New to forum! Please help! (potty and ears)
 

Hi. I am new to this forum. My wife and I just purchased a Yorkie from a local pet store. (We hope we saved her!) We have never owned a Yorkie and are desperately seeking to talk to folks that have knowledge of the breed. We want to be sure we are doing whatever is in the best interest of the dog. Sophie is 14 weeks old and weighs about 3.5 to 4 pounds. Initially, we have 2 questions. First, we are told Yorkies are difficult to housebreak. We take Sophie out every 2 hours (when we are home), and she does her business outside but never gives us any indication that she is ready to go out. If we don't hit the correct time, she will do her business in the house. However....she never goes in her crate. When she is in her crate at night, she will cry to let us know that she has to go out. Any suggestions? Ideas? It is very frustrating. 2nd question.....one ear is standing (about a week), and one ear is drooping. Is this common? How long does it take? We had her groomed yesterday and had hair removed from the ear area in hopes that it would help. Any help would be deeply appreciated.

Welcome to YT and congrats on the new puppy, Im sure she is a beauty. I have no advice as far as the ears go, I have a yorkiepoo and his ears are long but I have read on this board about shaving the tips and possibly taping the ears to stand. Im sure others will have more advice for you.
House training any breed is a challenge. :) Your puppy is the same age as mine, however Ive had him since he was 8 weeks old. I started mine on pee pads cause he was so little when we first got him but for the last few weeks Ive been taking him out side. I take my little guy out every hour while he is awake and he goes everytime. I keep his pee pad out still "just in case" but he hasnt used it in awhile, he does still have accidents in the house but they are far and few in between and its usually poo and most of the time its because Ive lost track of the time. He doesnt go to the door yet either but I think its because he is still a little young to catch on, but Im sure he will as will yours. It takes awhile for them to actually get it and most dogs arent fully housetrained untill they are 6 to 8 months of age and from what Ive seen on this board, yorkies do take a little longer. I have found that being consistant is the key and that praise or treats work wonders. :) Good luck!!

Congrats to you on your new baby. I do believe you saved an angelic soul! :)

In regard to potty training - yes, they can be difficult because their bladders are so small and the muscles are not developed. Be consistent if you are going "outside." When you go out keep telling her "go potty" or "go poopy" or (we use) "Get busy!" Reinforce this each time and when she does go give her lots of praise and some treats. We also use the "bell" method. When ours need to go outside they just ring the bell (we have a ringer on the floor for them).

In regard to the ears. Right now the calcium in her body is being used for her adult teeth. One of the best things to do (besides keep the ear-hair trimmed) as to fold the ear together (liek you are closing it) and tape it.

I'm not sure how picky you are on ears but I've got two with ears that can pick up satellite signals and one that has floppy ears. Honestly, it adds to her personality.

Welcome to YT! I know you will get alot of input.

You need to make sure you always bring treats with you when you take her out. When she goes give her a treat and a lot of praise.

:welcome4: :yorkietal Welcome to YorkieTalk :yorkietal :welcome4:

Welcome to YorkieTalk and congratulations on your new addition. Would love to see pics of your precious little Sophie.

As far as house training goes, it sounds like you are off to a good start. Taking her outside the moment she wakes up, just after each meal and anytime in between that she does the "potty dance" -- without fail -- is the way to get her trained the quickest. Always remember to treat her after every potty -- find the treats that she loves best and reserve them for this single purpose for now. Use a potty phrase every time you take her out, something simple such as "Go Potty?" use excitement in your voice and say it as you are walking towards the door and as you go outside.

Being consistent is the rule.

About the ears, I have found that massage - firm strokes from the base of the ear to the tip helps me with pups that seem to be a bit lazy with their ears.

I thought of something else. When potty training it is important to keep your pup confined as much as possible. Do NOT let them roam the house - they will find a place to potty.

We blocked off our Dining Room so the dogs were in the living room with us. Yes, we lived in a gated community however it was worth it because we could tell (as Chattie'smom said) the first steps of the "Potty Dance."

Hope this helps!

Congrats on your new baby!

Potty training was a challenge but like everyone else has said, staying consistent will pay off. You may also want to start training classes as soon as possible. I started Scooter in Petsmart puppy classes at 11 weeks and it helped me more than I expected. They really teach you tricks on sitting, down, touch, etc. that you would not really think about. With our trainers advice, I went from being stressed out about potty training to getting it done within a week or two. Now, Scooter has taken both the puppy and intermediate classes and graduated with honors. I have now mastered how to teach him becase of the ways the teach. I highly recommend starting training ASAP. It does wonders and can really help you with potty training and general attitude.

Also, YT is such a resource. You will become an addict. Good luck.

Welcome to YT!!

Just to add to the potty training issue - I recommend laying down blankets in the living room so that you can 1. save the carpet and 2. wash the blankets to remove the odor (to help prevent reoccurrence).

"House Training for Dummies" was a good resource for me.

Good luck!

Hi welcome to YT
Your little girl is about the same age as my two little guys
As far as housebreaking and training goes don't buy into what other people tell you
Training is training and you have to follow the same steps with every dog
In the beginning esp at this age it comes down to containment and watching them
As far as the ears go ... they will likely stiffen up
the hair will weigh it down so cutting it will help and you can even tape it up to help temporarily

:thumbup: on the potty training and I wanted to add that I also tried massaging my yorkies ears (as Chattiesmom recommends) and it worked though I helped that long by keeping the hair trimmed (using a Wahl trimmer) on the top 1/3 of his ears so as not to weigh them down.

I really apprecaite your reply and your help! Thank you! I am sure I will having many more questions.

Hello and welcome to YT.

gET YOUR READ ON!
 

i SUGGEST that you go to Barnes and Nobles or Bordes and get Yorkshire Terriers for Dummies and How to housebreak your dog in 7 days (the trick to this book is following the rules and learning your own dogs timing with how long after they eat do they need to go potty..every dog is different.
That should be a great read for you to learn everything ya need to know and also keep reading different post.
The ear thing is normal both my pups ears are now standing at 18 weeks..so give it some time and trimming helps with groomers.

Congrats on the new Puppy!

The only advice I can offer is to post your questions on YorkieTalk. I was a first time dog owner also in September and I can tell you the members here gave me so much good advice.

My Sophie's ear are still not standing up, probably never will completely but I love the way the tips flop over, they suit her.

Good luck with your puppy, it will bring you hours if not years of joy and comfort.

Thank you for adding about the trimming part -- I do that also but forgot to add it.

Just to add one more thing, don't stress that she isn't letting you know she wants to go out yet... Use a phrase every time immediately before and while you are walking out the door to potty - we say "Outside??!?!?? Do you want to go outside!?!!?!" AND we also started using a bell and ringing it every time we took Nikko out to pee. Literally TODAY, for the first time, he rang the bell on three separate occasions to make us take him outside! I could just explode with happiness right now. We have had him for about a month and a half, and it really felt like this day would never come. Up until today, he even seemed pretty scared of the bell, and hadn't really done anything to let us know he wanted out otherwise, except for maybe walk over by the door for a second then walk back (highly questionable as a signal).

Just be consistent, and don't give up or slack off. We were about to call it quits on the bell since he always seemed so scared of it... but then suddenly today happened! So yeah, just keep at it...! Congratulations on your new little one. :-)

Lauren & Nikko

W*e*l*c*o*m*e!

Congrats. I have been trying the bell also and about to give up maybe there is hope

Good Luck...
 

Good luck with the potty training....Congrats with your little one :)
I've heard that you weren't suppose to let your dog outside until at least they were a year old and had all of their shots because of "parvo"
I have mentioned on a few posts that we have tried pretty much everything with potty training, We live in a townhouse so we don't have a huge yard and our little one is a house dog so we purchased this thing called "wizdog"
INDOOR DOG POTTY for: dog house training, housebreaking puppies, dog and puppy training
Wizdog is a new revolutionary house training system for dogs. Consisting of a durable plastic pan and fitted grate, liquid waste dispenses through the grate onto newspaper or a pee pad, separated from your dog's paws - No more wet paw tracks throughout your house! Solid waste stays on top of the grate, so you never have to touch it. Just flip the grate, and it's gone. That's it!
With the ears, it seemed like when our dog started growing long hair her ears were no longer standing up anymore....unless she hears something....but other than that, I just heard that you were suppose to massage them...

Welcome to YT


I love that book !!! (Yorkshire Terriers for Dummies) I got a lot of great info from it. But I got the book from half.com and saved a lot of money. I'ts a sister site to ebay, but you just buy, no bidding.

Best of luck to you and enjoy your new baby :D:D:D

Well, it sounds like you have been given a lot of wonderful advice here...so i will just say "Welcome to YT" and wish you luck with your new pup! Just remember that patience and consistancy are key!! Good Luck! :D

Thank you. We are using "go outside" and then "go potty" when we are out. This is followed by a "clicker" and a treat. He considered using the bell, but we have 3 cats as well. I am concerned that the cats will view the bell on the door as a toy and I may give Sophie mixed signals. Again, I really appreciate all the advice everyone is willing to share on this forum. I am sure I will have many questions. Lastly, how old is your Yorkie? So folks have told me this could take a year. (Today it is snowing in central PA. Taking her out will be interesting!)

It sounds you are off to a fantastic start. The key is to be consistent and ALWAYS drop what you are doing to take her out the second you perceive that she needs to go potty. At this stage she probably won't know to wait even an extra minute.

Just to clarify on the bell. I use one of those "hotel bells" - you know, when you go to a hotel and you ring the bell for someone to come out? (like on the movie Psycho!).

It is placed on the floor by the back door, out of the walkway. When they need to go out they just go there and step on it. when I was training them I would say, "Outside" and then I would pick one up and put THEIR paw on the bell to ring it. After a while they started ringing it themselves.

Aren't they just littel smart stinkers? (rhetorical)