Frustrated -- perhaps yorkies aren't for us?
 

My husband and I have two yorkies, Baloo & Belle. We are getting the feeling lately that yorkies are not the best breed for us. We knew that yorkies are high maintenance but knowing is not the same as realizing. Our two yorkies are still puppies both 6 mos old. There are a couple of things about them that make us believe they need more attention than we can give them.

The number one issue we have is the potty training. When we are not in the same room with them or we're not home during the day they forget themselves and urinate and defecate where ever it pleases them. They are gated in the kitchen with two pee pads, a kennel for sleeping, food, water, and toys. They have even started eating their own feces which gets everywhere cause they drag it back to their kennel. We've read that most puppies will outgrow this stage (eating their poop) and when we're home we usually clean up the feces before they begin to eat it. When we are home we do all the training we can with them, take them to the pee pad and wait for them to go and praise like crazy. They have both shown progress in finding the pee pad and using it (about 60% of the time), but like I said before when we're not home they seem to forget all their training. The other issue is at night, we got to bed around 9:30-10 & crate the dogs in a kennel in our room, when they're not in our bedroom at night they whine. So either my husband or I have to get up around 2am to let the dogs out to use the pee pad. This is cannot be a long term solution as we both work during the day, but we cannot trust them in the kitchen at night since they've proven that they'll pee where ever and they whine and bark. Since we live in an apartment our neighbors will be bothered by this noise.

Our 2nd issue is their constant need of attention, whining, & barking. Our typical routine during the evening is the dogs use the pee pad for their business before we take them out to play, since Belle will pee anywhere in the apartment. We then take them out to play or run around for 30 minutes, about which time Belle usually stops to find a corner to pee in. They then go back in the crate to rest or to allow us to eat dinner. Then we do the process all over again, if its nice outside we'll take them on a 20 minute walk. But anytime we crate them they whine and bark like crazy, even when its time for them to eat, they'll ignore their food and just sit and whine. We try to ignore them because otherwise it just encourages them to bark and whine louder and longer. I've read that whenever they whine or bark not to take them out of their crate because it teaches them to whine and bark to get what they want, which of course interrupts the routine we're trying to establish and they get less play time.

We do know these two can be great dogs, some nights when we get home we've found they've escaped the kitchen or the x-pen and when they're not penned in they greet you like everything is hunky dory. They don't go nuts on you and have to lick your face off, they don't cry or bark like mad either. But they're not at the point that I can trust them to use a pee pad on their own. When we get home we have no idea where either of them might have peed since their messes are so small.

We're looking to make the best decision for these two babies and we do want to keep them if we can. But if this is how things are going to be for the rest of their lives then I know they would be better with someone who is home all day to give them the attention they deserve. We are not financially able to have one person stay at home right now. Our thoughts are to wait 6 mos, when these two will be a year old, and see if they improve since we've also read that this is a difficult breed to potty train. And hopefully as they get older the need to whine will diminish. Its just frustrating to have them in a crate that is in the same room as us no more than 2 feet away and they whine or to have to clean up pee and poop every night, we've been doing it since September.

I'm sorry if some of you may be frustrated by this post because its so long and it just sounds like the same complaint over and over. But please help us help the pups! If what we have to give isn't enough then we're more than willing to own up to that and give them a better chance to find that. Thanks!

i know that there is somethign you can sprinkle in your food that makes them not like thier poop....i will call and ask my vet and get back to you.....hang in there....the potty training can take from 12-18 months i have heard. but if you stick with it, they will get it!!:)

puppies
 

Think about it...how happy would you be if you were with your soulmate for only a couple hrs each day..most of us would not be content. Dogs are no different. They have each other, BUT that never takes the place of their humans. They spend the day alone and sleep alone at night...
They are bored and look for things to entertain them.

If you can not put them in doggie daycare or have someone spend time with them during the day, then I would do what is best for the Yorkies...place them in a home where there are members who are with them during the day.

You having done nothing wrong, except to select a breed who needs more attention then many people can give them in order for them to be happy.

I know I sound harsh, but this is the very reason I do not place my puppies in home where the owners work...so most of mine go to people who have retired.

I am so sorry the training has been so difficult. My gut instinct says to keep them and hopefully they'll change as they get older? (My toy poodle is a total angel now, but was terrible when a puppy).

I have a 6 month yorkie pup myself and you are right, they are high maintenance. Thankfully, my husband is extremely supportive and helps me take care of them (2 dogs and a cat). My pup isn't quite potty trained either.......but he wears belly bands in the house. Poop is not a problem because it's formed, easy to pick-up stool (gets flushed away).

I attempted the crate training and it did not work for me. He would bark/whine when in there. We decided to give them their own bedroom instead. We put vinyl all over the carpet, a chest full of toys, automatic water feeder, food, bed, blankets, music etc.

Believe it or not, problem solved. Usually at 10 am, I start cleaning up the house/laundry etc...and they go right into their room to play and sleep. (they crate themselves). When I leave, they stay in their room and no one cries or whines anymore. At night, they sleep with us in our room, but at times will migrate back to their own room.

Also, he works days and I go to school at night.............they are NEVER alone without one of us.

Good luck

Sorry to hear that you and your babies are having difficuty adjusting to each other

Rest assured, it does get better.
It takes a lot of patience.

Keeping them penned in the kitchen is great.
That is what I did with mine. In the beginning I put the pee pads where ever they seemd to want to pee. We had many many pads down, gradually I started moving the pads closer together troward a final destination. Only a few inches a day.

If they made a mistaske and went back to an old spot I set one of their toy boxes or beds in that spot for a while.

Eventually I got them down to just one pad.

I still keep them confined to the kitchen for most of the day.

Your dogs are whining because they are crated and they want to be with you. Let them in the kitchen and they will be happier

In the evening when we are watching TV they get to be in the living room with us, I move the pee pad there also. They still cannot be trusted 100% outside of the kitchen.

At bed time I crate mine but they are in a separate room. At 6 months they should be able to go all night and not need to get up

They may cry for a few night but they will get used to it. I carated mine in the same crate. They were happier that way.

Play wioth them before bed time to make sure they are tired and ready to sleep.

Good luck

ahhh i was just replying more to your message and it got deleted!!!! i will reply back soon...sorry about that

I say hang in there also. I think all new yorkie parents get very frustrated. Potty training is a challenge, but when you get past it and most do then the rewards are endless. You are in the right place for answers. I tried to read everything thread that involved training when I got our first baby. It definately helped. Good Luck!

I agree that you need to spend more time with them. I work all day, too, but when I get home at 5:00 in the evenings, my whole evening is devoted to my yorkies and my whole morning before work is devoted to them, too. They need to be taken on a walk EVERYDAY, at least once a day but more than once a day is ideal! This will help establish dominance (i.e. that YOU are the dominant one, not them) and it will also help to get some of their energy out which will in turn help with the training. I wake up 30 minutes early every morning so that I can take my babies on a nice walk before I go to work. And the first thing I do when I get home at 5 in the evenings is take them on a good walk.

Taking the puppies out at night to use the bathroom...welcome to the world of yorkies. My yorkies are 15 months old and 8 months old and they get up every single night in the middle of the night to potty. Yorkies are a teeny tiny breed; thus, they have teeny tiny bladders. It is simply unrealistic to expect them to hold it all night. If they are content sleeping in their crate in your room with you and they don't whine and bark, please just come to terms with the fact that they'll need to be let out in the middle of the night to potty. Another solution is to let them sleep in bed with you. One of the reasons they may be getting up in the middle of the night is to see their mommy...they miss you! Maybe if they were in the bed with you, they would be less likely to get up in the middle of the night to potty.

There are lots of people who work full-time that own yorkies. But you have got to realize that this breed is very needy. They need lots of attention and affection from their owners. If you do not have the time to devote a substantial part of your evenings AND mornings before and after work with your little babies, then it is probably best to find them a new home. They will never be potty trained unless you devote enough time and attention to training them.

Excellent post Rebecca. :thumbup: I was just about to respond but you said what I was planning on saying; so there's no need for me to repeat it. All I will reiterate is the importance of exercise. When these little guys aren't walked on a regular basis, they get frustrated from all that pent up energy. Try taking them outside for at least a 30 minute walk every evening. I would recommend taking them outside for a walk twice a day but if all you can do is once a day, then that's better than nothing.

Hey... I am home all day!!!! I'd puppysit if I lived closer to you!!! ;)

Sorry you are having a hard time of it... they should both calm down after they get a little older (hopefully).

All the best with whatever you decide to do... :)

Thanks, Jen! ;) Lack of exercise, in my opinion, is a big part of the problem here.

To be honest, it does sound like maybe these dogs are not the best match for you. And that is NO judgment on you...it sounds like you've done the best you can with them, and that they perhaps just aren't fitting into your life or expectations...or you, theirs!

Sorry to say, the potty training issues with yorkies just ARE. You can get all the best advice in the world on that, and do your own personal gosh-darndest best, and it's still not probably going to happen any time soon.

Their other behaviors that bug you seem to me to stem mostly from lack of stimulation, and desire for your company and affection. Yorkies needs LOTS of attention, exercise, play, and LOVE. They are "companion" dogs in the extreme! There is NOTHING that they want more than to be a part of YOUR life!

So how do you resolve this with the housebreaking? They aren't happy being "contained", and you aren't happy with them piddling all over your house! I know, it's a vicious circle! I do feel your pain.

But it sounds like even some of the things that most of us LOVE about our yorkies are not appealing to you! For instance, most of us LOVE it when they go on wild kissing frenzies when we get home! etc.

The very fact that you have to ASK if yorkies are the dog for you, to me, suggests that perhaps they are not. Most of us fall utterly, unretrievably in love with them, faults and all! Again, I'm not judging you. I received my Mazie from a home that had many of the same frustrations with her that you have with yours. I do think that sometimes the KINDEST thing that we can do for our pets is rehome them, if we aren't able to give them the most mutually rewarding relationship possible.

Good luck in whatever you decide to do!

:yeahthat: Couldn't have said it better myself. :goodpost:

I agree, lack of exercise. These little ones need to someone there to pay attention to them and walk them, play with them ect. Shadow is 8 months old and we are still working on the potty thing but he is getting it! I have 2 other dogs here and he won't go on the pee pads, he wants to be out there with the other 2 to do his business! lol So, thats what we do, we go out with the "big brothers" to pee and poo. We play with him all the time. (I'm home all day) There is constantly someone here that is playing with him or showing him attention. All our dogs get attention but since he is still a baby, he gets a little more than the older ones! :thumbup:

From my own experience, when I first got my Yorkie 4 months ago, it was challenging especially the first month simply because you haven't set the routine and everything else in place and you are in the process of getting to know your puppy's habits, character, likes and dislikes and trying to fit them in to your family. I did come to this forum to get advice and I hang on to them and I believe it will get better. My boy is now 7 months old, using his litter box perfectly well (just a litle sprinkle on the outside) and everything seems so much easier than when we first got him. It takes a lot of patience and time for training them, bonding. Also try to have more playing sessions, a little walk on the clean street, and training one to one session. If you ask me, I don't think yorkies are extra high maintenance as compared to other dogs..they get tired after a while and you can just play with them at home (I live in a condo too)..Whatever type of dog you get, if its a puppy, it will require a little more attention because they are still babies. I did baby mine but when he whines, I ignore him but I praise him when he is all calm. My point is, baby them but do it correctly so that it does not develop in to behavioural problem especially since you have two and are the same age, you need to know how to train them.

I agree with that, I would remove all of my carpet and replace it with tile before I would get rid of my yorkies.

On the other hand mys sister frequently makes comments about how she could not stand to have a dog that had accidents or even that required pee pads. she has Shi Tzus

:thumbup: :thumbup:

I will tell you that Millies was very high maintainence in the very begining. I wanted her 100% housebroken so I did the work required. I can tell you that it does get better, the older they get. However, Millie will still wake up in the middle of the night (about 2am) and want to go outside to potty. I usually have to get up myself anyway to go at least once in the night, so we both do our potties and go back to bed. (I think this may be a forever thing, but I can live with it and yes both my husband and I work all day, so my rest is important, but for me waking up once a night is no big deal.) On weekends, I wake up at 2am to do our potties and my husband wakes up at 5:30am (our usual waking up time for work-week) takes Millie to potty again, because she is just used to going at that time during the week) and back to bed until 7:30 -8:00am.

As far as potty training I would recommend the following:

Make their stay-at-home-by-themselves area smaller. The kitchen may be too big (for now) until you get them potty trained.
1. You can either x-pen them which allows just enough room for their bed, crate, food and water bowl (although, I would not recommend leaving water or food out when you are not there, if you can limit their intake you can limit the out-take, if you know what I mean) toys and peepads. I would peepad in any empty area in their confined area. That way, no matter where they potty, it will be on the peepad. At some point, when they begin to perfer a pee spot over another, you can start eliminating peepads until you have only one or two left and they are using them consistently. If they start going potty in "non-peepad" areas again, you have removed the pads too quickly and you will have to put them back and start again.
2. Or you can crate them during the day when you are not there. (I did this with Millie) Make the space in the crate only big enough to turn around and laydown. No more room than that. They should be able to hold their potty until you get home, if you are getting home between 8 and 9 hours later. I don't think they can hold it much longer than that. No food or water during the day, when you are not there. (however, if using this method, I would not crate them during the evening when you get home. If you need to contain them, because you are busy and cannot watch them, then you should confine them in the x-pen. Make sure there is just enought room in the xpen for their food and water bowls, toys, bed and crate (with door open). I would not put a peepad in there. They should hold their potty until you take them out. (so make sure, they have just gone potty before you put them in there and take them to go potty when you take them out)

Make sure the x-pen and crate are in an area of the house that gets a lot of traffic, so the puppies feel part of the family interaction, when you leave them in there when you are home.

I would also designate one area and one area only for the peepads. I would take them to this area every 1-2 hours while you are home. and make sure you give them the potty command and praise and treat when they go.

I would NOT give them free range of the house. Keep them contained in one room at a time and it should be the room you are in so that you can keep your eye on them. Someone, (husband or you) should never take your eyes off them while they are out of the xpen or the crate. If you are taking them to the potty area regularly, there should be few times they will need to go outside of their schedule, but if you keep your ever vigiliant eyes on them, when they start to squat you can pick them up immediately and take them to the potty area. The whole objective is to make more correct behaviors then incorrect ones. You are establishing a habit for them to potty on pads, not the rest of the house. But if you allow mistakes, then you are unconsciously establishing a habit for them to go where ever they want. So remember, you want almost 99.9% correct behavior and the only way to acheive this is to watch them at all times, or confine them when you cannot.

When you are home, you don't need to keep them in the crate or x-pen alot. Only when both you and your husband are unable to watch them. Since they have been confined all day, they do need the time with you and outside the crate/pen. They also need to practise good potty behavior. :)

It is a massive amount of work and requires ALL your attention when you are home. I know how tired you are when you come home and you just want to sit and relax, but until they are potty trained, you are not going to be able to. However, I can tell you that once they get reliably potty trained and you start introducing more rooms in your house and they can start being more independent, you are going to enjoy them more and more. Millie was really less work about about 8 months to 1 year old. She was reliably potty trained about 6 1/2 months old. It has only been recently (she will be 2 years old in April) that we have allowed her out of the crate at night and into our beds or her pillow bed on the floor next to our bed. She is doing great!

It's all about serious restrictions of what they are allowed to do with lifting of those restrictions (a little at a time) as the earn it with proper behavior.

LOL I can come take one off of your hands! LOL I live just down the road and Diesel would LOVE to have a playmate! LOL It isn't easy housebreaking them. Especially when you have to work and can't be home all the time. It may just take little longer for it to happen. Diesel was fairly easy.Then again I homeschool and I am home all the time too. When it comes to eating poop ... It is nasty I give you that. We had a dog that use to do it. My vet always says that it is becuase they are missing somehting in their diet. Maybe a change in dogfood would help. Good luck!

Another thing is that dogs thrive when on a schedule. It sounds like things are just a little hectic around your home when it comes to the dogs. You need to establish a regular schedule so your babies will know what to expect and they won't be so anxious to know what is going to happen next. And like someone else mentioned, maybe your yorkies just don't like going potty on the pee pads. Maybe training them to go potty outside or use a litter box would be better for them. It's definately something you can consider if you decide to keep them.

Ladylavender.......... I tried putting mine in a smaller area and what happened is, when they would see me coming, they would get excited and jump up and down in the poop and make an awful mess.

I found it easier to put the pads where they wanted to go and then gradually move them.

It was easier on me and on them.

But what ever works for your situation. there is NO SINGLE right way to do it.

In my opinion, in response to LadyLavendar's post, 8-9 hours is just too long to crate a yorkie. And I don't think they should go all day wtihout food and water either. Because of the risk of a hypoglocemic attack and bladder infections and/or crystal formation in the bladder, they should get food and water regularly throughout the day.

But I DO agree with LadyLavendar that since they are confined ALL DAY LONG, they should be confined as least as possible when you get home in the evenings. But do not let them have full run of the house. Even I keep my bedroom, laundry room, and bathroom doors shut when we are not in those rooms bc the yorkies would sneak in there to potty when we aren't looking.

[QUOTE=RLC12345678]In my opinion, in response to LadyLavendar's post, 8-9 hours is just too long to crate a yorkie. And I don't think they should go all day wtihout food and water either. Because of the risk of a hypoglocemic attack and bladder infections and/or crystal formation in the bladder, they should get food and water regularly throughout the day. QUOTE]

I understand this is a matter of controversial opinion. To clarify I can say that I was under the instructions of a dog behavioralist and questioned the abilty of any yorkie (no older than 14 wks) being able to handle crating for this long, and without water and food. But she told me to try it. And I did and it worked. Millie never messed in her crate the whole time we were gone. But we did make sure we were home immediately after work, no delays and no detours. There was not much for Millie to do in the crate because the area was so small, so I think she did sleep most of the day, no energy exerted and we never had a problem with her physically either.

We did work her up to an x-pen after a while (probably several months later) when we were fairly confident she understood she had to hold it all day and she did fine in the x-pen. We then worked up to leaving her in the house all day, unconfined and that has worked out well too.

take the time to train them to go potty outside. they cannot teach themselves. mine are both house trained and have been sense about 7/8 months they take longer they are a small breed and cannot hold it as long, mine sleep through the night and can hold it to go in the morning. you could use bellybands and diapers to minimize accidents inside but they can't help it if they aren't crated or put up for hours on end dogs need human interaction training and socilazition or they just don't know how to behave it's that simple.you get back what you put into your pets if you do not have time for them then find them new homes.something needs to be done soon it's harder to train them as they get older because they will be set in their ways. it can be done but will take more time & effort.

I feel for you. I also have 2 - TJ and Roxy. Both me and my husband work full time. I must say that everything you mentioned about their behavior is EXACTLY and THEN SOME what I have had to deal with too. It does get very frustrating and at times I am very tired. I no longer can take naps or just rest, always on the look out for whatever my 2 are up too!

It has gotten much, much better - but with certain things, I still have a way to go.

TJ and Roxy are both about 2 years old now. In May 2007 - We will have them for 2 years. The first year was definatley the hardest - puppies :)
But, with limited space for them, schdules, routines, positive praise and treats, and of course, TJ and Roxy growing up...Well, it is well worth it!

I still really can't take naps, b/c I still have occasional poop eaters - So, I always must be on poop watch - But, they both poop 1x in the AM and then in the evening, and I now know the signs of them having to go poop - And I bought this special Chicken Jerky Treat - that they both now know they only get when they go poop (and I get to flush it).

I wish I could spend more time with them. I do wish I could take them out for walks more often. I do plan on when it gets warmer here in NY to do that.
But, all in all - THEY ARE THE BEST PART OF ME AND MY HUSBANDS LIVES. They are our babies, we would do anything for them - because the love and joy that is in our household because of TJ and Roxy is priceless.

I have so much more that I could type, but I am at work right now and must log off. Please feel free to PM me. I would be more than happy to go into further detail of how I raised TJ and Roxy (working full time) maybe there is something I could tell you that might be of help! :)

Sorry, I know it's so frustrating-I felt the same way, like I was inadequate or doing something wrong, but then I remembered, this is a puppy-much like a baby.
We had luck with getting a wire-kennel-cage type crate for night and when we arent there.... we also controlled when they ate/drank and this helped w/the elimination-cut up hotdogs when they go in the right place, whether it be outside or inside really kicked my lucy into gear and we took her outside every half our and asked-do you need to go potty-and eventually she would bark back and now she will come and bark when she needs to go. This took an awful long time-we also had to learn taht she will not poo in a yard that is dirty (must be picked up once a week) and had trouble going outside in the rain or snow-which required extra tone/motivation from us.
My vet told me that if you feed your yorkie twice a day, they will usually eliminate on more of a schedule---we are trying this with our new puppy b/c if she is left all day, she will go and she will snack on it-yuck!
So I wld suggest taking a step back and try and think about blocking them off with you when you are hanging out doing dishes, watching tv-even if you have to leash them in the beginning to keep an eye on them-to try and eliminate the pottying in the floor-and try to give them as much "YOU" time as possible... playing catch-things that will tire them out so when they do go into the kennel, they arent whining and wanting you, they are snoozing !! :)
good luck and keep us posted -there are quite a few training books out there-i've watched a log of the dog whisperer on natl geographic channel and he has a lot of insight about a dog's needs-you might check it out.
additionally-you have to remember if they whine/cry it might also be for attention and you have to find ways to be sure you dont reward that behavior by ignoring them
:)

Okay, well, in a perfect world we would all love to be home with our furbabies all day. But I, like you Friley, work full time and would like to think that my baby has adjusted to my schedule. I disagree with YorkieRose, and think that you can have these two babies even though you work.

Now, I only have one girl, Cali. She can be a handful, so I can imagine what two puppies are like. Anyways, my husband and I are people who cherish our sleep. I have two (human) children who I never let sleep with us. If they needed diaper change or to be fed or soothed, I would get up, go in their rooms, and do what needed to be done. I would be BONE-TIRED. But I truly believed it would be better in the long run. They've been in their own beds and bedrooms since we brought them home from the hospital. Now at 7 and 5,they have absolutely no problem sleeping by themselves. And have been that way since the beginning. I treat Cali (my Yorkie) the exact same way. Since I got her (I've had her a month and a half), she sleeps by herself, in her crate, in the kitchen. I leave her crate door open, and I have the ex-pen closed around her, only big enough to have a pee pad and that's it. No extra play room or anything. The first three or so days, she cried. I didn't go in there no matter what. Believe me, I know it is stressful and will drive you crazy, but it's worth it. You have got to break them out of that. It may take longer than 3 days for you I realize, but eventually they'll get it. And, if the only reason they are crying is because they have to use it, the pee pad should help.

Now, when I get home from work, Cali is jumping like crazy wanting to get out of that ex-pen/crate set up. I ignore that. And I may have the amazing ability to ignore alot of noise (I do have a 7 and 5 year old!!). After a good ten minutes, she'll stop. Then I'll pick her up. But I definitely don't give her anymore room than the kitchen. No roaming the house at all. She can't be trusted to come back to the pee pad, and I she's probably too little to remember to do that anyway. Even in the kitchen, she has accidents. But it is better, easier, and way less frustrating to know where the mess is and take care of it. The pee and poop is there where you can see it. I still get mad, although I don't let Cali know. I clean it up, and we go from there. She is so little, though, she doesn't need more room. To a tiny 7 inch by 7 inch puppy, a nice sized kitchen is more than enough room. I don't know how big your babies are, and I don't know how big your apartment is, but I think they have too much freedom. If you must let them roam the house, your eyes should be on them like a hawk. Put them on a leash and stay in the same room with them.

The eating the poop-I can't help you there. But like someone else said, there is something you can sprinkle on the food.

Hope I don't sound like I'm preaching. I still have a long way to go with Cali, and what works for me might not work for everybody. But I do know that dogs do have the ability to manipulate us and it is important that they know who is leading who. Good luck with your babies, and be patient. Y'all will get there.:thumbup:

Friley,
Don't give up hope yet! I am a single furbaby mom! I work all day mon - friday. I leave the house at 730am and get home at 6pm. I know this is a long time to leave my boys alone but they do wonderfully together all day without me.
I do not give them weewee pads/peepee pads anymore at all as they were eating them too. I leave down newspaper... something about the smell of it or something but they don't eat it! During the day my boys are also gated into the kitchen (check your cabinet bottoms, mine are chewed up I just realized :mad:) What I do recommend is getting them an indoor/outdoor plastic type pen. It has 4 sides and will fit in your kitchen (that way they cannot eat your cabinets or walls either) but it still gives them enough room. For a couple days or a week maybe watch where they tend to potty the most. Once you think you got it, move the paper there. My boys tended to potty the most in the front of the kitchen, I mean it looked liek they pottied wherever but after awhile I noticed that it was mostly in the front, so I moved the paper there. For months I put down paper there. Soon, they were going on the paper at least 90% of the time. Then I moved the paper to a different area and they just go on the paper now for the most part, i'd say 98% of the time they go on the paper, and never tear it apart like they did the pads.

When I am home and they are not gated into the kitchen, I let them out every 1/2 hour. They are NOT housebroken yet though but I let them out and everytime I do I tell them to go pee or poop outside. I use the same word, same phrase and the minute they lift a leg outside I start to praise them! They are doing better now. At least in my house they are. I also notice that mabye 50% of 'accidents' in the house, they actually go to the paper in the kitchen and do it. So thats good.

Put down paper where yous ee them pee most often. They will begin to get that you want them to pee on the paper. Then you can move the paper a little bit each week and they will keep peeing on it.

As for crating them in your room at night... I did not let my boys out in the middle of the night, they did not mess their crate at all. They would sleep 8 hours straight through the night. The first 20 -30 mins I put them in there they would cry & whine really loudly! What i did was made their crate comfy for them, nice soft blanket, some favorite stuffed, soft toys and I put a clock in it under the blanket, a clock that ticked softly. Then I would put them in and pet them in their crate for a few mins, then shut the door and put a blanket OVER the crate! If they could nto see me or really hear me or really smell me they went to sleep and slept through the night. The blanket over the crate was key for me really, that is when they got good at sleeping all night, once I did that. Now they sleep with me and they sleep through the night with no middle of the night trips out or no 'accidents' in the bed!

I hope that helps a little bit!

I know its overwhelming with these guys at first, they ARE a handful, they do need a lot of attention, but they are so worth it if they are trained.

Maybe it would benefit you tremendously to take them to training classes? I know its pricey, but its a good way to get them trained quicker so that you can spend more time loving them than yelling at or punishing them!

Good Luck!!!!

I have one Yorkie, and both hubby and I work full-time. However, I do devote a big chunk of my day to Pepper, I work 12-7, hubby 9-5 so the pup's alone for 6-7 hours each day. I wake up by 7 and till 10 it's Pepper's time, the same at night, I get home usually by 8 and try to take the dog for a walk (as long as the weather isn't bad...), he's usually running and playing at least till 10 pm... 20, 30 or even an hours of playtime isn't enough for him, it's like a warm up, he can play, run and jump for hours... My married life suffers a little, as during the week we don't eat dinners together, but Pepper's 7 months and IS potty trained (on the pad but he hasn't had an accident in months and roams freely in the apartment all the time). What I did in the beginning, I left him in an xpen in the kitchen with pee pad, toys, bed and water. Whenever I was home, I let him out, but there was at least one pad in each room. Eventually he got the idea of pottying on the pad. Then I started working on leaving him gated in the kitchen and getting the number of pads down at the same time. When he was 6 moths old, I finally stopped gating him in the kitchen, I know I can trust him now, and he has the whole apartment for himself. He knows he's supposed to potty on the pad in the kitchen. He sleeps in the kitchen as his bed is there. It can be frustrating at the beginning, they demand your attention (when I sit at the computer too long, he lets me know it:rolleyes: ). It is a needy breed, but it does get easier with time, it's like with babies, we need to put some things on hold (I froze my gym membership as I don't want to leave Pepper alone for too long, I used to work out every day). I don't get to watch as much TV as I'd like (thanks for TiVo...). The house isn't as clean as I'd want it to be... It's if we're willing to make those commitments. I wish you the best, hang on there...

I think you just need to give it more time. My dogs really mellowed out about 1 year of age. I agree they need exercise every day. I also would not keep them in a crate all day. I would get an xpen or gate them in the kitchen or bathroom.