stuff because they are just too cute! I think even if you put them in a crate that would be fine too.

Aw thanks! Yeah I'm worried about punishing with his crate because I want him to like his crate lol. But I have an ex-pen that I could use and put him in that with no toys. Thanks for the advice!! :p