We have a little yorkie pup, she is about 12wks old now, name Mollie, it has been a few (about 10yrs) since our other yorkie passed away, we have not had a dog since then.
Well now we are trying to train Mollie to go outside to pottie, we have been using the puppy pads in the house and sometimes she will go on the pads and sometimes not, even when I take her out she will sometime come back into the house and use the bathroom on the floor, not on the pads. I have been trying the treats and different things such a feeding only 2 time per day etc... This has been going on for about a month now., tell me the magic things to do...I keep watching her and trying to catch her before she does her # but that is hard to do everytime..is my patients running out?? Any special tricks I am willing to try... Thanks
Try putting her on a leash while in the house, it limits where she can go and you will have a much better chance of getting to her in time.
Also remember to put her out right after she wakes up and eats and stay out till she goes. put her in her crate when you have things going on where you can't watch her.
hope this helps
Him and Me
06 Dodge drw
06 Crossroads Zinger (searching for our dream fw)
Patience, consistency in taking her out, patience, reward for the right behavior (whether that be a small piece of kibble or lots of praise when she succeeds in going outside), patience, a good enzyme cleaner for the mistakes, patience, love, and perhaps even getting rid of the piddle pads inside since they can at times confuse puppies in the training process WILL get her properly house trained.
At a very young 12 weeks old a puppy cannot really be expected to be consistent with their housetraining yet. Let's for a moment think of a human baby, it can take up to three years to properly potty train a child. I often wonder why we (as humans) expect so much more from a tiny puppy. After all, they have a bladder the size of a pea and have to learn to control it... not an easy thing to do!
You are on your way to getting her trained and she will one day just "get it", it will just take some more patience on your part. Take her out every hour and within 30 minutes of a meal, this will help increase her chance to succeed so you can properly reward her. Dogs want to please their owners (alpha pack members) so every time she succeeds and you can praise her it will help imprint on her that going outside makes you happy. Please resist the temptation to scold or otherwise be harsh when she makes a mistake and goes inside, a simple "no" and then taking her where you want her to go will do the job. They truly learn better with reward/praise for the wanted behavior.
If these methods used consistently don't work within another month or so then you might consider tether training. That will take more commitment on your part since you have to keep the puppy leashed to you 24/7. I've used it for "impossible to train" older dogs with absolute success..... but I think the traditional methods will work for you, just give it more time.
Good luck! You can do this and so can she! It will just take some time & effort, remember she is a very young puppy.
On edit: I forgot a very important part of any training.. be sure and use the same phrase each & every time for the process, for instance "go outside, go potty" and you might want to use the same reward phrase as well. Repetitive phrases imprint quickly, even on a young pup.
* This post was
edited 05/31/08 07:51am by CatandJim *
Cat
(Jim just reads the forum once in a while)
Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some sort of battle.... Live simply, love wholly, give generously, care deeply, speak kindly.
We have two Yorkies, and yes they can be difficult. What we found most effective was patience and time -- Yorkies are going to do things at their own pace. Also, regular 'reminder' trips outdoors to do their business, followed with lots of 'praise' for a job well done.
Best of luck!
Karen and Warren
"Counting the days 'til retirement"
Sophie and Sam, our two Yorkies
Austin, Texas is home. Also, look for us
in Rockport / Fulton on the Texas coast
Yes, it does take a lot of patience it seems - more for the tiny ones than the big ones!They have bladders the size of a lima bean!! If you can make a habit of taking her out every hour or so, staying until she pees on her own, praise her to high heaven each time and give a treat, she will eventually catch on. You must watch her behavior, tho - she will clue you when she nees to go but you will have to find out what that clue is!!! Maggie will sit quietly on the floor where she know I can see her and stare at me (or Don, whichever) - when I ask if she wants out, she will then excitedly run to the door. She gives no other indication but since she never sits any other time, this works. However, Don is not very attentive and if he doesn't see her (when he watches TV, he WATCHES TV! or naps!!), she will go to a certain spot in the LR and pee. She never does it when I am home. She will even come to find me in another room, bounce around but not let me pick her up like usual - my clue to put her out. So if there is a spot in the LR, it is because no one paid attention. Fortunately, their spots are tiny and easily cleaned up!!
CatandJim wrote: getting rid of the piddle pads inside since they can at times confuse puppies in the training process
I would agree with this. I wouldn't use both piddle pads and outside. I think consistency is the main thing so as not to confuse her. If you can, watch her closely and look for signs that she is about to go and take her out immediately. If you can't watch her closely, I would take her out every hour or so, and immediately after she wakes up and praise her alot and give her treats when she does go. Take her to the very same spot outside every time and eventually she'll get to know what she's supposed to do. Good luck and have patience.
Dan, Wendy & Furkids, Springer Molly & Cavalier Phoebe
"My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am!"
I agree with Cat. She wrote it well and much better than I could ever hope to.
We had an awful time training Smudge. He is part Yorkie but I think just 1/4.
What finally seemed to work for his training was a 6 day camping trip where I walked him quite a bit. It was like a light bulb went off in his head--"oh, I should pee OUTSIDE!"
After Gizmo passed on I vowed that I would have my next dog trained with a kennel. I tried to but the first night that Smudge was home with us I woke up in the middle of the night and he was in bed with us! I looked at my husband and he said, "He was lonely."
So I have had to deal with training the dog when I should also train my husband of 35 years.
Every morning I put Smudge outside and I stand at the door with my arms crossed and wait for him to be a "Good Boy!" On cool, rainy mornings he will stand on the patio and just look at me. I stare back at him and do not let him back in until he does his business. Sometimes it's a war of wills but I always win!
Marilyn w/ Joe, 2000 Xplorer Class B van, usually pulling a Ranger bass boat.
Smudge, (in photo) a Shih Tzu/Yorkie Mix and Gizmo is waiting at the Rainbow Bridge
"Trying feeding only two times a day"....? What is her normal feeding pattern? If you are free feeding, that needs to stop. Random input will create random output.
You probably need to just go get yourself a book on crate training and apply it. If you are running around the house trying to catch her before she goes, in between your other activities, far too many mistakes are going to occur, and each mistake increases the confusion. A three month old puppy is too young to have the run of the house when not being CLOSELY supervised. She is really a very tiny baby and needs that kind of care and supervision, and when you can't supervise her closely she should be contained someplace safe and comfortable that will encourage her to hold her bladder.
That someplace is called a crate, and training a dog to be comfortable in a crate is not only the easiest and fastest (plus easiest on your carpets) way to get most dogs house trained, it has a lot of other benefits down the line as well. Your local pet store will have books on how to do all this, that will lay out a complete program more effectively than we could here.
susan
What I want to know is, when are they going to start selling Comfort Zone for HUMANS????? 'Cause some days...
Take her out every 30 minutes, and after she eats. Don't bring her back in until she makes some sort of effort to at least pee. Don't play with her while you have her out there. Reward her when she does her business, however you feel is appropriate.
When she has an accident inside, just clean it up, tell her bad potty in a calm voice, but never "bad dog". She knows it's potty, but she won't know why she was bad, when you've been telling her good girl when she does it outside.
Took us less than a week to do both George and Chester this way.
Code2High wrote: "Trying feeding only two times a day"....? What is her normal feeding pattern? If you are free feeding, that needs to stop. Random input will create random output.
You probably need to just go get yourself a book on crate training and apply it. If you are running around the house trying to catch her before she goes, in between your other activities, far too many mistakes are going to occur, and each mistake increases the confusion. A three month old puppy is too young to have the run of the house when not being CLOSELY supervised. She is really a very tiny baby and needs that kind of care and supervision, and when you can't supervise her closely she should be contained someplace safe and comfortable that will encourage her to hold her bladder.
That someplace is called a crate, and training a dog to be comfortable in a crate is not only the easiest and fastest (plus easiest on your carpets) way to get most dogs house trained, it has a lot of other benefits down the line as well. Your local pet store will have books on how to do all this, that will lay out a complete program more effectively than we could here.
Samantha (the poster)
Tim, spouse and driver of the Corgi-Bus
Beth, Buddy, and Pippin - Pembroke Welsh Corgis
1988 Bounder Ford 460
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After all, they have a bladder the size of a pea and have to learn to control it... not an easy thing to do!
It will just take some time & effort, remember she is a very young puppy.
