LoveToKnow Dogs:AllComments

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Hi Sue,

Has this been a lifelong problem with your dog, or is the house soiling a recent problem? Sometimes senior pets begin to lose control because the muscles that control the bladder grow weak.

It's alright to contain your dog to limited territory to control the damage, but you should probably keep her food and water nearby and allow her to move around in that area. I'd recommend one of those small fence/gate set ups. Hope these suggestions help.

-- Contributed by: Kelly

I'm soooooooo mad, my yorkie is 12 years old and still pees in the floor, even if she was just let out to pee. i've lost patience with her now and confine her to her bed all day until i allow her to go and pee and to eat and get a drink..she knows she's in trouble..but she has ruined carpet, hardwood floors etc.

-- Contributed by: Sue

Hi Ramona,

Congratulations on your new puppy. It takes a lot of consistency to properly train any puppy, and the consensus seems to be that Yorkies often take a little longer to get the hang of it. Check out our article on Potty Training Your Dog for more tips.

Thanks for your question, and welcome to the site. :)

-- Contributed by: Kelly

Hi There,

i have a 7 week old Yorkie. the breeder said that she was paper trained and the first day we had her in our flat she went straight to it. I am trying to use the command word 'Walkies' For her to learn but i cannot let her outside yet until she has her vaccinations completed. Now even though i consistently place her on the papers she often gets off them and moments later will have done a mess somewhere else! I have increased the area of the papers (almost my whole lounge where she sleeps) but am a wee bit concerned about how exactly to get her started properly BEFORE i mistakenly give her bad habits! I am not using crate training and won't be doing so!

Any advice would be appreciated!

Ramona

-- Contributed by: How To Housebreak my Puppy Yorkie?

Hi Natalie,

You make some good points, but I have to disagree on one. I've known too many dogs that were willing to soil in their crate no matter how many times they were taken out. There's no guarantee that confinement will prevent soiling, no matter how small the crate is.

Thanks for sharing your opinion.

-- Contributed by: Kelly

The best way to train a yorkie is through a crate/reward system. Get a crate that is small, so the dog only has enough room to stand and turn around. The dog will not expell when he might have to lay on it. Let him out every two hours during the day and take him to the surface where you will be expecting him to go. Some experts say that if you want to move from inside to outside eventually than use a lined tray of sod rather than newspapers. The dog wont be so excited to explore and play in the grass when he gets outside, and he will actually go. If he doesn't go within 10 minutes play with him for 10 minutes heavily and give him a drink then take him back to his peeing place. Play and drinking are common ways to bring about the urge to go in a dog. If they still don't go then they go back in the crate for the next two hours then repeat all over. Rubbing noses in it doesn't work on yorkies because they like their doo doo, they will even eat it if you let them (yucky). Punish say NO in a loud voice when they do it in the wrong place and show them where to go immediately. Reward EVERYTIME when they do it in the right spot. Use small (pill sized or catfood sized) treats rather then big bones (the ceasers for small dogs are good). Bones can fill your little dog up and they won't care if they get another. Plus you can take him out to play it's just when you are on the phone or watching TV, etc. you can't dedicate 100% close quarteres supervision he should be in a crate. The training should be finished between one to three weeks. It's better if someone is home during this time. After you think it's worked only put him in the crate while you are gone to work, shopping, etc. or at night until you are sure he's broke. Think of it like grounding til they've learned their lesson. My vet recently told me that training is most important between 8-10 weeks because that is when they develop a sense of where they should go so try to stick to this frame if you ever get a new pup again.

-- Contributed by: Natalie Steele
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