Brody STILL not house-trained, please HELP!

[Tiskers]

Brody will be 1 year old on March 26. We have had him since Mid August. He is STILL not reliably potty trained, and we are about at the end of our rope.

He has been dual trained -- piddle pads AND outside. He is VERY good about going outside; if we take him out, he will usually go. But we live in the NE and the winter has been HELLACIOUS and he doesn't like being out in the cold or the snow so most of his "business" has needed to be done inside, on piddle pads.

We had been keeping him in his ex-pen when no one was home, and he would reliably pee on the piddle pad in there. About a month ago, we started leaving him out for short durations, and have gradually tried to increase the time, but he still won't consistently use the pee pads. (He WILL use them, though... just not every time. He's about as likely to pee or poo on the piddle pad as he is on the floor. ???!)

We made the hard decision today (after cleaning up THREE pees on the floor) to set the ex-pen back up and sequester him when we aren't at home OR can't be watching him like a hawk.

I have NINE piddle pads around my house, we placed them in what seemed to be his favorite places. I guess I could add more, but REALLY??! I was hoping by now to have a FEWER number of pads out by now -- not more!

His bladder seems fine, he can hold it all night. He does not seem sick in any way. He's cheerful and playful and eating and drinking well. I don't think he needs to see the vet.

I was warned that Yorkies can be hard to train, but I guess I wasn't expecting THIS much trouble! My living room carpet and dining room rug are ruined and our patience is getting thin. Any help or advice GREATLY appreciated. Thank you.

Lynn

[Magnus]

If it makes you feel any better, I think it took Zoey close to 2 years.

Have you tried slowly increasing the area instead of slowly increasing the time? If he does well in the xpen, I think this suggestion might work well for you. Good luck!

[WannaBe]

I gave up and use a belly-band. Gunner doesn't much poo in the house as he does lift his leg. So I know when he has to poo, just can't control the peeing.

[Tiskers]

Oh no, these replies are not very encouraging!!! Wah!!!

Great idea about gradually making his area bigger, thanks. I've thought about that, but the way our home is laid out makes it very hard to just give him one room, etc. Well, except for a bedroom or a bathroom, but that would really separate and isolate him... and I'm SURE he'd claw and scratch and ruin the doors!!!

I've thought about trying to gate off the kitchen, but there are 3 doorways, and the cats must go through the kitchen to get to the basement where their kitty litter is. It would just be very impractical and awkward at best.

I would really hate to have to send him to the post-a-note factory... (I told him he's probably too little, the glue factory wouldn't want him!) I keeed, I keeeed!!!

[Maximo]

Having so many piddle pads around the house might be part of the problem. Too many targets, so he might think anywhere is fair game.

What kind of pads do you use?

I would definitely set the pen back up with the pad. When you can't supervise, put him in the pen. Even when you can supervise, I would limit his roaming area to the room where the pad is.

Be sure to praise him profusely when he goes in the right place. Get really excited like he just performed the best trick ever. Give him a kibble reward or some yummy little treat.

When he goes in the wrong place, do not show frustration. If he sees you upset, he may go to hide to potty.

Hope this helps. Hang in there!

[Lovely Izzy]

I think that the pee pads just confuse them when u are trying to house brake them. My yorkie doesn't like the snow and ice and we also have had a really bad winter. I just bought her boots and coats and she didn't have a choice. She is now almost 9 months old and is completely house broken. I have had her since she was 12 weeks old. It took about a few weeks to get her to where she would let us know she had to go. I have a friend that has a 6 month old yorkie and she is having all kinds of issues with getting her house broken. I told her to take the pee pads outside on nice days to maybe she will start to get the hang of it. Maybe u should try that as well. And make sure you use positive reinforcement like a treat when he goes outside.

[SophieKatesMom]

I agree with Maximo, perhaps to many pads and to much space. Sounds like he is ready for limited roam only, limit his space and put the pad in that area in the same space every time.

Use a lot of praise when he does good and when he misses just clean up the area really well.

[Tiskers]

Thanks for the input, everyone.

To clarify: yes, there are 7 pee pads down, but 5 of them are all in one place -- side-by-side behind and beside the couch where he prefers to go (privacy, I guess?!) so that's where I put them. (I learned a long time ago to put the pee pads where HE preferred, not me, LOL!!!)

The other two (also side by side) are in the basement family room where we spend a lot of time in the evenings. So it's not like pee pads are scattered all over the house, which I totally agree could be confusing, and could make it seem like anywhere is a fair target.

I am using regular puppy pads (disposable). He does not have an aversion to them, because like I said, he uses them FREQUENTLY. Just not ALWAYS. There's probably a 50/50 (or 60/40?!) chance that the next pee or poo will be on a pad.

PS He just peed on one of the pads behind the couch and we really do praise him up and down and give him his favorite chicken liver treats!

[Tiskers]

PS Here's a picture of the little rebel!

[Sukey]

he's so cute!!!!

This is the first puppy I've ever used pee pads with and I kind of regret using them, but on the other hand she is pretty reliable at going on them. She hasn't really caught on with going outside (she's 6 months today and we've spent a lot of time snowed in) but when she does potty outside I praise her like crazy.

[swjones]

Originally Posted by Tiskers

Oh no, these replies are not very encouraging!!! Wah!!!

Great idea about gradually making his area bigger, thanks. I've thought about that, but the way our home is laid out makes it very hard to just give him one room, etc. Well, except for a bedroom or a bathroom, but that would really separate and isolate him... and I'm SURE he'd claw and scratch and ruin the doors!!!

I've thought about trying to gate off the kitchen, but there are 3 doorways, and the cats must go through the kitchen to get to the basement where their kitty litter is. It would just be very impractical and awkward at best.

I would really hate to have to send him to the post-a-note factory... (I told him he's probably too little, the glue factory wouldn't want him!) I keeed, I keeeed!!!

I have the yard x pens. They are plastic and you can add as many sections as you want so you can make a large area. My pup is 8 months old and hasn't had an accident in a long time. I use the Iris pad holder and love it. I think it helps him understand it is his potty because he has to step over the frame. I have one in the laundry room on the main floor and one upstairs. He has gradually earned access to the main level of our house one area at a time. Our downstairs is very open so I used the yard x to confine him. At one time, I pretty much had the panels all around our whole den area. I still don't let him upstairs unless I'm up there too. I still keep him confined to kitchen and den when I'm not home. With the open layout of our house, I've had to get creative with confinement. I agree with others about too many pads around. Most training info I've read says pups learn where their potty spot is, so it seems same location is important. Finley will be in dining room and I see him running to laundry room to potty. But... We took him to the beach a couple of weeks ago and he did great there. I showed him where his potty was several times and praised and gave treats. I think he recognizes his pad holder now. I've done this with 3 other pups and they've all done great. The others were girls, and I was worried about success with a boy. It is a lot of work. Hope this helps.

[Pudelbits]

I hear you! Leo is 7 months old. He is great at home when I watch him, but if I go out, he is in a 2' X 5' xpen. I have a 64 lb standard poodle as well, so Leo will never be left running free is we're not around to supervise, they like to play and I'ld be devastated if something happened to Leo by accident. BTW, I leave a piddle pad down and he hasn't peed on it for over 2 months, he has shredded it though And if I go to anyone else's house with him he wears a belly band. I was told by a breeder that if you think your tiny Yorkie never pees in the house, grab a black light and you will be enlightened

[Tiskers]

Yes we use the Iris piddle pad trays. I, too, think it helps them learn that that is a special, specific "spot".

What is confounding me the most is his inconsistency. Half the time (or more) he uses the piddle pads, then the rest of the time, he will poo or pee right in the middle of the floor, OR right NEXT to a pad. That's the part I just don't "get".

And just when I think *SWEET LORD -- we've got it!" (no accidents for a few days or a week...) boom, there's a poo or pee in the middle of the floor.

[Tiskers]

Originally Posted by Pudelbits

I hear you! Leo is 7 months old. He is great at home when I watch him, but if I go out, he is in a 2' X 5' xpen. I have a 64 lb standard poodle as well, so Leo will never be left running free is we're not around to supervise, they like to play and I'ld be devastated if something happened to Leo by accident. BTW, I leave a piddle pad down and he hasn't peed on it for over 2 months, he has shredded it though And if I go to anyone else's house with him he wears a belly band. I was told by a breeder that if you think your tiny Yorkie never pees in the house, grab a black light and you will be enlightened

OMG! I'm sure if anyone went through my house with a backlight, the Health Department would close us up, LOL!!!!!
In all seriousness, it is rather horrifying and disgusting, my house smells like pee. We used to be quite TIDY!!!

[Maximo]

Originally Posted by Tiskers

Thanks for the input, everyone.

To clarify: yes, there are 7 pee pads down, but 5 of them are all in one place -- side-by-side behind and beside the couch where he prefers to go (privacy, I guess?!) so that's where I put them. (I learned a long time ago to put the pee pads where HE preferred, not me, LOL!!!)

The other two (also side by side) are in the basement family room where we spend a lot of time in the evenings. So it's not like pee pads are scattered all over the house, which I totally agree could be confusing, and could make it seem like anywhere is a fair target.

I am using regular puppy pads (disposable). He does not have an aversion to them, because like I said, he uses them FREQUENTLY. Just not ALWAYS. There's probably a 50/50 (or 60/40?!) chance that the next pee or poo will be on a pad.

PS He just peed on one of the pads behind the couch and we really do praise him up and down and give him his favorite chicken liver treats!

He is an adorable little rebel.

Sounds like you are doing everything correctly. The only other suggestion I can think of is to get the scent out of the accident spots. He might be attracted to return to the spots. Usually an enzyme cleaner and steam cleaner will take care of it. Although most experts will say that a household steam cleaner doesn't do as good of a job as a professional machine, I have had luck with them getting the odor of bile out of the carpet (bile vomit is stronger than urine in my opinion). I use the Hoover Oxy solution.