Not catching the accident happening
 

What do you do if they peed and you didn't catch it? I have never stuck his nose in it, but I have shown it to him and told him NO! Is this right? We're at 8 months and still having accidents, hubby is about to blow a gasket!!!:D

do you have a belly band? you have to watch them like a hawk they are very clever but imo i have to catch him in order to say no and then immediately put his belly band on for a time period and then give him another chance. i leave the belly band in site at all times so if i catch cedric marking its right there and he knows what i means when i say no.... if you arent catching them it may not connect to him what you are telling him no about. hes still a baby so patience and consistency are key. are you taking him out on a schedule?

Rubymoon, what is the purpose of a belly band? I'm not sure what this is? I am great at taking him out, but the teenage son, not so much, but working on that issue as well.

pees
 

What about attaching him to your waist via a long leash and then he cannot pee without you knowing.
A belly bandis like a rectangular cloth diaper that goes around his pee area and secures with velcro.

No it's not correct. He has no idea why he is being scolded. If you aren't catching the accident when it happens...you've simply given him too much free reign without supervision.

If you are training to go outside...take him out on the hour every hour ...use a command of some sort...go potty, then treat and praise like heck when he goes. Use the same door outside every time also...he will soon associate going to that particular door with going potty outside and will begin to let you know he needs to go outside..

Dexter is 12 weeks now and also still has accidents in the house. We only got him less than 2 weeks ago and he was not potty trained at all. We don't have a schedule to take him out, but try to do it very often. First thing as he wakes up, after food, after naps and usually once during the night cause he wakes up, and also if we catch him circling around and sniffing too much. We use 2 doors, basement and front door, is that messing up with training? How long does potty training usually take?

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Sounds like a great schedule!

You both may have better luck catching them pottying in the right place, then praise the heck out of them and give them a treat. Scolding a puppy can confuse them and make them fearful of you... and fearful of even going potty. Ignore the accidents (just clean it up) and concentrate on rewarding good behaviors! Yorkies seem to understand that better and quicker.

Sounds like your little one could benefit from some leash/umbilical cord training.

It keeps them by your side so they dont fun off and get into trouble. While allowing you to teach them about their boundaries while also teaching them to stay by your side as you teach them simple commands. It work really well if you stick with it.

The belly bands are like a male diaper. It wraps around their waste covering their... you know.

We started "bell training" few days ago and he seem to already grab the concept of it :) Makes me so proud when he asks to go outside!

Part of their problem is they are too smart! Watch him, he'll soon be driving you nuts just wanting to go outside!

Ok, I know this goes against current popular belief but with Blazer, when I didn't catch him having an accident and didn't show it to him, just cleaned it up, it would happen again. When I would show him his mess, tell him "NO!" and take him immeadiately outside, tell him "Go potty!" then praise him, he stopped having accidents. I don't agree that dogs don't understand what they are getting in trouble for. They know their own scent, they know their own puddles and piles. If they are being trained to potty outside and you show them a mistake they made inside I think they know and they learn. Yorkies are notoriously smart dogs.

I watch Sam like a hawk when he's out of the ex-pen. As soon as he sniffs more than 2 seconds, I grab him and put him on the pad, and then praise him like crazy. I'm not treating him yet because we're still trying to work out the whole food issue.

Hubby, on the other hand, will not keep an eye on him, and when he has an accident, hubby wants to put him in the pen for time out. I can't make him understand that it's too late after the fact!

It makes it hard when everyone in the household is not on the same page... It takes longer for the pup to learn, and I love how they (the people) think they still have the right to complain!

My little guy is 6 months old this week. He was consistently going only on his pad when in the xpen from only 2 weeks with us. BUT when out of the pen, he has been more and more unpredictable. I would keep him in the kitchen with me when I was cooking, and be watching him constantly, and he would just go pee somewhere other than his pad.

We tried to just clean up his accidents, no reprimand, and praise him when he went on the pad....and it didn't help. in fact, he also got picky...if he peed more than 1 small spot on the pad, or if the pee spot was in the middle, so he could stand over it and smell it while on the pad, he would hop off and pee on the floor. (we use a large pee pad for our 4lb yorkie) - sp plenty of room for a few small 2" diameter spots.

SO - this week we started taking him to his mess - and telling him NO, then taking him to his pad and telling him to "busy". We also started rewarding with freeze dried chicken treats every time he goes on the pad (broken into tiny bits - so it doesn't mess with his meals). AND Tonka hasn't had an "accident" since we started, and he will go more than once on a single pad. So I am hoping it continues!!!

Hope this helps!

I agree, PUNISHMENT after the fact is not helpful. What is it with DH's and "time outs" for dogs?
My DH and I were not on the same page at first. I was on the "if you don't catch it you must ignore it" bandwagon and he was old school with "stick the dog's nose in the pee and smack his butt" bandwagon. I won the compromise of SHOWING the mess to the dog, telling him "no" then taking him outside for potty and praise. THAT is what worked for us. Blazer is now 8 months old and I can consider him potty trained while I am home. He has made it about 5 hours, out loose in the lower level, with no accidents while I am away, so I think that THAT is pretty good, too!
Obviously, you have to know your dog and his temperment and figure out a solution that works for you. I'm in the mindset that dogs, like children, need to know their boundries and what is expected of them. I wouldn't let my daughters get away with having accidents on the floor while potty training (I'd take that time they'd have an accident to have them tell me where pee was supposed to go and give them the chance to do it properly. It worked, they were all potty trained by age 2.)

My dogs were all older when they came to live with me, and all had a different set of baggage. Two of them would hide for hours if they thought I was being the least bit harsh with them.

I think it depends on each individual dog/puppy, but I always recommend Positive Reinforcement, bc truth be told... it's not the pup's fault if he goes potty in the house, it's always the owner's fault... either by not paying close enough attention to the pup, or not seeing/recognizing the signs puppies make when they have to potty.

And I think Positive Reinforcement is the better way to go, bc potty training can be a difficult time in a home, tempers can run short and situations can go bad quickly for the dog.

Just like when teaching a pup to 'sit', one does not scold them for not sitting... one rewards them when they do sit. If they aren't understanding what one wants, then a different approach made be needed.

I could not catch my Sapphire in the act to save my life. I decided she needed to learn what 'Go Potty' meant, then I would work on the where part. After two months I did catch her going on the rug, I said "Go potty... Good Girl", (lol, totally against my better judgement. I thought oh no, she'll be going on the carpet all the time. Wait a mainute, she's doing that now!) But then when I said "Go Potty" Here.... she knew what I wanted her to do. In maybe 2 days, she was pad trained to be 90% reliable. Now she's at 100% (with poops too and she's a PoopWalker).

Just saying if what one is doing isn't working, there are other ways to go about it. And I agree, Yorkies are smart, and many learn with no harshness nor being told 'no' ever.

I'm not disagreeing with you at all in this. =) I also mentioned it in my second post that what works for one dog or one family won't always work for another. You have to know your dog and what works for him as well as for you and everyone involved in the training process for each dog has to be on the same page. =) I fully agree with postitive reinforcement over punishment.

I'm gonna agree with Angel. Yorkies are VERY smart and I always had a hard time believing that a dog would poo/pee in the house and then forget 5 minutes later that they made the mess. If they can be trained to "remember" that outside=good and trained to remember all sorts of commands, they must also remember that mess they made 5 minutes ago. I just don't believe their memory span is that short. Having said that, I believe that if the dog is going in the house, they simply have too much free reign OR they have not been taught to remember that going inside=bad and going outside=good. Until they are housebroken, they MUST be tethered at all times to make sure you can see them doing the deed, to correct that behavior. Something that helped expedite housebreaking for me was hanging a bell and teaching her to ring it when it was time to go out. After she learned to the ring the bell, accidents were far and few in between and usually only occurred if I didn't respond to her request to go out fast enough.

I too was having difficulty with potty training my pooch, he had reached a year old and was still having accidents, I truly believe he knew I would get upset with each of his accidents because he would demonstrate this with his following behavior, which became later an alert for me to look for pee and poop. I mean it became down right indignant behaviors he would show, peeing on feet, excited peeing, peeing on beds, kitchen floor while standing there cooking. And magically I got him to stop, by making one change, scheduled outings, he goes three times a day 7am 1pm 7pm, pee pads in house for hours in between, now he rarely pees on pads and seems to be a happier dog. I can trust him more around the house now :)