When crate trainig my Yorkies, they ALWAYS had newspaper or potty pads in the crate, together with all of the other needs of a dog - bed, food, water, toys, a handkershief of mine! I think that is a given. You cannot rely on any dog let alone a weeks old puppy to hold it until we get around to taking them out. In a small enclosure that they don't spend a lot of time in, they soon begin to dislike toileting in their little area so they start to try to hold it longer. If they are very young, they simply can't hold it and that's why you take them out to potty in your place of choise often. IF they stay too long is a small space, they may start to eat their poop or not mind it being there so the idea to get them out often is highly desirable and as I said in an earlier post, I don't think crate training involves the dog being in the crate except when you have something non-dog related to do or just need to take some brief "me" time. Otherwise, they are out with you lving their life. I think some people think crate training involves sticking your dog off in another room in a cold, sterile jail and leaving it there with no pee pads, bed, food, water or toys. Proper crate training as I learned it from many sources is nothing like that.

Yikes - typos abounding in my last post. I swear I cannot find out how to edit a post though it says at the bottom of the page I can do that! I have little to no computer skills and poor close-up eyesight is no help. Ha.

Another update...
 

Overnight and Day 2 of the Reawakening went so very, very well!

Went to bed at 2, transfered Noli to the bedroom with minimal fussing. Woke up at 3:30 to pee, 4:30 with a bit of fussing, and for the day at 6...what a tired momma!!!!! Luckily after eating, peeing and pooing, and a bit of playing she was out again by 7:30 and I got to catch a few more Zs!!!

We had to go visit our families yesterday - Alec to fix his parents computer and I to see my mother's house renovations (well, I didn't HAVE to go but certainly wanted to!). We packed up Noli in the TRAVEL BAG (OOOOOOOOOH OH NOES) and got in the car for the 1.5 hour trip.

And she slept the whole time!!! There and back! No screaming and crying, no accidents. Alec had played with her around the travel bag (an Argo, btw...very cute but I wish I could see in it better!) while I was at work.


By the way, yes I'm posting at 4am. Not because of Noli, but because I am at WORK!!! EWWWWWWW. So Alec has to take care of Noli overnight. I'm so worried, he's a heavy sleeper! But clearly he knows what he's doing. Now I'm just worried because Noli will be home alone 2 hours between when Alec leaves for work and when I get home. But I know he can take care of her. This is the first time she'll be alone, though! :(:(:( But it's just for 2 hours. Probably a bit less.

I'm asking out of curiosity not to sound rude...I completely agree with your post...but how big is your crate that it can hold a potty area, bed area, eating area, and a sleeping area?

Did you mean play yard?

I have a large and extra large crate here for my small dogs-that's their bed for sleeping at night in my room next to my bed...not their play yard or the area they are in if they are left alone in the house-their crates are just to hold their beds (I have some visco foam square beds in the crates) to sleep in-all three of my furbutts can actually fit in one of the crates-but I'd never-...the crates are too big to even fit in their play yard so they have other beds in there...

Great point about pooh-eating! Yorkies are one of the breeds prone to it apparently!

Why would I think you are rude for asking a question? Ask away!

I just went by my vets recommendation and got one about 3 feet long and I guess about 2 1/2 feet wide. The bed is not a dog bed but a Yorkie-sized washable pillow I have that has a sink hole in the center. From what I read, the idea is to give them enough room to move around , lie down and play but not too large as their poop in one end not to offend them. On the other hand, too small an area and they could become accustomed to potty being there, right next to their food, water and bed and get interested in checking it out. I usually kept a throw over the bed end of the crate to enclose it denlike, as I've read they like to "den" some as puppies. And since I am home all the time, my Yorkie actually spent very little time in it since I didn't buy him to jail him. He was usually so tired from playing and other the other things we did, when he went into the crate he would lie down and nap. Not at first, though! At first it was howling and whining and don't leave me here! But I tried Jilly in a pen when I first got her and she howled and whined so I got the smaller crate, which she accepted better. Potty trained my Jilly the same way as Tibbe after getting the crate. I had read up on all methods of potty training and how hard Yorkies are to potty train but after two Yorkies who were/are totally clean in the house, I guess the method worked for me and that is what I think this site is about - what works for each person so we can read all sides of an issue and see what is working or not. I have learned so much here that it humbles me, as I thought I was a fairly informed dog owner/ownee B4 I found you all.

Thanks for answering! Some people seem to take offense to direct questioning-I appreciate your not.:thumbup: I'm home almost all the time too-I see what you mean now.


I use a 6x6 play yard area personally when I'm not home, but I also forget most people have much smaller dogs than I do, Elvis is 9 lbs and proportionally correct in his mass distribution. My kennels are approximately 3' x 2' also.

Yes, though I didn't start out to get smaller Yorkies, that's what I took once I heard their stories. Jilly weighed only 3 lbs. grown and Tibbe is 5.3 lbs. I think they were both nervous, sort of neurotic dogs when I got them and they seemed to prefer their smaller crate to call their own cozy little den when the time came to catch some zzzzz's while I took the time to clean house, run errands, wash, bathe, etc., while they were being potty trained. Once trained, they have the full run of the house 24/7. My first Yorkie was paper-trained only as I eschewed crate training back then as I thought it barbaric but I sure got tired of poop and pee on paper in my home! Before I got Jilly, I wanted to find another way, if possible. I read every dog training book I could buy and talked to other owners endlessly and once I found out crate training wasn't really a life of jail time and how limited it was done right, I tried it and the first time was a howling success. No more collecting soiled papers/pads for me thank goodness. But if I ever have to move into an apartment, that will be the only route I can go as I don't see me getting up and leashing my dog to go out all the time, day and night and expose myself and dog to whoever/whatever is passing by and strange dogs that might just appear from no where. Having a house with a yard is a blessing but I probably won't always want a whole house to care for and I'll be poop pad training!

I completely agree with the feed, kennel, then out to potty for potty training.
My Princess is the same way i was worried about using a box at first...she loves her "box" she goes in there when she not only wants rest but just to be alone sometimes.
We do have a rule here: if the dogs are on their beds (we have beds all over the house) they are in their "safety zone" no one can bother them; go pet them or anything...if they want attention they will come snuggle or ask for it.
But Princess still goes to her box to lay on the bed in it-I think she likes the comfort of her own little enclosed den.

If thats what works for you than do it!

This is what I would do: If she falls asleep early in the evening, I would wake her up to take her outside one last time before tucking her in for the night. This will give you a chance to get the crate moves into your room. She wont like it, but tuff, encourage her to go both pee and poo. It may take a bit of coaching! But remember no more food or water after her last trip out....

Giving her her last meal at the same time each night will also help in getter her on a schedule and her cleane out process under way before bed each night. Water should be available, but to a certian cut off point as well.


My pups always went into almost a howling when they needed to go potty. Only because I am a sound sleeper... didn't always hear them at the start of their cries. But realy it's hard to determine, I have faith in you that you will be able to figure it out.

One other thing you may want to do also is to put her in her cage durring the day durring nap time and when she's not being supervised. This helps her get use to being in the cage. Your getting her trained durring the waking hours you get much more sleep durring the night. The cage should be in the main living area durring the day so she doesn't feel left out or lonley. This will hellp with the cage training process.

Oh and by the way...you are doing a Great Job !!! : )

Take the time to read everyones replies...pick which ones you feel will work best for your situation and hope for the best. Try not to give up to soon, practice and consistancy work best.

Thanks guys!!!

It's been just over a week since we got her, and about 4 days since the boyfriend did the big training night...what a HUGE improvement!!!!

She sleeps in the crate just fine, but she doesn't really like the crate itself. She won't go lay in it on her own, and still needs comforting while falling asleep. BUT she likes playing near it.

I understand that she's still very young and these things take time, so I'm not concerned over her progress - she's doing PHENOMENAL! Very reliably pad trained already and she does quite well with the crate, all things considered.

The next step is staying home alone. She had to be alone for 2 hours on Saturday, and despite the best prep I'm fairly certain she cried the whole time. She'll be home for 3 hours tomorrow and I'm very worried. She's definitely got separation issues - she cries while I'm in the shower, even when she's in the bathroom with me.

I'm home with her all day, so I was wondering if you've got any training tips for leaving her alone.

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