Need serious advice.
 

Before some of you put your judgmental hats on, please leave them off.
I have two yorkies... One almost 4 and another 18 weeks.
My 18 week was previously put in the bathroom while I was at work with a baby gate so he didn't chew and use the bathroom all in my house. The past week we've had major problems.
Scenario: I am a teacher who works two hours away and am gone 12-13 hours a day. Even if I wasn't, I know they can't hold it all day. He was supplied with puppy pads and doing great. He's gotten too big to be put in a crate all day. He has started pooing right by the gate and then proceeding to jump, walk, lay in it all day because he wants out. I come home and have to bathe him daily, clean my room, and desmell my house because all that trampling has just made it thoroughly gross. This takes upwards of an hour to do and I am fed up. I moved him to the kitchen thinking he had a better view, but same thing. I had to throw away the baby gate because it was so gross. If I put both of them in the room same thing happens. I'm nervous about leaving him out all day with my older one because we do have carpet and he will pee everywhere. With this said, I am out of ideas. I have a large play pen but I know he will do the same thing there too. Ideas?

dog
 

I think he needs a larger area so he can do his business in one area and walk around in the other. In a small bathroom there is not much room. You can get the dog fences that go in a circle and perhaps buy 2 and hook them together and give that dog a little more room to roam. Put the pee pee pads away from the front of the fence in an area off to one side. That's what I would do. He needs to be trained to go on those pads. If the pads don't work try the pee grass. Once he is trained no more smell, or bathing every day. I am a retired teacher and after a long day with kids you must be so tired. Get this cute dog to do his biz where you want it. Hope this helps.

No way I mean this to be a snap ,do this comment. But honestly the are only a few options I see. 1 get a dog walker. 2. Doggy day care. 3. rehome.
You can not train a puppy if you are not home.

Is there any way you can devote one full week of your time to him? Anyway to get time off? I mean really devote all your time to him? It took me one week and I did the same thing each time, I did not leave them for a minute, seriously if you can take the time to do this then you I'm willing to bet you can fix this, if not then you know you've done what you can.

Our bathroom is HUGE! It's almost like it was doing it to be deceitful or scared he would miss out on something. He was doing so fine for so long.

Does he have diarrhea or soft stools? What are you feeding him? I can't imagine a 18 week old pup making that much of a mess. My pups that are that age have very firm stools so even if they walked in them it would not create that kind of a mess. Lucky for me mine go to the far end of the x-pen to do their business on their potty pads.

You might try laying his bedding by the gate and his pads away from the gate and see if that would help. I am sure he is just very stressed from being alone all day. Perhaps someone else will have good advise.

I trained him this summer while I was off. That's the thing... It's like reversed. He would cry at door when needed to go out and use pads when I was out.

Hard stools, but after jumping in it a million times its EVERYWHERE! Caked in his paws, in the grout.

Well I am not sure I understand your post. This summer, well is now. He is only 18wks old so you can't be referring to last summer or last year?

I will say this, if a dog learns to walk in their poo, and becomes accustomed to this, it is a very hard thing to break.

If you are away 12-13 hours I would suggest a dog walker, or day care for your puppy.

Think about exercising in the morning before you go to work. Don't feed in the am, so there should not be any need to defecate once you are gone. Then your dog walker can feed the pup at lunch time and take him out for a walk and pee/poo

Get him the puppy apartment, it's working for me and my pup.

:thumbup::thumbup:

This.

And I'm not trying to be snarky, or mean, and fully understand people have to do what they gotta do, and work is (unfortunately :p) a part of life.

But really, why have dogs? 12-13 hrs a day is fairly excessive for 5 days a week. 8hrs is understandable, but really 12-13 hrs a day ... what are you doing with them in the remaining 11 hours? I would assume sleeping for at least half?

Dogs, but moreso puppies, really crave companionship, and if you're gone most of the time, they're not going to have that time to bond, or be trained. Dogs don't come hard-wired knowing 'don't step in your poop'. Dogs also aren't deceitful, they don't do things out of deceit. He is an untrained puppy who is confused and doesn't understand what to do.

Poor dog, left alone for so long. Had to say it.

Can you hire someone to come by and play with the puppy? Even for like at least an hour?

What are you feeding him..? Sounds like he is pooping way too much.

Do you know his poo schedule? If you did you could then have someone come over and take him out or at least clean it up.

Just to put it out there I was working 12 sometimes 13 hour days while Pnut was a puppy- It sucked- I hated it- I spent every non working hour with him, and the weekend was his.

I agree with hiring a neighbor or dog walker to check in on the pup or doing dog day care maybe a friend wouldn't mind watching him for you a few days a week. It is a long time for such a young puppy to be by himself, he probably gets bored and plays with his poo and that's why it's everywhere- better hope he doesn't start eating it like my puppy did- then you come home to poo throw up and if you think poo smells bad wait until you smell poo thrown up.

If he's having seperation anxiety, why not try a thundershirt? I've never used one before, but it says it's used for that- maybe it'd help? I'd also try the pee grass. Billi *hated* pee pads, but she uses her potty patch wonderfully! Also put his pad/patch on the opposite end of the bathroom, away from his bed and I'm sure you've got lots of toys in there.

Also, I don't know what others think of this, but what about a small tv/radio? If it's anxiety, maybe it'd help him deal while he's growing? Hope things work out for you & him and that this is just a growing pain!

I will second the post about walking in poop being hard to break. My girl was in a kennel with sibs when I got her. They learned to potty in that environent. She still does and does not care..twelve years later.

Our dogs are sometimes home alone fr long hours, not five days though. And..they are adults. Yorkie pups are really way too tiny to leave alone for so long. Dog walker?

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

If you knew you were going to be away from home so long, why did you get a puppy? You can't train him if you are never home... That poor puppy has got to be so bored and so desperate for attention. I am only gone for 7.5 hours and I have my husband come home in the middle of the day to let the dogs out during his lunch hour.

What do you expect him to do? If you can't afford doggy daycare or a dog walker, I would rehome him to someone who can spend more time with him.

Well, I'm guessing that you, OP, assumed that you timed getting the puppy at the right time. You were out of school/work when you brought the puppy home. 18 weeks is 4 1/2 months old..this is when I got Mandie. She wasn't at all house broken when I got her, but she took to the pee pads rather quickly (as long as I kept her away from carpet). She wasn't left alone all day because she had her big brother ..my other dog. So, you are sort of in the same situation. You have an older dog to help the pup not feel alone.

Bottom line is the puppy is not being vengeful or "I'll show her"...it is adjusting to you all of the sudden not being there. As you said, you are gone for 12 to 13 hours, when before, you were there all the time right? This is a sudden change and confusing to the pup. The entire schedule is out of whack...dogs are creatures that thrive on routine and schedules.

Personally, I have a 10 hour work day and my commute there and back, in total, is almost an hour..that's 11 hours a day right there. Factor in if I have to do errands before or after work and if something at work goes haywire (which it is often apt to do)..I could be away 12 to 13 hours a day. IF I ever was or am, I have a couple of back up plans. First - I have a hubby and he usually gets home before I do in the evenings. BUT even that is not 100% because sometimes he works out of town or 12 hour shifts.

My back up to my back up is my Mom. She has been known to be my saving grace for both Mandie AND Shelby. She has come over in the middle of the day and let them both out before.

So, bottom line is...I don't think it is just "horrid" that you work the hours you work..especially since you were there initially with the pup and now the pup is going on 5 months old. What I do think is that the schedule and routine has been yanked out from under your pup. So, it is your job to try to get that back to some degree. My suggestion is like many others: Daycare or Dog walker (family or friends work best, I think).

Are these options for you?

I'm with the previous poster.... Summer is now, so how did you spend the summer training him??

And puppy poo shouldn't be everywhere unless its wet. I have all 3 of mine in my guest bathroom, and they don't get poo everywhere, even when they are there all day or jump and play all over the potty pads.

I work 8 hours but commuting, yeah, another 40 to 50 minutes so there's 9 and then I get a 45 minute lunch, another hour, and I work out after work so 11-12 hours mine is home alone and then I sleep 8. She's trained and well behaved.
People have to work and 12-13 hours, depending where she lives, is fairly normal to be gone actually.

I agree that it's normal to be gone for 12-13 hours a day in a great many fields. My husband works 70+ hours a week on overtime (which happens frequently). But - I'm home to take care of our dogs.

What isn't normal is getting a little puppy, knowing in advance that you'll be away 12-13 hours a day. 18 weeks old is far too young to be left all alone for 12-13 hours. Since you already have the puppy, I would see if you can hire a dogsitter, or a very reputable doggy day care. An older dog I can see someone doing that, as they enjoy lazy days anyway (at least our senior does)...but not a puppy.

With regard to your working out after work - can't you reschedule your gym time for a time later in the evening, so you can get to your pup within the 10 hours you listed prior to working out? There are a lot of things you can do at home to work out, including playing with a puppy.

I'm not the most physically fit person under the sun, but playing with a new puppy is definitely a solid work-out for a human. :)

There's really nothing you can do in this situation if your schedule continues to be the same. That little pup is bored out of his mind, and quite frankly, I'm surprised he's not eating your bathroom's baseboards yet. :o

I agree with the other posters who said you cannot train a puppy to do something if you're never home to do it.

...if that is putting my "judgmental hat on" then oh well. When you pre-accuse people of wearing judgmental hats, it means you were fully aware that your post would raise eyebrows.

That puppy needs more attention than what you are capable of giving him.

It's unfortunate you're so far away (you are a 3 hour drive from me). That being said, if you're willing to commute an extra 3 hours before work and after work I would be happy to watch your puppy for you for free while you're at work (if he has all his shots and an up-to-date vet record).

is anyone else home at during the period of time you are gone? IMHO you can not train a puppy when you are not there.

True some people are gone for that many hours during the day but not normally with a puppy. I really doubt anyone here will be able to help you. You bought a puppy home at 8 weeks, are gone 12-13 hours a day, most members would have told you both of these things are not a good idea anyway.

I think it is cruel to get a puppy only to lock it up in a big bathroom for more than half the day for most of every week. The bathroom probably does not even have any windows the pup can see out of. I assume you sleep about 7 or 8 hours, where is the puppy then, probably in a crate or the bathroom again. What about the other 4 hours you are up when home, I assume you have chores and things to take care of, what about the puppy then where is he and how much attention does he get. I think the puppy is frustrated and lonely and in a way probably pissed at you, I surely would be. When I worked long hours I had a dog walker, if you can't do that then do the right thing, rehome the pup to a person that has more time for it.

I was told by several vets, plus from experience that not all dogs are not happy peeing and pooping on pad. Lola is 100% outside housebroken, but when I got her I tried to train her like my last dog. I would lock her up for hours in the morning trying to wait it out while she used the paper, when she finally went it was not on the paper and she would walk all through it. I would be outside the door peeking in every 10 min or so, and sure enough even in that short span of time if she pooped it would be all over her, the walls and door. Lola would just not use the papers, no matter how hard I tried. However she took to going outside like no dog I have ever seen. I know the papers are necessary for lots of people but don't think it's some type of magic that dogs just know how to use. My last guy was 98% paper trained yet when mad at me for doing awful like daring to walk to the curb to get the mail without him, he would pee by the door or a kitchen mat. Dogs will also often regress when things change and when they are upset, going back to work was probably the trigger.

I believe that 12-13 hours alone is a bit much for ANY age dog. What happens when you come home from work? How much time do you spend with your puppy? Where does he sleep at night? Is he left alone again?
Think about his quality of life.......
OP, no disrespect, but I believe you either need to find someone to assist you with this precious baby or perhaps not have a dog. Not sure what you expect from this little one. Dogs love human interaction ... they crave it. How much is he really getting? Please try to walk in his little paws for a day and think about what is best for him.

Dog Walkers, Pet Sitters, Groomers, Trainers, Pet Care - Care.com&

I hope that link works. I googled your area, and it came up. It looks like a nice site and offers dog walking and pet sitters.

If your pup was ok, then it's letting you know it's not happy, in it's own puppy way. I'd look into trying a pet sitter or walker a few times a week or more, depending on what you can afford.

Is there a way you could do work outs from home? or add a workout that includes your pup? I'd try that too to make your time away less than 12 hrs.

Let us know if you try that link. Sometime in the future, I might need a service like this! Would be nice to hear how it is.

I am not trying to be holier than thou but I wanted a yorkie for many years before I was able to get one because I had a job that kept me away from home 10-12 hours per day plus I was on call 24/7. I would seriously consider reforming the little guy. What a boring life he has right now and will probably do destructive things to entertain himself.

There is something that doesn't make sense here.

In March you posted you had just gotten a new female puppy.

What to do with a new puppy? - YorkieTalk.com Forums - Yorkshire Terrier Commu


Then you posted in May 11 you finally brought another new pup???

We've finally brought home a new pup! - YorkieTalk.com Forums - Yorkshire Terr


Then I saw this post where it was posted on May 23, post #2, that you had a pup to place???
Looking for our next Yorkie (South Texas) - YorkieTalk.com Forums - Yorkshire

So, did you get rid of the pup you got in March and get another in May and now your having problems.