Help with house breaking!! - YorkieTalk.com Forums

sthanson · 09-28-2006, 01:11 PM

I have a wonderful 5 month old Yorkie/Silkie mix. She is the cutest thing in the world but I cannot get her trained. I am using a crate, take her out, she does her stuff, comes back inside and within a few minutes....will do it again. If I had a dollar for every minute i've sat outside with her waiting for her to go....

Two questions:

1. Would love your input on training
2. Other than a bell, any suggestions on how to get her to let me know when she needs to go out.

Thanks so much!!

Zoiesmom11 · 09-28-2006, 02:14 PM

Do you give her full run of the house while inside??

sthanson · 09-28-2006, 04:48 PM

No, have a baby gate up and keep her in the kitchen so it's contained at least. When it's time to play I take her outside without the leash so hopefully she'll know the difference and that seems to be working. But....in between is a different story. I'm right in the room with her when it happens. When I catch her I take her straight outside but most of the time she does it on the other side of the counter. Any ideas would be most welcome.

JeanieK · 09-28-2006, 04:57 PM

Welcome to YT.

It sounds like you are on the right track. It just takes patience, and lots of it.

If you have a fenced yard, you might consider a doggie door.
I put mine in a month or so ago, and my guys love it. I still keep a pee pad down for them, but they only use it if it's raining.

sthanson · 09-28-2006, 05:41 PM

It's a good thing she's so cute!!! I've had other dogs and have never had this much trouble before. Just wasn't sure if I was doing something wrong.

Thanks!

irishawk · 09-29-2006, 05:50 AM

I wish I could help, but I potty pad trained mine. Have you considered using them and then slowly moving them towards the door once your yorkie has the hang of it? My yorkie only goes potty outside when we're on walks, and this is a new thing for him. He would have none of that when he was a baby.

Also, what type of reinforcement are you using? I know when my yorkie does his business in the appropriate place he gets his favorite treat that he ONLY gets for pottying. Good luck! Be persistent, eventually your yorkie will get it.

Ladylavender · 09-29-2006, 06:14 AM

I too wanted to tell you don't get discouraged. I think it takes a long time (based on comments made here) for a yorkie puppy to actually get to the point where they will let you know they have to go out. Before that happens you become more trained then they are. In other words, you have to be the one to learn the signals and keep an ever watchful eye on them. She could be 7-8 months before she will let you know. Sometimes it's by scratching at the door, or barking at the door, but most of the time, they just sit near you and stare at you. (Unless they are trained otherwise, like to use the bells).

If you can't keep an eye on her, then I would recommend not keeping her in the kitchen. This is too large a space and makes it real easy to find a place to go potty and then another place to eat, sleep and play. You need to either keep her tethered to you so she goes where you go and you can correct the incorrect behavior very quickly, or you should put her in an x-pen (which you will need to fill up with her toys, food dish, bed, crate, so there is very little room for her to mess in without getting it on something that she does not want it on, or use the crate.

You should allow her free play out side the crate or x-pen, but you must be in attendance at all times and keep a eye out on her. You really want to limit the amount of times she does not do the correct behavior. Dogs learn thru repetition, so you want to repeat the good behavior 9 out of 10 times. It should never be a 50-50 or 60-40 deal.

Zoiesmom11 · 09-29-2006, 06:24 AM

I agree, Zoie is 9 months old and she just now goes to stand by the door to be let out. She started the staring at me thing awhile back, but she didn't do it for long and gave up too easily and then peed on the carpet. She finally started standing by the door and even barking (thank you GOD!!) sometimes! What made the difference for her was shutting off the whole house. She can only run around in the room she sleeps in (the great room) and the room that's open to it, the kitchen (hardwood floor). She has had WAY FEWER accidents since we've regularly put up the gates. It took a week for her to figure out this is just how it was and she rarely tries to go out into the rest of the house if a gate is down (if they've been up all the time). Now if we leave them down a whole day or something, she'l start going into the other rooms, but she won't even go upstairs without my husband inviting her to. It has taken months to get to this point where I'm not frustrated with her all the time about potty training. Just give it time and be consistent. Those are the best words that helped me.

SJK1113 · 09-29-2006, 05:45 PM

I have a 12 week old, and I'm using the pee pads for now because he's so tiny. I'm having WONDERFUL success with these, and I am going to start moving them a little closer to the door as he gets older. I haven't had any problems with getting him to learn where to go, as I can always tell when he has to. He stops what he's doing and starts walking around sniffing. In the beginning, I would take him straight to the pad and tell him to potty. When he goes, I would give him lots of praise, tell him what a good boy he is, and give him lots of cuddles. He got the idea really quick, so now he just goes to his pad automatically. He has had very few accidents. Watch to see if yours starts sniffing around, that's usually a good clue that they're looking for a place to go. Good luck to you!

Bnot · 09-29-2006, 08:33 PM

Venus has a pen in the kitchen. I have pee pad on one end, and food, water and toys on the other end. Took a few days, but she's going on the pads now, since I confined her to the smaller area instead of the whole kitchen. Now first few days, she played with the pads, chewed them, laid on them, you name it!

I also crate her at night, and put the crate beside my bed, so I can hear her whine to go outside before an accident happens. Crate needs to be just big enough for them to stand and turn around in. Any bigger and they will potty at one end! I had to block off one end since her crate was too big. Soon as she's completely trained, she'll be sleeping with me and Adonis, my 5 year old yorkie.

When we go out, and she potties, I say "good girl" and give her a treat. Her treat is my 5 year old Yorkies food, lol. She now watches me to see if I'm watching her potty, and comes straight to me for her "reward" for pottying outside.

I hope soon I can let her roam the kitchen again. I tried that once, and my kitchen must have been too big. She wasn't pottying on the pads.

09-28-2006, 01:11 PM	#1
sthanson YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Tennessee Posts: 3	Help with house breaking!! I have a wonderful 5 month old Yorkie/Silkie mix. She is the cutest thing in the world but I cannot get her trained. I am using a crate, take her out, she does her stuff, comes back inside and within a few minutes....will do it again. If I had a dollar for every minute i've sat outside with her waiting for her to go.... Two questions: 1. Would love your input on training 2. Other than a bell, any suggestions on how to get her to let me know when she needs to go out. Thanks so much!!

09-28-2006, 05:41 PM	#5
sthanson YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Tennessee Posts: 3	Patience It's a good thing she's so cute!!! I've had other dogs and have never had this much trouble before. Just wasn't sure if I was doing something wrong. Thanks!

09-29-2006, 05:50 AM	#6
irishawk YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 695	I wish I could help, but I potty pad trained mine. Have you considered using them and then slowly moving them towards the door once your yorkie has the hang of it? My yorkie only goes potty outside when we're on walks, and this is a new thing for him. He would have none of that when he was a baby. Also, what type of reinforcement are you using? I know when my yorkie does his business in the appropriate place he gets his favorite treat that he ONLY gets for pottying. Good luck! Be persistent, eventually your yorkie will get it. __________________ Howie & Sarah Check us out on dogster: http://www.dogster.com/?327817

09-28-2006, 02:14 PM	#2
Zoiesmom11 Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Missouri Posts: 181	Do you give her full run of the house while inside??

09-28-2006, 04:48 PM	#3
sthanson YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Tennessee Posts: 3	No, have a baby gate up and keep her in the kitchen so it's contained at least. When it's time to play I take her outside without the leash so hopefully she'll know the difference and that seems to be working. But....in between is a different story. I'm right in the room with her when it happens. When I catch her I take her straight outside but most of the time she does it on the other side of the counter. Any ideas would be most welcome.

09-28-2006, 04:57 PM	#4
JeanieK Donating YT 12K Club Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Council Bluffs Iowa Posts: 12,552	Welcome to YT. It sounds like you are on the right track. It just takes patience, and lots of it. If you have a fenced yard, you might consider a doggie door. I put mine in a month or so ago, and my guys love it. I still keep a pee pad down for them, but they only use it if it's raining.

09-29-2006, 06:14 AM	#7
Ladylavender YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Soddy Daisy, TN Posts: 733	I too wanted to tell you don't get discouraged. I think it takes a long time (based on comments made here) for a yorkie puppy to actually get to the point where they will let you know they have to go out. Before that happens you become more trained then they are. In other words, you have to be the one to learn the signals and keep an ever watchful eye on them. She could be 7-8 months before she will let you know. Sometimes it's by scratching at the door, or barking at the door, but most of the time, they just sit near you and stare at you. (Unless they are trained otherwise, like to use the bells). If you can't keep an eye on her, then I would recommend not keeping her in the kitchen. This is too large a space and makes it real easy to find a place to go potty and then another place to eat, sleep and play. You need to either keep her tethered to you so she goes where you go and you can correct the incorrect behavior very quickly, or you should put her in an x-pen (which you will need to fill up with her toys, food dish, bed, crate, so there is very little room for her to mess in without getting it on something that she does not want it on, or use the crate. You should allow her free play out side the crate or x-pen, but you must be in attendance at all times and keep a eye out on her. You really want to limit the amount of times she does not do the correct behavior. Dogs learn thru repetition, so you want to repeat the good behavior 9 out of 10 times. It should never be a 50-50 or 60-40 deal.

09-29-2006, 06:24 AM	#8
Zoiesmom11 Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Missouri Posts: 181	I agree, Zoie is 9 months old and she just now goes to stand by the door to be let out. She started the staring at me thing awhile back, but she didn't do it for long and gave up too easily and then peed on the carpet. She finally started standing by the door and even barking (thank you GOD!!) sometimes! What made the difference for her was shutting off the whole house. She can only run around in the room she sleeps in (the great room) and the room that's open to it, the kitchen (hardwood floor). She has had WAY FEWER accidents since we've regularly put up the gates. It took a week for her to figure out this is just how it was and she rarely tries to go out into the rest of the house if a gate is down (if they've been up all the time). Now if we leave them down a whole day or something, she'l start going into the other rooms, but she won't even go upstairs without my husband inviting her to. It has taken months to get to this point where I'm not frustrated with her all the time about potty training. Just give it time and be consistent. Those are the best words that helped me.

09-29-2006, 05:45 PM	#9
SJK1113 No Longer a Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: usa Posts: 2,150	I have a 12 week old, and I'm using the pee pads for now because he's so tiny. I'm having WONDERFUL success with these, and I am going to start moving them a little closer to the door as he gets older. I haven't had any problems with getting him to learn where to go, as I can always tell when he has to. He stops what he's doing and starts walking around sniffing. In the beginning, I would take him straight to the pad and tell him to potty. When he goes, I would give him lots of praise, tell him what a good boy he is, and give him lots of cuddles. He got the idea really quick, so now he just goes to his pad automatically. He has had very few accidents. Watch to see if yours starts sniffing around, that's usually a good clue that they're looking for a place to go. Good luck to you!

09-29-2006, 08:33 PM	#10
Bnot YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Mobile AL Posts: 1,399	Venus has a pen in the kitchen. I have pee pad on one end, and food, water and toys on the other end. Took a few days, but she's going on the pads now, since I confined her to the smaller area instead of the whole kitchen. Now first few days, she played with the pads, chewed them, laid on them, you name it! I also crate her at night, and put the crate beside my bed, so I can hear her whine to go outside before an accident happens. Crate needs to be just big enough for them to stand and turn around in. Any bigger and they will potty at one end! I had to block off one end since her crate was too big. Soon as she's completely trained, she'll be sleeping with me and Adonis, my 5 year old yorkie. When we go out, and she potties, I say "good girl" and give her a treat. Her treat is my 5 year old Yorkies food, lol. She now watches me to see if I'm watching her potty, and comes straight to me for her "reward" for pottying outside. I hope soon I can let her roam the kitchen again. I tried that once, and my kitchen must have been too big. She wasn't pottying on the pads.