do they ever really....
 

I have heard so many people talk about having such a hard time with training their Yorkies to go outside. I am getting frustrated myself. :crazy: Does anyone have dogs that are REALLY potty trained?

Mine is crate trained and I take her out many times a day and she goes outside but is just as inclined to go inside. I don't realize it until I see the tiny spots on the carpet. I thought I was watching her pretty well while she was out of her crate, but apparently not.

So....... what is the success rate for training Yorkies????????

omega

Plus, I can't even get her ears to stand up... more frustration

How old is she? My other puppies weren't completely trained unti they were 7 to 8 months old. Cali is the first pppy I have been home all day with and trained on wee wee pads. She trained extremely quick. She was 95% trained by 3 1/2 months. Almost never had accidents. It takes some longer than others but persistence and patience will pay off. Good luck

Sully is 100% trained, and it's GREAT! It took a while though and we had to be very patient and consistent with our training methods (crate training, etc) but it has paid off! :) Good luck! It IS possible!

Millie is 100% house broken too. But she was not reliably house broken until she was 61/2 months old. (she only goes outside).

I got her at 12 wks and did nothing but work on her potty training until she was 100% housebroken. I focused focused focused for 3 months! it was exhausting and fustrating and I never want to go thru it again. I never never never left my eyes off her while she out of her crate or x-pen AND I did not let her have the full run of the house. We kept her to only one room of the house until she considered that room her "den" and would not pee in that room when let out. Only then did I start introducing her to other rooms. She was allowed in the kitchen to eat though, but I kept my eyes on her all the time. She probably had only 3 accidents in house during this 3 month period. That's how close of a watch I had on her. It was the worst time I spent with her because I work a full time job and I was absolutely exhausted. Thank goodness I had my husband for support.

But I can say now, it was time well spent! The payoff of having a completely house broken pet has made our relationship with Millie so much richer and stress free. I never have that worry on my mind, ever! I sacrified 3 months from my life and hers to have a lifetime of enjoyment with her.

So to do it right, is a lot of work, but your investment will have great rewards.

Lex seems to be totally house trained (knock on wood). It takes a ton of patience and dilligence. He will be seven months on sat. Just keep at it..I know it's frustrating at times. I think that not free feeding played a big part in my getting him housetrained.

Yes. Loki is totally housetrained. He rings his bells when he needs to go out. He is still only 18 months so I don't ever expect him to hold it while in the house alone. If he rings the bell, we go out. If we leave the house he goes in his crate. I suppose if he really has to go, and he rings his bell - multiple times! - and if no one lets him out after 10 minutes or so he won't hold it, he'll pee by the door. Obviously we don't let that happen, but it has once or twice and it was my fault. I thought he wanted to go out and play and he did have to go. He rarely rings it to just go play, so I have learned to believe him! He will also get very insistant and SWAT at the bells, then run over to me and give me an evil glare and go back and swat at them again.

But seriously if a kid was standing there saying "I have to go potty" and you ignore him, he will wet his pants too. Loki has some issues that make him need to pee often so I am adjusted to that. I do consider him to be trained. He knows when he needs to go, he lets me know, and he waits patiently by the door for someone to strap his leash on and let him out. Most importantly, this transfers to other people's houses. He has never had an accident at my parents or at my in-laws. We show him where the door is, and he runs to it when he needs to go out.

Now, when he was like 7-8 months old, before we got the bells, he had no idea how to ask us to go outside. He would maybe sit by the door or scratch and if no one heard him he would go pee on the carpet. I also believe that he simply did not have enough control either, because he would wake up from a nap and pee immediately, on his way to the door. It turns out he has some medical issues and he is on drugs for the nighttime incontinence, but I think his bladder was very immature as well. I just remember it was a VERY frustrating time. He'd go a week with no accidents and then BAM he'd pee on the carpet. I felt like he would never get it. But we'd go back to the crate and be more consistent and then one week went by, and the another, and then a month, and then 3 months with no accidents...

Also interesting, many people have issues with their dogs pooping inside. Loki was stopped having inside accidents with #2 a LONG time before he stopped peeing in the house. Again this is probably due to his bladder issues. But we also went through nearly 7 months of diarrhea every few weeks until we solved that problem. And he still did very well with pooping outside. If he has to poop he will do everything to let me know! He will cry and ring his bells and come and get me. I can't tell you the last time he pooped in the house. More than 6 months ago. And that was a fluke because before that it was like 3-4 months with no accident.

ETA: Loki has been crate trained (like accident free in his crate) since he was about 6-7 months old. Again we had problems with the diarrhea and drinking issues, but still. He now has a big crate and I trust him in there for up to 5 hours. I don't ever leave him longer than that, but during the day I bet he would hold it if it was a emergency and no one could let him out. Most days he's out roaming while my husband is in his office (at home) working. He sleeps all day and lets my husband know when he needs to pee! So he is sort of unattended most of the day, and he is completely trustworthy.

I didn't find it any harder to train my yorkie than any other breed. I think you just have to be persistent, use lots of praise (occasionally treats) and try to stay positive.

Ranger was paper trained when we got him at 7/8 wks. The hard part was switching from paper to outside, that's what confused him the most.

We only fed him when we were home, that way 30 min after he ate we'd take him outside until he'd potty then he'd get praised and a treat upon returning inside. Of course the smaller they are the more often you have to take them out since their bladders are so tiny, but after a while you can tell how often they need to go.

Ranger was 99.9% potty trained to go outside by 6 months. Since then if he had any accident in the house it was our fault for not taking him out.

Now at nearly 2 years of age his schedule is very consistent. He wakes my husband up at 6:30 am to be taken outside and then is fed breakfast while we get ready to leave for work. Then my husband sometimes comes home for lunch around noon-ish and again lets him out to potty and feeds him a light lunch.

Now my husband can't go home for lunch everyday, so those days Ranger isn't let out until we get off work and he's fine. I typically get home around 5:15 and that's when we go outside for at least 30-45 minutes to potty and play ball while we wait for hubby to come home. Then we spend our evenings together and after he's eaten dinner we take him out one last time before we head to bed.

When he was a puppy I was in school and mostly took night classes so someone was always home with him to take him out and keep him on a schedule. I've been wanting to get another puppy but probably won't until I start back in school this fall to insure a rigorous schedule can be kept.

Still has some trouble
 

Just to let you know on another thread I asked people about litter box training because Paisley, who is 1 1/2 years old still has accidents in the house. We take him out a lot, and he is able to hold it during the day, but I am hoping if we try litter box training, then he will have an appropriate place to go in the house if he needs too. And won't have to hold it a long time when we are away. Just hang in there...(I will too ) :)

Steph

I have just had a breakthrough with Holly-age 7 months. She had regressed since the onset of winter-she is outside trained,but doesn't like the rain,long grass ,wet grass etc. I steam cleaned the carpets and have asked my lawnmower man to keep the back yard shorter! Result! She has been going outside `100%!! Yay! I thought I had been careful with cleaning up,but obviously some scent lingered.Cross fingers! She will scratch at the door. She is penned when we are out.

frustrated updat...
 

Tinka is crate trained - never goes in her crate. I do get so tired of standing outside waiting for her to poop. She almost always pees right away outside then runs to the door trying to convince me she's done. Sometimes she will poop after a few frantic circles - other times she will just sit and stare at me!

She is almost 6 months old and I have had many other kinds of dogs and never had this much trouble with any of them. I'm using the bells on the door, too, although she really hasn't caught onto that yet.

It's good to know it CAN work and to hear some success stories. :) Thank you!

omega

I'm still working on Baby. Poo/Pee training STINKS! :eek:

Mine has been house broken since around 6 months of age. She rings the door bells, which we can hear all over the house. We use pads in the attached garage for inclement weather and at night. She loves to go outside. Her yard is her favorite place in the world. It is a wonderland for her. She loves to go out and explore her yard and I suppose see if any other critters have been there. She chases all of the birds off if they dare to land in her yard or on the fence. :D My other yorkie was house broken around the same age, too. I used little pieces of cheese as incentive and bragged incessantly on her.

Yes both of mine are and have been for a while. Mollie was 2 in January and Wyatt will be 1 in July. All it takes is lots of consistency and patience. We also have a dog door they come and go as they please when I'm home.

Her ears may not be meant to stand up. Mollie's stand up about 3/4 of the way & Wyatt's are all the way up.

Are you just trying to train her to go outside or are you using the pee pads as well? I didn't use the pads because I'm home most of the time and they can go out when they want.

How old is she? Some just take longer to get the hang of it than others. But I have to confess I've had 4 yorkies total over the years and they have been by far the easiest to housetrain. Precious my Shih Tzu who was 15 when we had to have her put to sleep never completely house trained.

Good Luck and try not to lose patience. I know how hard it can be.

I'm having the same problem with Jerome. A few minutes after he drinks water or eats food I take him outside and leave him there for a little while, but I"m checking on him, then he comes back in and I see him squating and a small spot. I tell him NO! and take him right out again. I've been outside with him for 30 minutes and he just looks at me like what are we doing here?, walks around the yard and doens't not do anything! I don't think he is getting it. It is frustrating, specially when husband comes home and asks, how did the potty training went today? Any suggestions? I think he thinks that after he goes out he needs to come in to relief himself. I don't know but please HELP!!!

Ginger is not house broken and I’m embarrassed to say that it’s due to the fact that I have given up. I used to get so upset when she would have accidents in the house, so in order to stay sane I have convinced myself that accidents WILL happen and I just need to deal with it. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not okay with it and still trying. I just don’t watch her as closely as I should. She goes outside about 80% of the time. I’m glad to hear from so many people that it is in fact possible to get them to 100%.

KimMee is totally house broken, she is 21 months old. She has been since about 6 months. Now, my new baby- not so lucky. I hope she will get with it though. Don't give up, it just takes time.

Napoleon is 5months old and house broken. He only has accidents when I ignore the warning signs and neglect taking him out on time. I agree with someone who says that it's a lot of hard work and time put into training a puppy, but the satisfaction and ability to enjoy your puppy when he's thoroughly trained is definitely worth it!!

Punkin came to live with us at 8 months. She was mostly trained - our problem was she wasn't giving a clear signal. We tried a bell at the door and she really didn't like that. She now has a whine she gives during the day and in the middle of the night a loud bark (thankfully that's only happened twice!).

At 10- 11 months we noticed that the only accidents were ours - not paying attention to her. Now at 13 months I would say we have it down pat.

I am so proud of her - when we were at the vets a week ago we had a long wait. She sat on my lap like a good little girl. After 2 hours she made her little whine and we went outside and sure enough she had to pee.

It's definitely possible - I can just imagine the frustration of starting from scratch with a wee puppy.

My dog is 5 months old and is very well trained. The thing is, when they are just starting, whether young or old, they must be under your watchful eye at ALL times unless they are in their crate. I know it sounds impossible, but it isn't. It's just REALLY HARD.:) You need to always stay outside with them so you can be there when they go and give praise and throw a ball for a game or something they enjoy. Mine doesn't care a hoot about food so treats are no help for us. I just take her out about every 2 hours to the "spot" she likes and I don't talk to her or intereact with her until she goes. Then- let the games begin! We play fetch and chase and have a good time for about 5 minutes. Then it's time to go in. The only time she even potties in her crate is when I have had to leave her for too long during the day. So it's my fault when she slips. But she prefers to keep her crate clean. She does keep it clean during the night time. When she is loose in the house, I have constant watch over her. It's not easy, but I've read that they must be watched like this until they are 18 mo to 2 yrs and can have complete bladder control.

well I feel better after reading all these post. I'm glad to know some people have won the war, lol. Kizzy is 4 months old today. I got her @6 weeks old. I started taking her out right then and wore myself down, because she was too small to go up and down steps and I had to carry her, but I did for a long time after every time she drank water or ate. But now she is doing lots better. She still does it in the house off and on. Sometimes its my fault or sometimes I'm cooking supper and just cant run out with her. But one thing i've learned is take her to the same spot. keep a tight leash on her so she cant ramble and play till she pees, I keep cheerios in my pocket and give her one as soon as she pees and praise her, when she gets back in the house I give her another one for being so good about coming right back in and I usually bring her straight back in after peeing altho I might take her right back out in a few minutes and let her play. I feed her 2 times a day. I dont leave water sitting out. if she wants water or food she goes to her bowl and then I get it for her. This has helped immesely. I give her couple of milk bones during the day between meals and a couple other treats. She sleeps all night and has never till this day wet her bed or pooped in it. She is getting the hang of going to the door to go but still not too good about letting me know she is there. I try to keep an eye on her as to when she heads for the door. the #2 business has gone real well, the pee part is harder because she usually only does #2 twice a day. But she pees several times a day. But I know she can hold it because she holds it 7 to 8 hours at night in her bed and sometimes 9 hours. So at 4 month old I feel like she is doing pretty good after reading some of these post. But I am at home most days with her all day , just she and I and if I leave her alone I always put her in her bed and zip her in. It is the soft crate type. So congratulation to those that have endured this and to the rest, I join your club, as I'm still coping with the process. hopefully we'll all get it sooner or later.

Sounds to me like you are doing great for 4 months old ! Give yourself a break! Good job to both of you. Just keep doing what you're doing. :dogsm3:

Do you let him walk around the yard and decide where he wants to go? If so you might want to try confining him to one particular spot. Don't let him out until he goes...I had a cat named Jerome when I was little!!:)

I hear your frustration....
 

Otis WAS about 90% housetrained.... He is 14 months old. He had been doing great from about 6 months until three weeks ago.

He is now pooping/peeing in the house on a daily basis. I am going back to square one today and I am really sad about it :( . I pulled out the baby gates and he is in his crate right now. I also just got off the phone with the carpet cleaners - I hope cleaning the carpets will help.

Do dogs go through a regression stage ?????

Husband took him outside yesterday morning and went to the side of the house and he peed. He's been peeing there since then. I've taking him out a lot and I think he is getting it. He's peed on the porch a few times too,but hey! I won't complain about that as long as he does it out.
I think he is trying to let me know that he wants to go out by looking for me and once he finds me he heads towards the door, but it confuses me because sometimes all he wants is to play. I think this is a good start. :animal36
Thanks for the advice.

Hang in there! My yorkie is fully potty trained. Just give her a little more time. It is a maturity thing. Over the next 2-3 months I think you will start seeing a huge difference. Tinkerbell is 1 1/2 years old and she has earned the priviledge to have free run of the house when I am not at home as well. But I did not fully trust her until she was about 1 year old.

Joey has been 100% housetrained since he was 4 1/2months old. He rings a bell on the backdoor when he wants to go out.

As far as the ears, personally I don't think there's anything you can do about that. Some people recommend taping them but I have my doubts. I believe Joey was about 5 months when his ears started standing up all the time.