pee pad trained then outdoor?

[Nancy1999]

Most Yorkies are still with their moms at that age and the YTCA recommends them staying with their mother until 12 weeks. The mother teaches them the basis of housebreaking and will nudge them over to the pad when she smells that they have to urinate. She also teaches them inhibition of the biting reflex, so you might have more problems with that as well. I agree the puppy should be trained to use pads, but this is a really long time for puppies to be left alone. I think you shouldn't worry too much about housebreaking at first. Many people confine them to an area and just put pads all over the area so that the pup can't really make a mistake. Joey's breeder told me to ignore the accidents and praise the success. Please don’t punish mistakes, if you do, another even worse behavior will develop. Also, walking after meals is a great way to duel train them, however, I wouldn’t start that until a week after last shots. Right now, you job is to make your puppy feel safe, and confident.

[dawn27]

WOW... So many dealing with the same issues. (single, working long hours, apartment living and potty training.) I really feel for you guys. It cant be easy trying to figure out what to do with you little once or how to go about getting them potty trained.

In your situations I would think that an xpen or confinement in a safe area of your homes behind a gate would be best. If pads are your only option than you will need to train them to go on the pad just as you would if you were commanding them to go potty out side. Take them to the pad after every (drink, meal, nap, play time or long hour away from home.) Praise them and give a little treat like a Cheerio. Potty training for anyone regardless of your living and working situation is not easy. Be patient and be consistent...

Try this: Put several pads down in the designated area. Pups like to wonder and find just the right spot to go (usually once they smell there own scent.) A trick that I used for mine to get them to use the papers was to take a peace of the poo and place it on the papers. Leave it there for the pup to smell and to get use to their own scent. They soon figure out this is it... this must be the place. If you can stand to do this for a few weeks, replacing old poo with fresh poo every few day, it will work. Trust me.

I prefer Paper training over pads. You can read my paper training tips on my site and maybe try paper on top of the pads which will transfer the scent to the pads. Training Tips - Dawn's Yorkies Ohio

I hope that all of you can find something that work for you and your pups. It can come down to trial and error before you find something that works best. But unless you want them to potty (use pads) inside the house 100% of the times you will want to start out door training with them as well.

[MommytoMiles]

Originally Posted by Mom to Hot Rod

Hi and welcome to YT! Congrats on your little one. I have both of mine trained to use pads and outside. I have a pad inside in their pen area and in hubby's garage for those nasty weather days--they can still "go out".

Sounds like you are doing the right thing with your little guy. I would maybe try putting down several pads together, to give him a bigger space, he might just hit the pad from time to time. Eventually phase down the amount of pads.

Gating him off is a really good start. Have you considered an expen? It's the same concept but in a smaller area. You can have all his things in here and put a plastic shower curtain under it and line pads around. It's pretty much the same as you doing but in a more confined area.

Because you are gone at long stretches of time, you will have to work a bit harder when you are home. Get to know the signs of when he has to potty and take him right over to the pad. Once he starts to go, pick a phrase and use it only for that purpose. When he does go, praise and praise more or treat him. One day, it will click and continue to praise and treat. lol, if he's anything like mine, he'll learn really quickly to pee on the pad, run over for his treat and then go back and poo on the pad and run back for another treat. lol The best thing that I could recommend is to have patience. It will happen. I think that mine kinda got the idea at about month after we started...but I was at home with them full time, it may take a little longer but it will happen.

Here is a picture of our expen, I now have only their beds and blankets and a pad in it but mine are 3 and 4 years old and they only sleep in their at night. Not sure if you can find them where you are but they are on line too.

Ahhh. Looks like Miles' set up at my house. I dont have the crate in the pen as I keep it in my bedroom as his bed with is stuffed animals. I too work long hours and like that he can pee, poop, eat without me being there. I do hate leaving him though. We spend about three hours together in the morning and about 3 hours at night; he has me on the weekends.

[sportschick]

Hi guys, I do have an ex pen that I put her in. It is made of plastic and I am afraid she is going to be able to jump out of it because she jumps on it constantly, no matter what I do to try and stop her.

I made it too big at first. The breeder had told me to NOT get the extra panels, but of course I went ahead and go them. Anyway, I made the pen smaller. She hates it.

I have begun walking her. Yesterday in the a.m. for about 40 minutes, 20 minutes when I came home for lunch and at least 30 minutes of freakin JOGGING when I got home from work. I mean this dog was running and down the street on her little legs!! She DID pee outside yesterday a.m.

She never seems to go at the same time, even though I feed her and give her water at the same time. When I came home from work, she had pooed and peed in the pen and it was EVERYWHERE. Luckily her poo is firm so it was easy to pick up, but she had stepped on it and in the pee and moved flipped her bed. She hates the pen. I can't leave her outside of the pen when I am not watching her. Even when I AM watching her, she does a freakin pee in 1 second. I am still trying to get a schedule down with her. She sleeps in a crate beside my bed at night. We go to bed around 10:00 (I AM SO EXHAUSTED ALL THE TIME FROM HER). She cries to pee around 5:00, I take her to pen, she pees on papers (can't use pads, she ripped them to shreds), the she goes back in crate and we both go to sleep till around 7:30. I sit on floor and hug her and pat her and talk to her and she licks every available bit of me.

I sit in front of the pen, so she has to go in to do her business. She went in almost right away and pooed (now yesterday a.m., she DIDN'T poo), but I got up and away from pen and she freakin peed RIGHT in front of it. Oh God, I feel like she is never going to stop doing this.

Anyway, I feed her at 8:00, put her in pen - she goes NUTS. Jumping on it, whining, etc. She hates being in it when I am home. But I have to get ready for work and I can't leave her running around the kitchen when I can't watch her. And yes, I have tried giving her a bone to chew on, etc., etc., nothing works. Then I take her out to walk for about 30 minutes.

The problem is, I live in the Northeast, and the weather has decided NOW to get cold and we are going to have snow. So there goes my walking "schedule".

The thing I am now concerned about is, even though I walked her SO much yesterday, when I put her in pen after her night time walk so that I could do my things and eat some food, she went nuts in the pen. How the heck can she have that kind of energy after running for 30 minutes? And she CONSTANTLY whines when I leave the kitchen. She used to cry all day when I left for work (my landlords/friends) told me they could hear her. Now she is better about that and is worse when I get home.

I am afraid she is having separation anxiety. Has anyone else had these problems?

I know I have only had her for a couple of weeks, and she is SUCH a good, sweet, affectionate little doggie, and I feel like we have made some good strides, and I am having patience, but there are many, many times that I feel like I might have made a mistake and maybe it isn't right to leave her home alone, and that she will NEVER just go where she is supposed to go potty.

I guess it would be so much easier if it were warm, then I could take her out more and maybe she would go outside. I am afraid the longer I have to wait to get her outside, then she will never learn to go out.

Thanks for reading this missive!!!!

[Arek2]

Hi
I brought my Nico when he was 8 weeks old, potty training took him few days.
He had few accidents in other rooms but what I have been told to do was cruel to him but it worked.
If he poop anywhere in the flat I took him as close as possible for him to smell the poop, I gave him little smack on the bum still holding him in my one hand I picked up the poop in a paper tissue and transferred it on the training pad where he should be doing it. Of course I was talking to him and expaling, again let him smell it.
I have done it few times, it really worked for me.
Try it you have nothing to lose.
Good luck.

[MommytoMiles]

Originally Posted by Arek2

Hi
I brought my Nico when he was 8 weeks old, potty training took him few days.
He had few accidents in other rooms but what I have been told to do was cruel to him but it worked.
If he poop anywhere in the flat I took him as close as possible for him to smell the poop, I gave him little smack on the bum still holding him in my one hand I picked up the poop in a paper tissue and transferred it on the training pad where he should be doing it. Of course I was talking to him and expaling, again let him smell it.
I have done it few times, it really worked for me.
Try it you have nothing to lose.
Good luck.

I like the part about putting the poop on the pad to let them know where it belongs. Miles is doing pretty well for the most part. He gets sneaky and likes to eat his poop. He knows he's doing wrong and get him for it lol. I just take him to the bad area and scream NOOOOOO!!! I like the ignore the mistakes and praise thr good behavior to!!!

[AlishaYorkie]

My puppy is 3 months old and she only goes on the pad when i say GO POTTY!! when I say that and just stand and watch her she will do it, but if I'm not watching she will pee and poop all over the house!!!!

[YorkieMiki]

Originally Posted by sportschick

Hi guys, I do have an ex pen that I put her in. It is made of plastic and I am afraid she is going to be able to jump out of it because she jumps on it constantly, no matter what I do to try and stop her.

I made it too big at first. The breeder had told me to NOT get the extra panels, but of course I went ahead and go them. Anyway, I made the pen smaller. She hates it.

I have begun walking her. Yesterday in the a.m. for about 40 minutes, 20 minutes when I came home for lunch and at least 30 minutes of freakin JOGGING when I got home from work. I mean this dog was running and down the street on her little legs!! She DID pee outside yesterday a.m.

She never seems to go at the same time, even though I feed her and give her water at the same time. When I came home from work, she had pooed and peed in the pen and it was EVERYWHERE. Luckily her poo is firm so it was easy to pick up, but she had stepped on it and in the pee and moved flipped her bed. She hates the pen. I can't leave her outside of the pen when I am not watching her. Even when I AM watching her, she does a freakin pee in 1 second. I am still trying to get a schedule down with her. She sleeps in a crate beside my bed at night. We go to bed around 10:00 (I AM SO EXHAUSTED ALL THE TIME FROM HER). She cries to pee around 5:00, I take her to pen, she pees on papers (can't use pads, she ripped them to shreds), the she goes back in crate and we both go to sleep till around 7:30. I sit on floor and hug her and pat her and talk to her and she licks every available bit of me.

I sit in front of the pen, so she has to go in to do her business. She went in almost right away and pooed (now yesterday a.m., she DIDN'T poo), but I got up and away from pen and she freakin peed RIGHT in front of it. Oh God, I feel like she is never going to stop doing this.

Anyway, I feed her at 8:00, put her in pen - she goes NUTS. Jumping on it, whining, etc. She hates being in it when I am home. But I have to get ready for work and I can't leave her running around the kitchen when I can't watch her. And yes, I have tried giving her a bone to chew on, etc., etc., nothing works. Then I take her out to walk for about 30 minutes.

The problem is, I live in the Northeast, and the weather has decided NOW to get cold and we are going to have snow. So there goes my walking "schedule".

The thing I am now concerned about is, even though I walked her SO much yesterday, when I put her in pen after her night time walk so that I could do my things and eat some food, she went nuts in the pen. How the heck can she have that kind of energy after running for 30 minutes? And she CONSTANTLY whines when I leave the kitchen. She used to cry all day when I left for work (my landlords/friends) told me they could hear her. Now she is better about that and is worse when I get home.

I am afraid she is having separation anxiety. Has anyone else had these problems?

I know I have only had her for a couple of weeks, and she is SUCH a good, sweet, affectionate little doggie, and I feel like we have made some good strides, and I am having patience, but there are many, many times that I feel like I might have made a mistake and maybe it isn't right to leave her home alone, and that she will NEVER just go where she is supposed to go potty.

I guess it would be so much easier if it were warm, then I could take her out more and maybe she would go outside. I am afraid the longer I have to wait to get her outside, then she will never learn to go out.

Thanks for reading this missive!!!!

Sounds rough...trust me it gets better... but you have to be on it all the time and keep it up. It's 10x more work than I had expected

I'm also a single guy with a yorkie pup he's 5 months old. Luckily my work is flexible so I don't have to leave him alone for 9 hours... I'm pretty sure he would go crazy if that were the case. I think little puppies shouldn't be left for more than a few hours at a time, maybe you could have a neighbor walk him in between? or a neighbors kid you could pay weekly to walk him?

Anyways, the separation anxiety you have to work on too leave him treats in a kong, radio or tv on, and follow this article: How to prevent separation anxiety in dogs

Also as far as potty training my puppy has gone strides. He used to only go on pads 50% of the time, but now he does 90% of the time on the pad. Also I take him on 2-4 walks a day and he will go outside as well. So essentially I'm training him to go in and outside. I am a very mobile person, I'm outdoors a lot, driving around and visititing lots of people with him, so I have to train him to be adaptable....

it's a lot of work... can be frusterating at times, but it will be worth it. Put in the time now, i figure

So the indoor outdoor thing seems to be working for me about 90% of the time.

[Mom to Hot Rod]

In my opinion for those asking about potty training on the pads and outdoors, it can happen. My 2 have been pad and outdoor trained ever since we've had them. Our working hours were inconsistent so I wanted to make sure they were able to potty if we wound up being late. My 2 do not have any problems with using both methods. It took Maggie longer to figure out that she could poo outdoors but she did eventually figure it out.

For those who feel that they cannot leave them loose while needing to tend to other things, have you tried tethering your baby to you with a leash? This will keep them from wandering the house and finding a spot to do their business.

Patience, diligence and consistency are the things you need to keep in mind. While we put the pad down for them, they have no idea that they are supposed to pee or poop on this. Remember, for the first weeks of life, they were au natural, peeing and pooping mid step whenever and wherever they needed to go. You must keep in mind that it's not a natural thing for dogs to pee or poop on a pad or paper, it's a learned thing. Given the freedom to roam large areas will make it more difficult for you to keep an eye on their habits. I had actually read somewhere that you should try and write down things about your dog to keep up with their signals and times they pee or poop. Yes, it is more difficult if you work long hours, but what you teach your dog goes a long way...if you are consistent with praising and treating for good behaviour, then they will continue to learn that this is what you want and they will want to please you.

I personally feel that ignoring the bad behaviour and praising the good goes much further. My trainer kept saying over and over..."set your dog up for success, not failure". If you are patient, diligent and consistent, your dog will learn much better and more than likely, more quickly. If you give them mixed signals, they will only be confused and more likely to not learn a thing. You will be frustrated and probably not follow thru with patience, diligence or consistency.

As for separation anxiety, try leaving a radio or tv. Leave a blanket or shirt with your scent in the pen with your dog so he can bond and smell your scent.

[sportschick]

Wow, I am so glad that I am reading some very positive things about her going inside and outside. It has snowed and rained for the past 2 days, SO no exercise which means a nutty doggie. I am doing my best to play with her and get some energy out when I am home.

I haven't tried the leash teathering. I don't know if that would work because she is SO underfoot when she is out in the kitchen. I have already stepped on her paws twice. No damage, thank goodness. I am afraid if I tether her, she will be MORE underfoot. I need to have some time without her right on top of me to do what I need to do. Plus, the rest of my house, with the exception of the bathroom is wall to wall carpet, and I do not want her on the carpet at all for a VERY long time, since I let her run around when I first got her and she went all over the carpet. Boy are they quick.

To Yorkiemikie: Yes, you are right, it is 10 x more work than I thought. 20 x more work. Just the constant picking up of poo and pee off of the papers, and trying to stop her from walking in it is exhausting. And changing the papers and cleaning the freakin floor.

She hates the pen and that is where the papers are. She DOES, however, go in there own her own at times and of course, I give her the freakin Noble Peace Prize of praising and a treat for it. Whoever thought that a hunk of crap could be such a momentous occassion??? The breeder I bought her from says that Yorkies think the whole world is their own personal toilet and she swears they do things to get back at you when they don't get their way, like pee RIGHT IN FRONT of the pen instead of going in and peeing.

I am glad it gets better because right now, I don't see her EVER getting potty trained and she won't ever be released from the stupid pen to at least have free range of a limited area of my kitchen.

Plus the constant whining that gets louder and louder when I leave the room is driving me crazy. She KNOWS I am home. She has plenty of time with me in the a.m., I come home from work for lunch for 20 minutes, then she has plenty of time with me at night. Along with Gerry (my landlord/friend) goes up just about every day and check on her and plays with her for a bit.

WHEN is this constant whining going to stop? AHHHHHHHRRRGGGGHH

[Mom to Hot Rod]

Originally Posted by sportschick

Wow, I am so glad that I am reading some very positive things about her going inside and outside. It has snowed and rained for the past 2 days, SO no exercise which means a nutty doggie. I am doing my best to play with her and get some energy out when I am home.

I haven't tried the leash teathering. I don't know if that would work because she is SO underfoot when she is out in the kitchen. I have already stepped on her paws twice. No damage, thank goodness. I am afraid if I tether her, she will be MORE underfoot. I need to have some time without her right on top of me to do what I need to do. Plus, the rest of my house, with the exception of the bathroom is wall to wall carpet, and I do not want her on the carpet at all for a VERY long time, since I let her run around when I first got her and she went all over the carpet. Boy are they quick.

To Yorkiemikie: Yes, you are right, it is 10 x more work than I thought. 20 x more work. Just the constant picking up of poo and pee off of the papers, and trying to stop her from walking in it is exhausting. And changing the papers and cleaning the freakin floor.

She hates the pen and that is where the papers are. She DOES, however, go in there own her own at times and of course, I give her the freakin Noble Peace Prize of praising and a treat for it. Whoever thought that a hunk of crap could be such a momentous occassion??? The breeder I bought her from says that Yorkies think the whole world is their own personal toilet and she swears they do things to get back at you when they don't get their way, like pee RIGHT IN FRONT of the pen instead of going in and peeing.

I am glad it gets better because right now, I don't see her EVER getting potty trained and she won't ever be released from the stupid pen to at least have free range of a limited area of my kitchen.

Plus the constant whining that gets louder and louder when I leave the room is driving me crazy. She KNOWS I am home. She has plenty of time with me in the a.m., I come home from work for lunch for 20 minutes, then she has plenty of time with me at night. Along with Gerry (my landlord/friend) goes up just about every day and check on her and plays with her for a bit.

WHEN is this constant whining going to stop? AHHHHHHHRRRGGGGHH

lol, Your baby just loves you and wants some security that she is not being left alone. Dogs have absolute no sense of time so whether you leave for 5 hours is the same as leaving for 5 minutes. To them, all they know is that you have left. If they don't see you, you are not home with them. There reality is only what they can see.

There is a walk that you have to learn when owning a yorkie--it's called the "yorkie shuffle". lol You just learn to shuffle walk. it's something that you will pick up without even realizing it. When I first got Hot Rod, he would be right on my heels and I did't realize it and I must have kicked him at least 2x. Well, I felt awful but both he and I learned. He kept his distance and I learned the shuffle. lol

If you do not feel tethering is for you, right now, go ahead and put your baby in the pen if you need to tend to things, but keep in mind, the tether is purposely for the reason of knowing when she wants to wonder off to pee or poo. You will have to be strong and ignore the whining. My Maggie was and still is a whiner to a point. I have to say with her, puppy training with a clicker was the only way I could train her. I feel that it worked on her with the clicker to help curb her whining. She would wind so loud I could hear her upstairs. I used this to my advantage that when I would come downstairs, I had the clicker and treats ready. as soon as she quieted down, I clicked and treated. She caught on after awhile and it help tremoundously!!! She doesn't really whine now, but on occasion she will if I take too long in letting them out of the pen in the mornings.

It sounds like you have all the knowledge in place, you just need to keep in mind the patience, consistency and diligence. I promise you, it will happen. When I say treat, I don't mean you have to give big treats. I even cut up a zukes treat for training purposes...they are already small, I have been know to cut them up into 4 little pieces. or now I give small pieces of cooked carrots or other veggies. Good luck.

[Mom to Hot Rod]

Something else that you may want to try. I inadvertantly found this to help a lot with separation anxiety. When leaving for work or anything, I tend to forget one thing or another so I am constantly walking back into the house after a few seconds of leaving. Each time I do this, I have seen the babies at various stages of getting anxious. They will be sitting watching the door for me, then they will jump up to where we put there harnesses on to go out, then they both will be laying across the area just looking at the door when I open it. lol and then, sometimes, they are across the room asleep on the couch when I come back in.