Need help with potty training 8 month old yorkie
 

I adopted CoCo a 8 month old yorkie/Maltese mix. She looks just like a yorkie :D
She weighs 7 lbs. The woman I got her from had her trained on potty pads. She wasn't even reliable on them, as she told me. I have had her for 6 weeks. I bought the bells to hang on the door and have been using them every time without fail. I say "need to potty" encourage her to ring them and out we go. She will go without incident as long as I am dragging her out every couple of hours. When I have her tethered to me , with leash, she will not signal. She doesn't circle and sniff, bark nothing she will just squat and pee in front of me. Same with off leash under supervision. She will just squat and go in front of me. I assumed after 6 weeks she would at least go to the door and stand. She keeps her crate clean and is crated while I'm gone and at night. I'm a stay at home mom so she is rarely crated. She doesn't pee int he same area. I clean with a strong vinegar water through to the pad. It's always a differnt place, just wherever she is. I have been diligent with her. Praise and treats for going outside. What else can I do..... I'm going crazy and really frustrated. She is not catching on at all. She only drinks about 7 to 8 ozs of water a day. I don't ration it, thats just her norm. She pees 3 or 4 times a day. I really think the pee pads messed up her training with the previous owner. Any ideas anyone?

When she does it in front of you say NO and correct her by taking her outside right than don't wait and when you take her out to potty keep saying to her go potty and keep saying it until she has done her bussiness than give her a good girl potty party :D and give her a treat at that time if you want. I would take her out every 2 hours at first and as time goes on and you can go the full 2 hours without an accident I would add another hour to it until you get to 4 hours, you have to treat her like a pup even tho she isn't...don't give up she will pick it up and know that you want her to go outside...I hope this helps...good luck!!!

she can hold it 4 hrs, I just usually don't want to run the risk. I'm actually in Missouri and it's really cold right now. She doesn't mind pottying in the cold but I can't scoop her away outside without getting properly dressed. lol It's freezing here.

I forget not everyone has the nice Florida weather like me ;)...than you might want to train her to both potty pads and going outside...I know it can be done...there are a few members here that do it maybe some will chime in...I do know that if you don't do something to correct her in a positive way she will keep doing it cause she will think its ok...Do you give her full run of the house when you have her out of her crate? I'm potty training now too I have a 18 week old yorkie...and when I can't watch him. I put him in his play yard, I'm not a fan of crate training I only use a crate for travel...but when I do take Harley out to play with him I don't let him have full run of the house I have my kitchen/dinning area with floor not carpet gated off so he is confined to that area...its been a few weeks since Harley has had an accident but he is in noway potty train yet LOL, until I feel I can trust him I will keep him confined...I do take him in the family room to watch TV with me but I make him sit on the sofa with me, hubby and Bella :)... so I wouldn't give her full run of the house and when you do have her out confine her in a room that is floor...good luck.

no she doesn't have any run of the house. lol she stays in my room with me most of the time and does really well with 1 or 2 accidents. But like today we walked in my bathroom together and without sniffing, circling or anything just squats on my rug in front of my and starts peeing. I yelled NOOOO and picked her up by the scruff of her neck and she continued to pee.... I just don't get it. Dogs usually catch the bell thing in a couple of weks. It's been 6 and she won't ring without prompt.....

You have to set them up for success if you fail to do that than they are going to fail and its your fault. and Yelling NO and grabbing her by the scruff of her neck is only going to hurt and make her scared of you no good will come from that :eek:, thats probably why she kept peeing she was scared...and if you make your dog scared of you she will never come to you for anything and will start hiding her potty accidents...It has to be a positive correction... when she does it in front of you say NO to her in a firm but calm voice and pick her up gently not by the scruff of her neck and take her to where you want her to potty, outside or on a potty pad and tell her go potty and pet her at the same time than take her and put her in her crate/xpen play yard and leave her for about 15 minutes or until its time to go out and potty again. You said she was never train right in the first place so you have to start from the begining with her as if she was a puppy....keeping her confined, taking her out every 2 hours, taking her out after she eats, sleeps, plays just like a puppy...don't give her a chance to have an accident and 6 weeks really is that long no dog will be pottied trained in that time frame, it takes months...setting them up for success is the key and that starts with you!!!

Oops I just read your first post again and I missed her age sorry about that...she is only 8 mos old...she is still very much a puppy...and 4 hours inbetween potty breaks is way to long...My puppy is 18 weeks and doing great with the potty training but I take him out every 2 to 3 hours and I'm pushing the limit with 3 hours.

She never pees within 4 hrs of the last pee. she ALWAYS holds it at least 4 hrs. The problem is getting her to use a signal to let me know she needs to go. As long as we are going on schedule she great. But my vet told me at that rate I'm trained and not her. She needs to start using a signal to let me know. We have had the bells in place for 6 weeks and I have house trained dogs before. One with bells, who caught on in just 2 weeks. And I respectfully disagree with your comment on the srcuff of the neck. Their mothers pick them up like that. She needed to know I wasn't pleased at all with peeing in the house, and she wasn't hurt.

Dogs are like people in a way, some learn quicker than others...I'm sure she will pick it up sooner or later if you continue to be diligent. and I'm sorry you disagree with me on picking them up by the scruff of the neck...but IMO that just teaches your dog to be fearful of you...Good luck!

And your thread said you needed help with potty training sorry I misunderstood.

I read somewhere, that in order to stop a dog from peeing in mid-stream, you need to push their butt down in a sitting position. A dog will not pee if they are sitting. So next time she does it in front of you, instead of picking her up, push her butt down, tell her "NO" and then pick her up and carry her outside. (you may want to keep your coat and slip on shoes handy by the door, so you can grab them quickly).

I agree, that you need to take her out every 2-3 hours. Don't allow her a chance to make a mistake. Every time they pee in the house, it sets them back. You need to limit the number of accidents to maybe 2 a week, not 2-3 times a day. If you don't give her a chance to have an accident in the house, she will learn faster.

Also, be prepared to keep up the training for month(s). Sometimes it just takes a long time for a yorkie to be housebroken. I agree that training her on pads in the early part of her life, has made your job harder. You may have to pick up area rugs, because they may simulate a "peepad" in her mind. the fact she was trained on pee pads (and not even reliably, which means she was allowed to go in the house, anywhere) means it is going to take longer. You are having to accomplish 2 things 1. un-train her on pee pads and doing it in the house and 2. train her to go outside, only.

Thanks Ladylavender I will try that next time. I have never heard pushing them down. The accidents are not daily that was a total over the weeks. I guess I didn't explain that. She usually does very well, but I do believe your right about the rug/pee pad theory. I will keep at it!!! :)

not sure why my post are not showing?

Thanks, I will try that next time. I have never heard pushing them down. The accidents are not daily that was a total over the weeks. I guess I didn't explain that. She usually does very well, but I do believe your right about the rug/pee pad theory. I will keep at it! It has been 3.5 hrs and I just took her out again. Nothing... She didn't pee, although I figured she wouldn't. She usually waits till around the 4 hour mark with a few exceptions. lol

I just took her out again and its been 3.5 hrs. Nothing, she didn't do anything. She usually waits around 4 hrs with a few exceptions. lol I will try the push down method. I appreciate that advice. I have never heard of that. For some reason some of my post are having to be approved by a moderator.... not sure why.

Ok, I see what your problem is. You are to take her out every 2-3 hours. When you go out, don't come back in until she does her business, whether it be 1 minute, 15 minutes, or 1/2 hour. You need to say "go potty" or whatever command you want, every so often, until she goes. If you have been out there for sometime and she will not go, you need to put her in her crate, and take her back out again after 5-10 minutes. You keep this up until she goes outside and then she can be out of the crate.

In the beginning it will be a big pain in the butt. It could be a few days, or a week, before she gets that every time you take her out, she goes potty. You need to establish that first, before anything else. Outside, means potty. It will be hard on you, because you are going to have to be out there when it's cold, raining or snowing, with her being cooperative or not, but you have to get thru that hump first.

Learning to ring the bells or scratching or yipping at the door comes only after she knows outside is the only place to potty.

OK, I'm using "go potty" every time she pees and "hurry hurry" for going poo. lol I can and have been out there for 30+ minutes and she won't do anything. I'm hoping it will just all connect soon. Like a giant OH, I GET IT! lol Until then I will keep at it. I hate to put her in her crate. Because with her only going out every 4+ hours she will be spending a large amount of time in her crate taking her out every 2 or 3, but maybe thats what it will take.... Thanks again

My dog has been potty trained outside since she was about 6 months old... I got some wonderful advice from people here and it really worked because we rarely if ever had/have accidents.
I didnt use a crate... this is how she explained it to me and she will pretty much pee on command now, ( which was great when I was up North and freezing)
Take her outside, the SECOND She pees say HURRY HURRY or Potty or PEE PEE.. I chose HURRY HURRY because the person that shared that advice said your neighboors don't need to know your dog is PEEING on thier lawn...When you catch her peeing and right after the HURRY HURRY , give her THE MILLION DOLLAR TREAT... THIS treat had to be a treat she LOVES and one that you ONLY give her when she pees OUTSIDE.. never for any other reason... I used boiled white chicken breast and you can try that or Zukes or Cheese.. something that you know she LOVES..
Each time you take her out say HURRY HURRY.. the second she pees Say GOOD GIRL for HURRY HURRY.. TREAT TREAT TREAT TREAT... It really doesnt take long for them to catch on... but my puppy loved the chicken so much she always wanted to go HURRY HURRY... :rolleyes: but I figured the more practice she got the better.
I think she is probably confused between your carpet and pee pads... :confused:
My advice is to do as follows and take her out every hour the first few days, followed by every two till she catches on to what HURRY HURRY ~ Treat means.. Hope that helps

Thanks!! Maybe I'll cook up some steak for her. lol Seriously though she does love it. I have been using her regular treats( old mother hubbard liver) I never thought of a SUPER SPECIAL Treat.. I will definitely try this!

I found this...lots of great tips on house training.

The Ten Commandments of Housebreaking

Yesterday was a great day. She started going to the sliding glass doors in my room and scratching to go out!!!!! YES A major triumph. lol Now we just have to get her to do that from all the other rooms of the house, eventually.... But for now that was a major breakthrough!

:happyboun:happyboun:happyboun:congrats:

My little momma took forever and a day to potty train. If she doesn't go but every 4 hours then why don't you try about 15 minutes before the 4 hours are up and say let's go potty. Walk to the door, say potty, ring bell and take her out. I can't see taking her out every 2-3 hours then 15-30 minutes standing outside and nothing. Why stress yourself?

ok a new problem... Now she ask to go out excessively, like 6 times an hour just to walk around. How do I navigate this one? I'm so happy she has learned to ask but now she just wants to walk around and play a little. Well we went from one extreme to the other. lol But we haven't had any accidents in a few days!!! YEAH US
DO I ingnore her when I know she doesn't have to really go?

When Ziva was " in training"- A whole year! my son heard that puppies love the word "YAY!" it always sounds upbeat and happy.By that time I was pretty burned out sounding positive 10+ times a day- so "yay!" it was, seemed to work!
Ziva never did get the bells, she clears her throat at the door (a little "ahem, excuse me- gotta go")Miss Pee Puddle goes at least 6 times a day!

By the way, Ziva will ask to go out 15 times a day if she is bored or its raining and she hasn't had her walk or plenty of play time!