First time owner needs help...

[Bimmer]

My wife and I are the first time owners of a very small Yorkie (less than 1 pund, 7 weeks old). He's essentially a "teacup" Yorkie, but I won't say that since I know some are sensitive to that word.

Anyways, he's lived with us for about a week and I now know how a first time parent feels. Here's the reason I'm posting...

Just now, we came home after being gone four hours signing papers on our new house. We keep Bimmer in a crate with a divider set that gives him about 1 square foot of area to "live" in. At first, we put a dog pad in their along with a soft towel, teddy bear, and a few pieces of food should he get hungry. First thing I did when I got home was take him out of his cage and to the same spot outside he's been using for a bathroom. He does a pretty good sized pee and then starts crying and wants back in. I bring him back inside and sit down on the couch and he's playing on my chest. He walks off my chest and pees again on one of my chef books. I tell him "NO!" and take him outside to the same spot and he does nothing. Aggravated, I put him in his cage where he immediately poops and then crawls around in it for good measure. I then took him out of the cage again to clean him off and it was one more trip BACK to the outside potty place where once again he just cries and wants back in my arms.

At the moment, he's in his crate in a bedroom by himself with the lights out. He's crying pretty loudly and my heart is about broken, but I have no idea what to do. I hate this feeling.

I take him outside AT LEAST 15 times a day and he almost always pees. I praise him heavily and then I bring him back inside where he proceeds to piss on whatever he's standing over not two minutes later. What's up with this?!?! His poop schedule is completely random. Sometimes he has to go about an hour after he eats and other times he won't go for hours. Rest assured though, when I put him in his crate for the night, he's pooped somewhere. I'm so frustrated that I'm beginning to wonder if I shouldn't switch to pad training, but hell, I don't know how to do either properly apparently.

I know he's only 7 weeks and accidents happen, but he absolutely will NOT poop outside and it's getting worse now that he's started peeing inside. I've always heard if you don't train them properly early on, then it will be infinitely harder down the road. I also hate putting him in that damned crate, but that's supposedly how you do it, right?

Please help me be a good dad. His crying in the next room is breaking my heart...

[MasonsMommy]

Poor baby....I would recommend that he may need more time with you...They do not like being left alone..As for the potty training give him time...He is to young as it is to be away from his mommy!! Please be patient!

[Bimmer]

I think that's my problem. No one has a set rule for potty training a dog. My breeder says he should be spending most of the time in the crate with hour long play times every so often. Then you say he needs more time with me. Then yet another person will say he shouldn't be in a crate at all. So who's right?

Is my method correct? I realize he's just a pup, so I know accidents are going to happen. However, do I admonish him when he goes inside the house? You wouldn't yell at a newborn child, so why would you yell at a newborn pup? Will that accomplish anything? On the other hand, do I say nothing and not discourage that behavior? I just don't know.

The other area of concern for me is that it's quite cold and he shivers like the dickens when I take him outside. Maybe I should get him on the pad training so he won't have to go outside?

I just don't know and I'm so frustrated by the lack of good information out there. Or maybe I'm frustrated by the proliferance of misinformation. I write computer code for a living so I'm used to everything being very logical in nature and this pup has my world upside down.

[amyann]

It's not easy for puppy to get the idea of where you want them to go at first. Even if they do, they might not make it in time. He just can't hold it for very long – not yet. They can’t really control their tiny bladder until they are about 12 weeks old.

When we first got our puppy, she was peeping in her carrier in the middle of the night where she sleeps. Although she would cry to let me know that she's gotta go, I never could get there in time (and she was in our master bath ). I fenced off an area for her in the bathroom to solve the problem. It turn out to be a great idea and she never peep in her carrier again.

At age of 7 weeks, he will have to go potty in the middle of the night for sure (maybe even a few times). I found it much earlier just let them pick a spot anywhere in their area at first when they are still too young to gain control over their tiny bladder. I fence off a small area in our bathroom (it's a good size bath - way too big for a puppy). I put her hard carrier along with a few toys and her water in there and then lined the rest of the area with newspaper. Our baby used to sleep in her carrier when she was little and we put blanket in it to make it more comfortable. When she needs to go, she would pick a spot in the fenced off area. Pretty soon you would see a pattern as where he prefers to go. You can then slowly reduce the area that's covered by newspaper from where he has never "went" on. Take your time!! If you move too fast, he would go on the naked floor. That should take care of the potty problem at night - if you can't take him ouside in the middle of the night.

I am sorry I can’t help you on the potty-outside part since we have our baby litterbox trained. But I am sure someone else here would help you with that.

[Bimmer]

Yes! Someone who has litterbox trained a Yorkie. You might be my new favorite person.

I'll go ahead and now and admit that I'm a born and bred cat person. Always had cats growing up and gave up custody of my last cat two years ago when my brother/roommate got married and wanted Buddy. I didn't know where I would live so I let him go with explicit visitation rights which I enjoy all the time.

My point is this, dogs are a new thing for me. Cats are so self-sufficient that you show them the litterbox once and they think "Hell, that'll work for me.". Easy to please and smart as all get out. Dogs are more infantile in their nature and require more parenting throughout their lives. For me, litterbox training is a HIGHLY HIGHLY desirable method. It absolutely tortures me to put Bimmer in that God-forsaken cage when he could just eventually have free-roam of the house and go potty on his own terms.

I want to do the litterbox method. Plain and simple. I'm reading the entire forum now after a search on litterbox training, but please offer any ideas and methods you might find useful. I think we're leaning towards giving Bimmer the half bath in our house and setting up like you did. Do you have more specifics on the size of his penned in area and the size of his carrier? Anything else you can think of would be greatly appreciated. This method seems much more humane to me, but I'm about the biggest softie when it comes to animals.

[yorkieusa]

Wow! Your puppy was too small and too young to be taken from its mommy. I've never litter-box trained a puppy. I train mine to ring the bells to go out. Mine have always gone outside during the day and on pads in the attached garage at night and in inclement weather.

I hope you have some Nutrical in case your puppy has some hypoglycemic episodes. Could save its life.

Good luck.

[GucciMyGirl]

My personal opionion is that 7 weeks is way to young to be taking the puppy outside. I was told not to take them out until they had the first set of shots. I got Gucci at 8 weeks, and I kept her in the crate most of the day and took her out of crate to play for about 20 min. intervals. They are newborns and need to rest. Gucci was trained to go in her crate with a wee wee pad on one side. I wouldnt recommend that, I finally weaned her out of going in the crate and placed a pad outside the crate in an area of the room that I kept her in. I never closed the crate, she had access to come out and eat and do her business on pad. I just kept a gate by the doorway so she could not get out and hurt herself. Till today she is comfortable in the room and she sleeps there to.

Today Gucci is 18 mts old. she goes outside but I live in the NorthEast and it is cold outside,so she goes inside on the pads. She does have accidents with number two but she misses the pad. I will tell you that you will need lots of patience for they are not fully trained by a year or older. Others have used the crate method and it worked great for them. You will have to decide on which method you will use. Have patience, by punishing him at that young age is heartbreaking and he doesn't understand. If you decide to keep taking him out be persistent and reward him with treats and praise when he does go where you want . There are many threads that have been posted in the past on this subject go to the research forum.

Good luck it will work out and there are many people in this forum who will help answer your questions.

[YorkieRose]

It is too cold in Ky right now to train a tiny to go outside. Can you get a bigger xpen and use weewee pads? You are very lucky he hasn't gotten sick from going out so much..best wishes

[troubletb]

I think the problem is he is just so young. I think you are doing a great job. I don't believe in complete crate training. I do however keep mine in the crate at night and when I go out. I let them out when I get home, 1 of my three is NOT TRAINED. Bell is (but she is almost 3yrs) Lilly is 6 months and 90% trained but she likes to use a wee wee pad. I moved the wee wee pads outside and when she needs to poop she sometimes does not hold it, she goes where the pad use to be. I scold her and put her outside on the pad, She is getting better. Since your baby is so small why don't you try the litter or wee wee pads indoors. If you want to leave him outside his cage then keep him with you at all times, (In your arms, not on the floor) don't put him down unless he just went or he is on the spot you want him to go. He will learn, just remember he is tiny.
Your doing great, just keep it up and have patiences!

[Bimmer]

Don't get me started on the Nutrical. We had our first "event" last night when we found out we had been feeding him improperly the first week we had him. He would never drink water out of a bowl, so I would dip my finger in water and he'd lick it off. I did this for an entire week thinking he's just slow to take on a bowl of water since he's so small. I called the breeder and she explained to me again to put water in his food. I didn't hear that part when we bought him because I was so entranced with him in my arms. He got a touch dehydrated and a had a diahrrea<sp?> incident and got VERY tired. Our breeder provided us with a tube of Nutrical and we immediately gave him some of that and he perked back up. We then fed him the watered down food and he was back to normal. Cut to today, and he's had four watered down meals and is back to his normal self and no runny poop. Close call!

I've been reading this forum for the last two hours and I've made a decision on the route I'm taking in raising my "son".

1. He won't live in that cage, I refuse.
2. Tommorrow I'm building him a 4 ft. by 4 ft. pen that will have a small doghouse with a linoleum front porch and a carpet side yard.
3. He is no longer being outdoor trained. Litterbox or pee pad from now on, haven't decided yet.
4. He will spend nearly every moment, that I'm home, in my arms and care until he's at LEAST 12 weeks old. At that point, I'll start letting him roam the house.

Here's my thinking on this. Cages aren't humane, plain and simple. I'll build him his own "house" complete with front yard and play area so that I can put him in my guest bedroom and not relegate him to the cold stark bathroom. Here, he can live while my wife and I are at work and still have some freedom and not be confined in a cage. We'll cover the entire pen with newspaper so we can find out where he likes to go potty and then remove that newspaper SLOWLY over time. When I'm at home, he sits in my lap or on my chest, just the way I've always thought it should be. I agree that he's too young to be left alone scared and cold in a cage in a new house.

How does this plan sound? I need to figure out how to ween him on to litterbox training next, so I'm open to suggestions. Perhaps if he likes a particular spot in his pen I could replace it with a small pan filled with litter? Then, once I feel he's picked up on the training, I can cut an exterior door so that he can come "home" whenever he needs to potty?

[vviccles]

Hi! I have had yorkies since 1977.my last 1 went to the rainbow bridge 21/2 years ago& i am getting my new baby tuesday, so excited! now back to you, i live in MA so i weewee trained in bad weather and outdoor training in good weather, even if it rained in the summer i would put a pad down. i highly reccomend dual potty training! yorkies need so much love so i would onlyput your baby in the crate when he is unattended for his safety! good luck! i am fairly new to this site & most everybody is wonderful!

[Chaz731]

My dog is like that some times as in crying for no reason..but I noticed last night that since she has been getting close to my husband when hes not around she misses him..shes such a daddys girl and also b/c since I get out at 5 from work hes already home by 3 so its like hes the first face she sees..I think she also needs more time with me...I feel bad and I also feel like crying when I see her crying..lol...lol..

[amyann]

I just wrote a PM to someone else here on litterbox training yesterday. I know everyone do it differently and this I am just speaking out of my experence. I hope this would help you with your puppy.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. No dog litter just the box (line with newspaper)
The litter piece is too big for our puppy to stand on and she likes to chew on it too much. So we put newspaper in the litter box and it works very well.

2. Let puppy pick the spot
It's not easy for puppy to get the idea of where you want them to go at first. So I found it much earlier just let them pick a spot anywhere in their area. I fence off a small area in our bathroom (it's a good size bath - way too big for a puppy). Put her hard carrier, a few toys and water in there and then lined the rest of the area with newspaper. Ours used to sleep in her carrier when she was little and we put blanket in it to make it more comfortable. When she needs to go, she would pick a spot in the fenced off area. Pretty soon you would see a pattern as where she prefers to go.

3. Go slow
Slowly reduce the area that's covered by newspaper from where she has never "went" on. Take your time!! If you move too fast, she would go on the naked floor. Once the paper has been reduced to about the size of the litter box, it's time for litter box training.

4. Sizing the litter box
I have heard of some puppy went outside the litter box before. If that should happen, it probably means the box is a bit too small for him/her. My baby was a little over 2 lbs when we start little box training and we use a toy size (15"x20"x5") Purina Secondnature dog litter pan which we got at Petsmart. She is almost 7 months now at 4 lbs and the size of the litter box still works for her. I don't know how big your puppy is now so I can't tell you what size you need. However, the toy size was meant for dogs up to 6 lbs. There are also miniature size (20"x24"x5" for dogs form 6 to 15 lbs) and standard size (24"x28"x9" for dogs up to 35 lbs) available. I don't really think Yorkies needs the standard size but some of them like to have a larger area to do their potty dance.

5. Introduce litter box
Paper in the box would be a new idea to your puppy so you will have to keep an eye on it at first. I found it helpful if you put the newspaper on top of one that has been soiled - in the box of course. When the puppy needs to go (they usually circle around a bit), put her (or him) in the litter box so they would know where to go. Mine actually would jump in and out of the box for a while before she would take her position in the box. I called it the potty dance. Don't be too concern about the jumping part. You can actually help by putting the puppy back in the box if he/she shall take "position" outside of the box. My got the idea pretty quickly since she was paper trained first and the box is where she would find her paper now.

6. No full run of the house – not yet
I think the key to house training is not to let your puppy have full run of the house until she/he is pretty reliable. If you can't watch the puppy, she/he would stay in the fenced area. That way not only they won't have accidents, they won’t get into trouble either.

I am not going to say it's easy to potty train a Yorkie. It really takes time especially when they are young they just can't hold it for very long. My puppy was peeping in her carrier in the middle of the night where she sleeps at first. Although she would cry to let me know that she's gotta go, I never could get there in time (and she was in our master bath ). That's why I fenced off an area for her to begin with. It turn out to be a great idea and she never peep in her carrier again.

We actually have two litter-box. At the beginning, I put them side by side for her. When I am unable to clean it up for her right away, she would use the other one - instead of go on the floor. She doesn't like to use a soiled paper unless it's dry up already.

Now as she is older and doesn't have to go so often, we have one box upstairs and the other downstairs just to make her life easier. I am happy to say she is house trained now.

Another good thing about using paper instead of dog litter is you can get newspaper almost anywhere. We would put down newspaper for her whenever we are visiting friends or even in my office and she would go on the paper. You got to show her where the paper is and how to get there though. I would definitely use the litter box + paper combination at home and NOT just the paper. That way, you wouldn't have to worry about messy floor if she missed (sometimes, they have their paws on the paper or pee wee pad for that matter but their bottom is off).

Anyway, that's my experience and I hope it helps. Let me know if you have any questions or if you need more information.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Congret on your new baby and have fun with him.

[amyann]

Do you have more specifics on the size of his penned in area and the size of his carrier

As of the size of the fenced off area, I would just make sure there is enough space for him to play and not getting his toy in his waste (in case you have to leave him for a few hours). We got the smallest size of hard carrier for our baby. It is made by Petmates and named "kennel cab" and we got it at Petsmart. You might want to line it with blanket so it's softer for your puppy to sleep on (and easy to clean) and it would also keep him warm.

[amyann]

Then, once I feel he's picked up on the training, I can cut an exterior door so that he can come "home" whenever he needs to potty?

Indoor dog house, good idea!