Potty training a 6 month old AND 18 month old!
 

Hi People, I know there are tonnes of threads already on potty training but my situation is quite unique!

I got my first Yorkie, Bella, in 2012 and trained her on the pee pads, everything was fine, she had the run of the house and only peed on her pads.

Then in December last year I got 8 week old Buster, since then I confine them both to the kitchen and used to leave a pee pad down but Buster just rips it to shreds even when there is pee on them. So now I cant put them down for when I go out and now it is just ruined all the training I did with Bella!

I almost rehomed him last week but chickened out at the last hour because I just couldn't do it.

anyway, I leave pee pads in almost every room just so he is used to them and he never shreds them when I am in. He has plenty to chew on but this doesn't stop him.

I also had a dog trainer around who told me cover the kitchen in 3 layers of newspaper. I tried this but it is just so time consuming and really off putting trying to stick to it!

Does anyone else have any tips I am at my whit's end when I get home of an evening to find the kitchen covered in pee and the house stinks!

Any help would be appreciated. I am going to buy the book on Yorkies as am told this will help. I would try anything!

Thank you
Lynette :confused::confused::confused::confused:

Have you considered buying the washable pee pads that do not shred? I know my Buster was a shredder when he was a pup so I started using the washable pads. I used to have a lot of pads around as well but my trainer said that only confused Buster and just to keep them in a specific area. Good Luck.

So sorry!
 

Lynette,
It sounds as though you gave the puppy too much freedom before he earned your trust. I would recommend going back to crate training and confining him. The kitchen is still a big area for a small dog. Roaming free in the kitchen area should be more of a reward for the puppy, something that he earns over time.

When my new puppies come to my pack, they are immediately crated as the beginning of training. They are only allowed out with supervision. You may need to revert back to very basic housebreaking. It sounds as though you are away from home during the day so you might consider hiring someone to allow the puppy out to potty around mid-day or you can put him in doggy daycare. At 6 months the puppy should be able to hold its pee-pee for several hours so a mid-day break should be enough. If he's immediately directed outside when he's released from the crate then you won't need wee-wee pads. Some puppies just like the satisfaction of tearing them into little pieces when they're bored. I wouldn't give him a pad if his reaction is to destroy it.

I have 3 Yorkies and a Terrier mix and they are all potty trained. My youngest Yorkie is 11 months old and she no longer uses pads. When she stopped using them I no longer laid them on the floor and now she does everything outside. When I do leave home for an extended amount of time, I leave a pad out but none of the dogs use it. My dogs have just outgrown using the pad.

Try starting over with the housebreaking by using a crate. I don't get the newspaper thing that the trainer recommended. If the floor smells like pee then the newspaper won't stop the puppy from relieving himself. The goal is to get him not to pee on the floor, not even on newspaper. Once the smell of urine passes through the newspaper, it's on the floor so what have you accomplished? I only use newspaper if my dogs are sick or have diarrhea. The goal should be to get the dog trained to hold it until he's in the proper place to relieve himself. He's not yet mature but he's old enough to know not to pee on the floor. Some people believe Yorkies are stubborn when it comes to housebreaking but I think that happens more because we tend to baby our Yorkies because of their size. Yorkies can be trained just like any other dog.

Don't give up on him. He's going to surprise you one day when he goes to the door and asks to be allowed out to potty. He may need a little more time. I also use the treat rewards for potty training. But I would definitely put him in the crate to facilitate his training.

I would like to add. If you think that is too long for your pup to be in the crate, what about a playpen? In the beginning I put Gunner in the playpen with is bed, water and pee pads. It works well till they are old enough to put in the crate for a length of time. I don't give Gunner any freedom when I am not home, gives them too much opportunity to get into trouble.

Great add-on WannaBe! I have friends who use playpens while their Yorkies are young but you're correct as they get older the crate is best. I give my 4 dogs the laundryroom while I'm away, They range in age from 11 yrs old to 11 mos old and they are all potty trained. Until about a month ago, I left a wee-wee pad in the corner for the puppy. But I noticed that it was clean when I came home, no matter how long I was away and I've been gone for as much as 8-10 hrs. So I stopped placing the pad and she does just fine. No accidents so far. But their potty training all began with a crate!:animal36

Hey thanks for all your replies and tips.

I do leave them for quite a long time as I work full time, but I pay someone to take them for the whole day on Tuesday and Thursday, I can't afford more days or I would! So they are alone Monday and Wednesday for about 10 hours. Friday I finish at lunch time. But even when they are left a few hours they still pee, they won't hold it ever!
I have never heard of reusable washable pee pads, am gonna look in to this. When I left them this morning I blocked off half the room so they don't have so much space now and left a pee pad down in the hope that he doesn't shred it!

I am wondering how to discipline them when they go in the house? I know you are not suppose to if you don't catch them in the act but that's almost all the time cause there so sneaky about it!

Lynette,
You didn't say if the dogs are more successful when they're with the sitter?

You'll get mixed responses on your question regarding discipline so I'll just go ahead and give you mine. When I originally began potty training my 1st dogs (many many years ago) I was told not to discipline. But when I got my 3rd dog I hired a dog trainer who made me see things differently. He put it this way, if I don't disciplne the dog for bad behavior or potty training mistakes then it's as though I condone the behavior. I don't hit my dogs, I don't roll up newspaper but I do scold them to let them know that I am disappointed in them. I only do this when I know which dog is responsible for the bad behavior. If I can't determine who the culprit is then I can't discipline. This system works for my 3 Yorkies and Terrier mix because I know which of my babies might be guilty of certain acts. You'll find people who say only discipline if you see the behavior and of course I'll agree this method is most effective but my system works for me.

I agree with your decision to minimize the space for the dogs. The puppy is still young to be crated all day but the 18 mos old should easily be able to tolerate 8 hrs and hold her bladder. At 6 mos old the max I crate is about 4 hrs and then it's straight out to the backyard! Until they know where they're supposed to go, I even carry my puppies to the door and direct them to go outside. Sometimes when ther're walking from the crate to the door they have an accident, so I try to help them not have an accident by getting them outside quicker. I only do this until I see they "get it". I hope this helps! :aimeeyork

I found this YT link regarding washable pee pads. I also use them at the bottom of his carrier and his car seat and keep a few in Buster's earthquake kit.
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/gen...st-brands.html

Hi Tiffygirl,

My sitter did say that they don't pee in her house. Why would they do it at mine?!
I can usually tell which of mine has had an accident because Bella steps away from her pee when she does one and doesn't stand in it, whereas Buster doesn't really care! Plus there poker faces are rather rubbish!
I do punish them even if I don't see them do it because I did try it the other way first, not punishing when I don't catch them in the act, but I found there were more accidents!

And I am deffo gonna try the washable pee pads! I am desperate and will give anything a go! We are going to have to replace floorboards in the hallway and the kitchen because they are now ruined with the copious amount of pee on them!

I can just never see them holding it in! I don't know how others do it, I don't think I am cut out for training! :-/