normal for new puppy to have an off day?
 

Hi,
I am new to this group. We have a male yorkie that is 12 weeks old, we have had him since Christmas. This is our 1st pet, we are doing crate training & mostly pottying outdoors. my question is it normal for puppies to have several good days, & then have a horrible day? like for instance yesterday he had numerous accidents in the house & even pooped inside which he hasn't done since we got him. we didn't do anything different, it just seemed every time we went out to potty, he forgot what he was supposed to do & start playing. I'm not complaining he is doing so wonderful, & honestly is down to 1-2 pee accidents in the house, there has been days where he has 0, :) thanks for the help!!

Yes it's normal. He is still very young to be completely housebroken.

thanks for the info. I know it is a long process, just wanted to see if most puppies do this!!

Hi All,

I am also new to the group and am experiencing "off" days with our now 14 week YT! For the last 2 mornings there has been pee in her crate. Yesterday it was on the pee pad, but today it was right in her bed!! This is the first time in 2 weeks that she has messed in the crate. She goes to bed around 11:00-11:30pm each night and will sleep until 6:30-6:45 am. As soon as I go get her we go right to the pee pee pad and she will poop (and usually 2 pee's) , but last 2 days no pee, which then led me to the crate. I'm sure this is normal?

My puppy is really good about keeping his crate clean. we usually put him to sleep btwn 9-10pm, but we get up 1x btwn 4-5 to let him outside to potty. He normally pees then back to the crate until about 7:30, then he'll pee 2x, I let him in & watch him like a hawk, because I know he will poop, as soon as I see him needed to go I run him outside. this morning he threw me off & pooped first, lol wish he would do both while he's outside. anyways I'm learning along the way too, but maybe you should try getting up once wt puppy btwn 3-4, to take him potty. hopefully that will help him from soiling his crate. Good luck :)

Oh Jess still has her "off" days and shes almost 2...

It's very normal. They are still babies.

At that age I believe it's a mistake to even give them a chance to have an accident. They should not be allowed to have free range of the house. Sometimes they have to pee every 10 minutes, are you even sure you are catching all his accidents? If you have carpet you may not be seeing the results. I kept Joey in a play area covered with pee pads and when I could keep my eyes glued to him I took him out to play on the floor always with a pee pad close by. What do you do all night, at this age he should be going every couple of hours at night and even more often during the day.

hi Nancy,
we have all floors & tiles downstairs & watch him all the time, so I am catching all his accidents. we only have carpets upstairs & he's not allowed upstairs its blocked off by a baby gate. he does not have free range of the house, we are doing crate training, so when he is out wt us to play, eat, potty, we are always watching him. at night we only get up 1x wt him & he does wonderful.

I got lucky, as Bailey was mostly house trained when we got him at 9 weeks of age. Yes, he did have accidents in the beginning, but this has all but stopped. Having said that, I still keep some newspaper down where he used to go inside, just in case. He hasn't used it in quite some time:)
Just a thought - when is the last time at night that your dog eats? I am no expert here, just saying that my 2yo Bailey's food goes up at 7pm now, with a w/r break before his bedtime at bed at 8, so that I can be the most sure that he isn't in need of pooping in the house during the night. I used to keep him in a pen, with a large container (with a bed in it) I turned into a house for him, with and a cut out for him to go in and out as he pleases. FYI - down the left side of the entrance I put 'Fort', and the right side 'Yorkie'. haha Just recently, say the last 6 months or so, he has been sleeping in my bed. Never had an accident in bed... touch wood.
It takes time, so be patient, and w/out food in the night perhaps this may help and cease the night w/r breaks:)

Bailee eats dinner around 6:00-6:30 and thats it for the night. She gets put into her crate around 11:00-11:30. We had only 2 off days in 3 weeks so Im not too concerned.

Love all the feedback!!

Nancy

You can also make a schedule based on accidents, you might need to take him outside more often. Also, you might want to consider duel training, where he has an option to use a pee pad. It's actually a great thing to have a dog pad trained. Joey did really well in the training department, but I don't think you can expect 100% until they are closer to one year. Illnesses, teething, neutering can all throw them off. The important thing to remember is to ignore the mistakes and reward the success, most people do the opposite and that will have disastrous long term effects.

Thanks for the great advice & tips nancy. We do have a pee pad by the door, but he doesnt really use it. He does good wt it in an xpen the 2-3x we left him for more then 2 hours, hes always used the pee pad. Not sure how else to encourage it when hes not in the xpen.

Hello :wavey: and Welcome to YT. "Yorkies For Dummies" is the first one I recommend."Yorkshire Terriers: A Smart Owners Guide" is the second book. These are excellent resource books .Another book "How to Housebreak Your Dog in 7 Days" Is very helpful. They are not as easy to housebreak. Here is the schedule that they are using. It seemed to work for Galen. Good luck

http://www.leecharleskelley.com/imag...sebreaking.pdf

One way is to encourage it's use is to have it within a few feet of a play area and when he starts the circling behavior slide it right by him, then praise praise praise him when he goes on it and give a small treat like a cheerio. I wish you the best of luck, I do remember thinking Joey was house broken at 5 months, ha ha.

hi Teri, thanks for the suggestions I did check out some books from the library, but might have to order those 2 books on my nook.


Nancy, I will also try to praise him when he goes on the pee pad, we always give him lots of praise for going outside, but not wt the pee pad, that might be helpful. also cheerios are okay as a treat? I was previously told due to his young age, that treats might not be a good idea. we were given tiny cut up pieces of mozz. cheese & tiny pieces of organic carrot. Thanks again this forum is so awesome & helpful :)

Puppy Schedule
 

Welcome.

So you begin the journey of puppyhood. My little Chloe is 5 months and we too are on the journey. I found a schedule for 3-6 month old puppies and find it works. It begins with wake up, outside, free time, food and water, and crate confinement. When I follow it, Chloe doesn't have any accidents in the house.

I found the schedule by going to Yorkshire Community and then General Training Questions.
You will love Yorkie Talk. There is loads of information and caring, loving people who want to help you.

I also have a second schedule for 6 - 12 month old puppies that I will soon begin.

How long do you keep her crated? Are you home during the day?

Lots of us have use the cherrios with no problem, they are the right size for a treat, with probably no more than a calorie a piece so it won't interfere with meals. Make sure the carrot really is a tiny piece, they can get caught in the throat and stuck in the airway, if they are uncooked. Cherrios are really helpful when grooming and can help a dog learn patience when being blown dry.

Potty Training
 

I read on another thread (on this site) about cheerios as treats. I'm so glad I did. Chewie likes cheerios more than the training treats we bought him at the pet store. He responds well to them. Every time he goes potty on the pee pad on his own, he'll make sure that I know so that he can get his treat.

To the OP. As far as potty training. We've had Chewie for two weeks and the first few days I was convinced that I wouldn't be able to potty train him then all of a sudden he seemed to get it.

This past weekend he was having accidents. My husband cleaned his puppy pad really good, my 13 yo step son stayed the weekend with us as well. Maybe some of these things contributed to the accidents? I know my husband and step son do not seem to watch Chewie as carefully. I feel like Chewie tends to be more well behaved when it's just him and me. Is this normal?

The one thing he doesn't do is # 2 in the house, all accidents have been pee. We live in a condo (upstairs) so we are training him to go on the puppy pad on the patio. On off days he'll go #2 anywhere on the patio and pee in the house. It's always has to be on the carpet. :eek:

It just takes time and consistency. With all the accidents over the weekend I felt like I had to start over on Monday. He hasn't had any accidents since. I still pick Chewie up and take him to his spot if it looks like he has to go. My husband laughs at me because I am constantly following Chewie around the house. I'm not 100% confident that he's housebroken. I definitely expect more accidents. It has only been 2 weeks. It's hard work! Good luck to you. :)

ok will have to try cheerios, bathes are no problems, but blow drying is another issue :) this is the only time I see Lucky mad, he literally jumps up & barks at the blow dryer, I still try for a few minutes to get him used to it, but mostly we towel dry. I love how these little dogs, have so much character & personality!!

How old is Chewie?

We bought one of the doggy dryers they are a little quieter than a regular dryers. They got use to that and now I can use anything on them. The earlier grooming months should just be dedicated to getting them use to the process and having them enjoy, so the more comfortable you can make them, the better.

3 mo next week.

Nancy- a doggy dryer, wow didn't even realize they had these, but I could see a quieter dryer being helpful, another thing to look into :)










Miranda- you just made me laugh so hard, because I do the same thing wt Lucky he is also 3 months & I am constantly following him around. I feel the same that he does a little better, wt me then wt my hubby & kids. I think it's the constant watching & taking him out :) good luck!!

Ha! I also do the same with Bailee. I am constantly jumping up and following her ! She has been 100% with peeing on the pee pads , but seems to prefer the carpeting for poop!
One day at a time !