5 month old potty issues

[amberfranklin]

My 5 month old Chloe is a joy to have in our home,yet potty training has been a struggle. We have had her since 12 weeks. I am a teacher and home with her for the summer.She has had fairly free run of the house, though I am constantly watching her and rooms are closed off. I know she can hold her potty for a long time because she goes to bed in her crate at around 10 and up at 5 with no accidents or even waking. We constantly take her out and she goes often, gets Cheerios and a lot of praise. Then when we come in, she will potty again shortly on the carpet, even though she may have just gone 10 minutes earlier!

I have tried to put her on a feeding schedule, but she just picks at her food all day. When we go out to potty, she gets distracted often, we come back in when she doesn't go and before I get her back out she will squat and potty! Since it is hot,she always acts thirsty when we come in,so I give her a little water. Am I giving her too much water? She does eat all her food at one setting, so feeding is also a struggle.

Sorry for the ramble, I just wonder if we will ever master this? Is she too old for crate training? I just feel it may be cruel after being free in the house. Any advise.

[lainacohen]

Winnie is 9 months now and we keep going back and forth with training for several weeks she wont have a single accident, now all of a sudden she refuses to go outside. I am no expert but I have heard that it is a struggle with a Yorkie.

[amberfranklin]

I had heard this too before we got our baby, yet I told myself we would be different! Lol! I feel like we are being very consistent and in the beginning knew any accidents were our fault, however, it is upsetting when I feel like we are doing the right things and she still has accidents. Often when she squats, I go to clean it and can even feel the mess, like she is just dribbling, making me wonder if she has too much access to water. How much is too much?

[lainacohen]

I dont really think that there is such a thing as too much water in this heat. They are tiny puppies and do have tiny bladders. I would be much more concerned about not giving her enough. When I first got Winnie I would do a potty break every 15 minutes. I also use a puppy pad inside which she knows to use in case of me being unavailable. With a tiny bladder the puppy pad does help extend the inbetween time.

[amberfranklin]

I agree that tiny dog equals tiny bladder and would just assume this was the problem if she did not hold it all night long. She sleeps in her crate next to me and never makes a sound. I had to get up with her for the first week or so and take her out but after that, she sleeps all night long.

[Bellabean]

Bella is 51/2 months. My dh and I were just talking yesterday about how well she was doing. So, today 2 pees in the house. Oh well, she's still a joy and she'll get there eventually.

[amberfranklin]

I have a 16 year old daughter and 13 year old son, I remember way back when I never thought they would master potty training! The only difference is that they messed in their pants, not on my new carpet! I fell in love with her at first sight though and know she is well worth the headaches and I refuse to lose my patience! She will test it, but I know that she will learn, it's all part of the process! I am curious though if I am the only one with these issues and feeding problems?

[lainacohen]

Its always been the same with Winnie. She sleeps through the night but cant hold it during the day. My experience was because she was crated at night and puppies wont pee where they sleep so during the day she had the ability to pee other places. Do you crate your pup at night?

[amberfranklin]

Yep, she's crated at night. I wonder if I need to do that during the day, but feel like she's been "free" too long to now crate here during the day. Also, when would she learn that she can roam around the house without messing all over the place? I worry I have given her too much freedom and now will have a hard time taking it away.

[Mdyorkies1]

My 12 week old will hold it from 10pm till 6am in his puppy apartment. Will go pee and poo at 6am then at around 8:30am. He's on schedule but we still have pee accidents. We have wood floors so clean up is better. He's a good boy and is like a sponge on learning!

[smithj1000]

I agree with you that she has been given too much freedom before she's ready. However, I've never been comfortable with crate training. Is it possible to restrict her to one small area until she gets it? Perhaps you can stay in that area with her most of the time so she can still be with you. Lexi and I stayed in the kitchen, where there is tile, for her first couple of weeks. Her potty pad was always close. I was able to see her EVERY time she went on the pad and she got huge praise and a treat. I even made up a potty song that she would wait to hear each time. She would be so excited! She loved going on her pad! It was like New Year's Eve every time.

After about a week, she was going exclusively on her potty pad so we expanded our area to my bedroom where I put a potty pad in the master bath. I was going stir crazy and wanted to move around more, but I sucked it up and stayed with her as we expanded her area until she was totally trustworthy.

[lainacohen]

Jan, where did she sleep before she was allowed out o fthe kitchen?

[amberfranklin]

This morning I tried to restrict her by tethering her to me. Though she roams freely, there is almost always an eye on her, yet that does not stop her from squatting. The only problem is by the time I say NO, the damage is done! So back to the tethering. Took a shower and left her with 13 year old son, by the time I was done, she had chewed her leash in half! First attempt, not a success. One accident so far, but she has slept a lot and not outside much so I have restricted her water dramatically. Most accidents happen when my husband is home in the evenings, hard for me to convince him we are making any progress!

[smithj1000]

Oh my. I wouldn't restrict her water. I'm always happy when they drink water because it's so good for them.

[smithj1000]

Originally Posted by lainacohen

Jan, where did she sleep before she was allowed out o fthe kitchen?

For the first two weeks I put Lexi's crate on an ottoman next to my bed. When she cried I would lay my head on her crate so I was really close to her. It was almost like she was in the bed with me and she would lay down and go to sleep. I was afraid to let her sleep in the bed because I thought I'd roll over and smash her.

After about 2 weeks I couldn't take it any more. She was in the bed and we've been pleased as punch every since! Don't worry about rolling over on her. You'll know, even in your sleep.