Potty Pad Training Help!
 

Well I now have an 11 week old Male Yorkie Puppy. I always trained my Yorkies to Potty outside. this time around I want to Puppy Pad train him. So this is what I am doing:
I am having a problem getting him to stay on the pad....he is a puppy 11 weeks old so can't expect that. So I put the puppy pads inside a pen and leave him there until he potties. If he doesn't go in 8 minutes or so, I take him out and then try again. I do reward him and praise him once he goes. At bedtime, I put his bed inside the pen along with the pad. No food inside the pen. Am I doing this correctly. I trained all my other Yorkies to go outside and that was much easier. Want to be sure I am on the right track.

My plan is once he is trained leave the pen door open and allow him to go into his sleeping area and then have the pad in there on the other side for him to potty as he likes. The pen I have is an expandable one so I can make it longer or shorter. Keeping it longer kind of gives him his sleeping space and his potty space. I will order the washable puppy pads once he is totally trained this way. This way it will not become an expense.

I have only had him for 4 days now and am exhausted. I know I have a long road ahead of me.

You are doing it right. When you put him in the pen to potty, leave him there until he does. Also make sure he is relatively close to the pen/pad at all times when he isn't actually penned. That way if he decides he needs to go, he can get there fast.

Great job with the praise! Keep it up.

Originally I was doing that. When he wasn't in the pen I took the pad out and had it nearby. He used it a couple of times and I praised him and gave him a treat. Then the rest of the day wasn't as successful. He went wherever. You can't even tell when he is rooting and squatting. He just goes. I pick him up and tell him, "You pee pee on the puppy pad". So now I thought best to take his bed out of there and use the pen to confine him until he goes. This is the first time I have had one Yorkie. Usually have two and I now realize how much the older one taught the younger one. Even as a play mate. Whew I am tired!

Puppies are a challenge! Keep working at it and he will get the hang of it. Best wishes.

One more thing...we were having some problems training our yorkie, Princess Sophie, and decided to "tether" her for a while and it really helped me make sure she was where she was supposed to be all the time. What I did was I put her harness and leash on her and tied it to my belt loop, sometimes I wore it on my wrist and sometimes (after she knew what we were doing) in my pocket. This way I was more aware of when she needed to go and made sure she got to her "spot" when she needed it. It really helped and she didn't have to stay in her pen all the time. Just one qualifier, I am semi-retired so I could be at home with her during the day. Good luck and please let us know what you decide to do and how it works for you. Blessings!

I wasn't able to confine Magnus or Zoey so when training them to go on tha pad, I basically had 2-3 pads in each room they were allowed. Zoey was bit harder at first and definitely took longer but eventually, she got it! The only time she "misses" is when she's mad. LOL

With Zoey being so small, she can't hold as long as Magnus so I have two pads out in one designated room. I only use disposible though. I buy them in bulks. The last time, I bought 400 pads for about $78. If you ever consider going with disposibles, online's best place. It lasts me a little less then a year but considering I have two furballs, I don't think that's too bad.