Potty training hell
 

She is not getting it. At all. Sure, she'll go outside and potty, and then she'll come inside and 5 minutes later squat down in front of me and pee again. I've never seen a dog pee so much. She'll drop little puddles about the size of a dime several times an hour. I can't be running outside with her several times an hour. And it does no good to confine her, because she doesn't care if she lays in it. Her crate is small and it has blankets and a towel rolled up and stuffed in the back to make it even smaller. She can lay down and turn around, and that's it. And every morning I find her laying in her own pee and poop. She could care less. I'm losing my mind! She's 3.5 months old, I don't know if she just can't hold it at night yet, or what, but seriously!

Three and a half months is very very young. How long have you had her? She might have been kept in dirty conditions at the breeders so it doesn't bother her.

I would stop putting her in a crate if it isn't helping. Try something different for a while. Then maybe later try a different crate.

I know it is frustrating, but it takes time and patience and consistancy. We fall go through it. It's part of the job.

We've had her about 6 weeks. I didn't expect her to fully have it at 3.5 months, I think what is most frustrating to me is that she doesn't care if she lays in her own crap, literally, so I don't know where to really begin. The advice I hear most is confinement, confinement, confinement, and consistency of course, and it doesn't seem to be helping.

Another thing. Try feeding her on a schedule, and eliminating all food and water after 5 or 6 PM. And Walk her before you crate her for the night. That might stop the night pottying.

I feel your frustration. Just keep trying.

I would venture to say that she might have been kept in those same conditions and that is why she doens't mind it. As for the constant peeing hon she is a baby. 3.5 months old is very young and she has a very small bladder. It will be a while before she can hold it better. I have lulu and lex on a scheduled feeding and I pick up their water about an hour before it's bed time. Between picking up the water and bedtime I give them at least two more walks one which is with me in my pjs and right as I am ready to get into bed. Then I crate Lulu. So at my set time of 6 in the morning I come down and take her immediately outside and she handles her business. She doesn't have an accident in the crate. So you might want to try a schedule set up like mine. When they are young god help us it takes a lot of effort on our parts to get them housebroken. It's very frustrating at times but if you keep up with a routine they will learn faster. Be dilligent, patient and loving. She honestly doesnt' know any better.

Where did you get her from?

I definitely think I'm going to try to get her on a feeding schedule. I got her from a guy named Steve, he lived 5 hours SW of me so we split the difference in the commute and I picked her up on neutral ground, so I never saw his home. She was cheaper and ACA registered so I wouldn't be surprised if it's not the cleanliest place. Part of the reason I jumped on her was because she was so cheap, I had a feeling she wasn't being taken care of well, especially when we got her home and the vet found her double inguinal hernias poking out of her belly. Other than her hernias, she has a clean bill of health though and the vet says she looks great and should be a fine dog. I'm glad the constant peeing is because she is so small and young, the vet said that too, so I'm not worried, just extremely frustrated lol.

I think that is excellent advice - keeping a pup on a schedule if you can. This SO worked for our little Mango, except that I do give her water until 9PM. She eats at the same time every day and that way, I can predict with fair accuracy when she will poop. After 6 weeks at home she is almost totally potty trained, has less than one accident a week during the past two.

I should add that we live in a house with a yard and doggie run, so I know this is easier than being in an apartment style home where you might have to take the little one outside the building to go potty.

I just wanted to add that when I take her out potty, I use the same command every time and praise/kiss her when she responds by eliminating. We say, "Mango, go wee-wee"; she now will pee totally on command.

Mango turns 4 months old today. She weighs 2.2 lbs. If your baby is much smaller, perhaps it is harder to hold it in.:animal36

If it makes you feel any better, Percy is not doing so well either. We could start a support group. He is fine in his crate at least...but, I take him out and he just stares at me....I put him on the paper, same thing...I praise like crazy when he goes...then as soon as he is done going, it is guaranteed that he will pee a little in the house, sometimes he pees as he is walking in the house, or off the paper...no matter how hard I watch him, I always find a little puddle.

That's a shame. But it does make sense on why she doesn't seem to mind. That is going to make it a little more difficult, but not impossible.

Here is my schedule:

1) 6 am outside immediately to potty
2) come in and put down food and water while I get dressed and ready for work and dropping the girls off to school
3) walk right about 7:15 or so and pickup food
4) snack of cheerios given (my son has his as well then)
5) dogs get walked when the girls get home at 2:40 and fed as well. their food and water are left down at that point until the end of the night.
6) walked at 5:10 when I get in from work
7) 8 pm or so I pick up their food and water and put it away
8) walked several times up until I am just ready to climb into bed. At that point I give lulu and lex a handful of cheerios and then they are off to the crate...lulu is the only one that needs crating but lex they like to snuggle so I put them together.

Lulu will have had her body emptied out so she is comfy until the morning. I keep that wake up schedule of 6 no matter what day of the week it is even if I am off. During the day I do leave a pad down but I find that she might pee on there once or twice max for the day.

I can definitely relate. Ferdinand used to make in his crate also - and he was kept in emaculately clean conditions while with his breeder. I didn't get it. I finally stopped crating him and now he doesn't go at night at all - he holds it until the morning. But I just have him babygated in the laundry room at night with his bad, food, water, toys, and a pee pad. He's 10 months and is better with going potty in the house... but definitely not perfect.

Good luck!! It's a process with Yorkies - they can be very stubborn to train.

Does she pee a lot in the same spot? Maybe you could start putting a pee pad where she goes so it doesn't make such a mess.

I was just going to ask for someone's schedule! Thanks! This week has been off because it's been spring break so I've been home all day, but every other normal week I am up at or before 7. I could work her feeding and pottying schedule nicely into my class schedule, I bet.

It's not ever in the same spot. She dribbles all over the house, she don't care where. I've got her pooping outside mostly (or in her crate overnight *sigh*), but if she does poop in the house it's always behind our recliner or in our son's room, so I know to keep those areas closed off and if she heads that way take her outside. It's the peeing that's so unpredictable.

when you are home just keep taking her out every half hour or so she she truly gets the idea that she should be adjusting to going outside. Dont' fall into the trap of not taking her out becuase it's raining or whatever. My dogs are out rain, sleet, hail or shine. Make a big deal of her going outside to go potty.

Scheduling works best for us. It should work well for you too. She knows that she is not supposed to go potty inside somewhat that is why she goes potty in a place like behind the recliner.

This may be a silly question (please don't shoot me!) but when you clean up the urine or poop, are you using any products like 'Nature's Miracle' or anything? Maybe that would help her to stop going in the same spots?

She may have a bladder problem. I'm not sure but I'd ask the vet about it. Somtimes you can just call them and explain whats going on and they'll give you advice. If they think its serious, they'll have you come in. I wouldn't put her in the crate anymore. I suggest either putting her in the bathroom with newspapers all over the floor so she has no choice but to use the newspaper and doesn't have to sleep in it b/c she has room to get around or if your a very light sleeper and won't roll over on her, this is what I did, I put my puppy in my arms. She laid her head on my shoulder and I put my other arm around her careful not to squish her and when I felt her squirming around out night I immediatly took her outside to go to the bathroom. She never had accidents in my bed and when she squirmed and took her out she immediatly went. It worked for me! Goodluck!!!

You've got some great advice and I don't have much more to add.. but just wanted to say what you're going through is totally normal.. I'm dealing with it also :) AND nature's miracle cleaner is THE BEST ever :) Good luck!

once again, I am working on potty training my newest pup. When I first brought her home, she was doing very good. But I have caught her peeing on my floor. right after I just took her out. She would rather play outside instead of going potty. After she has the pottying down, I will allow more play time outside. But I am wanting her to understand that outside right now is just for going potty. So I have used the method that I have with my other dogs.
I use treats as rewards for going potty. I buy those bacon strips, and tear off a little niblit for each time they go. It worked on my other 2. Today, I was so frustrated with her, I stood outside waiting for her to potty for 40 minutes. She wouldnt go. And I know she had to. So I brought her back inside and placed her in a crate. 20 minutes later I took her back outside and she went. So she got a treat and praise. But she def. is being the hardest one to potty train. But the treats are the only thing that has worked for me.
Oh and the schedule also works. They dont get no water after 7:00. But I do leave the food out. They nitpick off and on all day.

It took my little guy until he was 8 months old before he was potty trained. My mom has a Yorkie, and we went to Florida for a week with the little guy. I think he was taken from his mom too soon because after hanging out with my mom's yorkie, he was completely potty trained!!!

I am sorry to hear that you are having so much trouble. I wanted to share with you what worked for my little guy. He was doing the exact same thing Sasha is doing. First of all, I went out and bought small little doggie treats and everytime he pottied outside I would PRAISE him and reward him with a treat. He LOVES the treats so he quickly learned that he had to potty outside to get a treat. As for peeing and pooping in crate ...Buddy also did this. It was a nightmare!! So I know what you are going through. I was able to resolve this by not crating him at night. I keep Buddy in our gated mudroom at night with newspaper by the door. He always goes during the night but on the paper. At first I would never say anything to him in the morning regarding the pee and poop on the paper because I was just happy that it was not on him. But now I have slowly started to use a BOLD voice when cleaning it up each morning. I truly think he understands....because he is doing a better job at holding it each night. (perhaps you have an area where you could put Sasha at night) ALSO I bought online at Pets Marts a product called "NO GO".....spray this on all areas where Sasha potty's that you do not want her to go. I hope all this helps....I am sure there is Yorkie owners out there that would disagree with my potty training techniques but I was desperate....I tried everything and this is what is working for us. Buddy is 5 months old.
Good luck....please keep us posted on her progress. Just keep in mind, potty training just takes time.

I agree wiyh the last poster. I would not crate the puppy. We don't have a mudroom close enough for us to monitor our little girl. When we first got her, we had her in bed with us. She never soiled once! If we heard her whimpering at night, we got up and took her to the potty pad. She rarely did that, and so I think we only got up once or twice during the night the first month, and usually, she didn't whimper until 5:30 or 6:00. So you might give this method a try for the nighttime problem. After about a month to a month-and-a-half, we moved her to a crate next to our bed. We could still hear if she whimpered, but she sleeps solid until 6:00 - 6:30. I get up to get ready for work at 6:30, so I take her to the potty-pad first, then she goes back and lays in bed with my husband until I need to get my clothes around 7:30. My husband takes it from there.

We praise and give treats each time she does it right, and we ignore mistakes. Treats are about all they care about, so we are very consequent about giving them every time.

I don't really have much to say since it seems like everyone has given such good advice...but you might look into wearing a doggie diaper if you are tired of scrubbing and clean your floor...

but just remember to take her out every 20-30 minutes so you don't have to worry about washing her every hour...just a thought...

hope it works out in the end!

I'd love to have her sleep at night with me, but my fiance says no. She naps with me sometimes during the day and never has peed in our bed.

Right now I'm trying to get her on a feeding schedule and I'm picking up her food and water in the late evenings and making sure she's empty before we crate her. I'm still crating her because there really is no place for her to be blocked off - we don't have a small room without anything that we don't want peed on really. She won't use a puppy pad either, she'll pee right next to it. I'm hoping the feeding schedule helps with the nighttime pottying.

I have little bacon treats that she loves, she gets one when she potties outside. I don't know if it's helping, maybe she's really too young to "get" it yet.

Thanks for all your advice - I'll keep you posted!

hope this helps!
 

? 6:00 AM puppy wakes. Take him outdoors immediately. Wait for him to eliminate and praise.
? 6:15 AM indoor, 100% supervised play time and access to water.
? 6:45 AM put puppy back in crate with his breakfast meal.
? 7:00 AM take puppy outdoors (remove food). Wait for him to eliminate and praise.
? 7:20 AM put puppy back in crate, leave for work.
? 12:00 PM take puppy outdoors. Wait for him to eliminate and praise.
? 12:15 indoor, 100% supervised play time and access to water.
? 12:30 PM pup puppy in crate with lunch meal.
? 12:45 PM take puppy outdoors (remove food). Wait for him to eliminate and praise.
? 1:00 PM put puppy back in crate, back to work.
? 5:30 PM take puppy outdoors. Wait for him to eliminate and praise.
? 5:45 PM play with puppy outdoors.
? 6:00 PM indoor, 100% supervised play time and access to water.
? 6:30 PM, put puppy in crate and tend to your required evening tasks.
? 7:30 PM, take puppy outdoors. Wait for him to eliminate and praise.
? 7:45 PM, indoor 100% supervised play time. Access to water.
? 8:30 PM, in crate with evening meal.
? 9:00 PM, take puppy outdoors (remove food). Wait for him to eliminate and praise.
? 9:15 PM, indoor 100% supervised play time.
? 10:00 PM, last trip outdoors.
? 10:15 PM put puppy in crate for the evening.

Wow that is totally scheduled. I can't be that scheduled:rolleyes:

Izzy doesn't go in her crate anymore. I take her out in the morning and she pees. I don't care how long I sit outside with her she will not poop in front of me :rolleyes: I have tried the scheduled feedings and she won't eat when I give her time. She would rather snack like Cody does. I pick up the food then Cody gets mad at me cause he wants to eat when he is ready. :p

I still have her crate very small or else she would eliminate inside. She has barely enough room to turn around w/ her toys of course. :p

The training book I have suggests putting them on a lead/leash when you take them out in the yard to potty and not letting them "wander" on their own. Keep them on the leash and only allow them to go within a few feet in a circle around you. They'll get bored and pee and then you can praise them, give them the treat, etc. If you let them wander, they will use "potty time" as a way of getting you to take them out for a good time instead of the serious business.

If you have any narrow room with tile...you can block a small area off with baby gates. I went online to Craigslist and bought two used baby gates for $25 (for both) and put one baby gate on the entrance of the galley-shaped kitchen and another baby gate about 3 feet in, so it serves as a kennel area.
_________
{____}____

} = baby gate

On a different note, I was also told to NOT clean up the dirtied crate in the presence of the dog because he would just think "oh, it will get cleaned after I dirty it" and it will be thought of as a way of getting special attention. I was told to put him in a different room and clean it.

I have a two year old, I have a couple baby gates, I could try that maybe! She hates being enclosed and barks soooo loud, she's gotten to where she calms down in about 10 minutes but those 10 minutes are awful. I wonder if I have a place downstairs I could try that with, her crate and blankets are downstairs mainly because it makes her quieter for us upstairs, I can't sleep with her sounding like she's barking into a megaphone!

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