Going on furniture

[Ridgenana]

I just got my yorkie; (4 days ago) and she is going on my couch. She was doing good on potty training and then all of a sudden things have gone to pot. Accidents on the floor and the couch. I am using pads. Any suggestions on what I am doing wrong? I got a yorkie to help with my BP; but right now she is not helping. lol

[MommytoMiles]

Originally Posted by Ridgenana

I just got my yorkie; (4 days ago) and she is going on my couch. She was doing good on potty training and then all of a sudden things have gone to pot. Accidents on the floor and the couch. I am using pads. Any suggestions on what I am doing wrong? I got a yorkie to help with my BP; but right now she is not helping. lol

When you see her going on the furniture you have to stop her immediately. Miles tried that when he first came home with me, I just screamed NOOOOOO.... And I think I put him on the pad and he never did it again. If you let her continue, then she will think it is OK. Don't worry about being mean, this has to stop. What have you done to correct her? You have to keep your eye on her at all times. if she looks like she's going to go, direct her to the pad and give her a treat when she gets it right. I think Miles just pee pees and poop poops just for the treats lol.

[ashley_]

Since she has already done it you need to make sure you clean the spots VERY well. If it still smells like pee to her she will get confused and think it's okay. If you don't already have it get some of the urine destroying type cleaning sprays, it will be very useful through potty training.

I still have problems with this occassionally, but they are usually "i'm mad at you" or "I'm so so so very excited" accidents...

[BellarousasMom]

You might want to crate her for a bit. Get her out for potty breaks and play time and then back in the crate again or in an x-pen. And yes, make sure you clean the area on the couch and floor real good.

[Deadbug]

I just answered a question on this topic yesterday in the training section. So I'm gonna save myself a lot of typing just just copying what I wrote to another gal.

No doubt, housetraining is probably the most frustrating thing about owning a dog.

Start over. It's ok to do that. Train yourself to train your dog.

First things first:
* Decide which room she'll be limited to. Having access to as many as she does allows her the ability to sneak away from you and have a pee. Remove that ability for now and you'll resolve that problem.

*Now either gate off that room so she can't access the others or invest in an ex pen. Walmart has the Superyard XT for $50. An investment I'll never regret. My playpen is only limited by my imagination. It's become so many things. And when I don't need it, it collapses and stores in a closet. If I can't have all 16 eyes on my dogs, they hang out in there with "busy" toys.

* Ok. Let's set up her new environment. I use 3 mil plastic from the painting aisle at Home Depot. I cut it to fit underneathe the panels as a floor. Plastic is easy to clean and cheap to toss. Toss the floor at least every other week, even if you do clean it. Add in a pee pad, some toys and food/water bowls.

* Now we need to find her mistakes and clean them up. Get a stink finder light from the pet store and some Natures Miracle. Wait until dark and go hunting. When you locate the pee spots, treat them generously with the Natures Miracle. I use a mixture of GSE, or Grapefruit seed extract (found in the health food section at your grocery store - 1 drop per 2 oz of water in a spray bottle) to pre-clean the stain and then apply Nature's Miracle. GSE is odorless and colorless, but has the same disinfecting properties as bleach (you can also use this to clean the rest of your house). Spray the area well, blot up the excess with a clean towel until it's barely damp to the touch and then saturate with NM. If you don't clean up her mistakes, she'll find them again and continue this cycle. Add some Boundary after it's dry. It'll probably take a few days. I usually put a piece of masking tape on the carpet as a reminder and a locator.

*Next up, we need a routine. VERY important! Feed her at the same time every day. Play with her at the same time every day. Dogs thrive on routine. If they know what to expect, they'll come to accept your rules and look forward to those times. I set a reminder alarm on my phone to feed my girls every morning at 9am and another that reminds me to take them out at 9:30, Noon, 2:30 and so on. Remember that playtime activates the bladder. After 20 minutes of play, we need a potty break!

*If she uses that pee pad you put in her ex pen, relocate it outside where you want her to do her business. She'll get the hint by smell. Dogs are predictable in the idea that they always go back to where they went before. Leave it outside until you have a few surrounding the area. A kong packed with peanut butter and frozen will keep a dog occupied for HOURS. Boredom is a bad thing. It leads to destruction. So make sure she has something to "do" while being confined.

* No feet on the floor. I think Gabby was 6 months old before her feet hit the floor in anything other than her allowed areas. Cuddling on the couch with your Yorkie is ok. But if she wants to get down, she needs to go to her area. If this is an off limits room, she can't have access to the floor. Period.

* Use the 21 days rule. It takes 7 days to form a habit but 21 days to break it. After 21 days of reliability, allow her access to one more room. Remember that ex pen? It can also be used as gates to gate off areas she's not allowed into yet. All 6 panels break down individually or you can leave as many as you need connected for non standard openings.

* Pottying outside is a lot like winning the lottery. You need to let her know this. Find her favorite treat and make it so that's the only time she gets it. Choose a cue word (mine is pee-pee) and say that word as she's going potty. When she does her thing outside, Praise, Praise, Praise and give her that treat! She'll make the connection quick! Eventually you'll be able to take her out and just say your cue word and she'll know what to do.

* For a little while, keep a diary of what time she eats, plays and goes potty. You'll see a pattern form and be able to adjust your schedule accordingly.

Definitely keep up posted on her progress! And vent to us whenever you need to!

[Nancy1999]

Young puppies shouldn't be allowed on the couch if you don't want them to pee on it. I would only allow Joey on my lap, with a blanket on me. They have to pee quite frequently at first.

[Yorkiemomma78]

Originally Posted by Ridgenana

I just got my yorkie; (4 days ago) and she is going on my couch. She was doing good on potty training and then all of a sudden things have gone to pot. Accidents on the floor and the couch. I am using pads. Any suggestions on what I am doing wrong? I got a yorkie to help with my BP; but right now she is not helping. lol

To the bolded,I have no idea why this happens,but it´s happened to me too!
We brought Milo & Bella home and they did wonderfully on the pads at first.No accidents and I thought myself extremly lucky!
Although,shortly afterwards,Milo decided he didnt want to use them anymore and now we have to watch him like a hawk.
I´m just taking him to his pad rugularly and being very patient..they´re only 8 weeks old so I figure that even if they only go on their pads 3 times a day,that´s a huge acomplishment.

I wouldent leave your baby on the couch for a couple of reasons If she has to be on there,make sure it´s on your lap,that way,you´ll notice any "pee" related fidgeting right away and you´ll be able to get her to her pad quickly Also,apart from the nasty habbit of peeing,if she´s very young,she could fall off and hurt herself

[chachi]

She wouldnt e going on your couch if she could hold it so dont let her on your couch untill she gets a little older and can hold her pee

[Nancy1999]

By the way, how old is she? You really can't expect much until at least 6 months, and then it's not 100% I think people have to realize that their dogs don't make mistakes, you've made a mistake in training or expecting too much too soon. Never scold, you'll cause long term damage, if you notice she has to pee, put on a pee pad and reward her if she goes. Always keep a pee pad close by, eventually she will seek it out, but at first it shouldn't be more than a few feet away.

[jnsdrexler02]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

Young puppies shouldn't be allowed on the couch if you don't want them to pee on it. I would only allow Joey on my lap, with a blanket on me. They have to pee quite frequently at first.

I always put a blanket on the couch when Rylee was a puppy. In fact I still do......She did that a couple of times but stopped after I repeatedly placed her on her pad afterward and said "no"! In the early stages I used to put her on her pad throughout the day several times and say "go pee pee". I would keep saying that until she went and then I would make sure to praise her and give her a treat! She is excellent now......never any accidents!!!! Good luck with your BP..............your baby will definitely help that!!!! They are a JOY!!!!

[MidnightUnicorn]

How does she get on the couch? Are there doggie steps for her? If yes, remove the doggie step until you know for certain she won't pee on the coach (like when she just peed already). Also, continue with your potty training.

On occasion, Tatiana does pee on our couch. It's manageable because we have a sofa pet cover that can be machine washed. Also, our couch is leather, so the pee does not soak in (I just have to wipe off the pee that gets past the cover). Also, we have a doggie step for her. That's how Tatiana gets up on the couch. Whenever she relapses on her potty training, and pees on the sofa cover, I remove the doggie step, and re-train her to use her potty trays (of course, I clean the couch, and replace the soiled cover with a clean, extra one). After a couple of days of potty re-training, she "remembers" to go potty on the her potty trays, and not pee on the sofa.

[Ridgenana]

I catch her going; but then when I put her on the pee pad she won't go and I don't want to hold her on the pee pad that would just make her nervous. I try to keep it cleaned up; but I guess I need to go get the specific cleaning supplies for this. I want me and Izzy to be a happy couple. She is the sweetest little thing. I don't know why she just started this. I have stayed home this week from work to help her get adjusted but I think I am just making it worse. I know that I will be making a run to the pet store to get some things that I didn't realize I would need. My daughter has a yorkie and she failed to tell me a few of the things that I would need. Thank you all for the help and advice. Please keep it coming.

[MamaZiggy]

Originally Posted by Ridgenana

I just got my yorkie; (4 days ago) and she is going on my couch. She was doing good on potty training and then all of a sudden things have gone to pot. Accidents on the floor and the couch. I am using pads. Any suggestions on what I am doing wrong? I got a yorkie to help with my BP; but right now she is not helping. lol

Hi there. First, congrats on your new baby.
I know having a puppy can be so stressful, its like having a new born baby (i imagine). I think in a way its good when they have accidents in front of you, this way you can gently show them its not allowed. She doesnt know that furniture and carpet are different from grass or pee pads, we need to teach them that. Just give a firm No when you catch her doing it (not after because she wont know what you are talking about)

Also try to name potty time. Ziggy knew this command pretty soon so I could tell him Good Potty and reward or Bad Potty.. I can say he was 90% potty trained at around 7 months.

Dont worry It does get easier I promise.

P.s I hope your dog will be able to help with your BP, hang in there, it'll be worth it