Please advise

[YorkieMom82]

I don't know what to do. My puppy is almost 12 weeks old, and I've had him for about a month. He is so precious, but he is a puppy and not trained yet. Everytime I let him out he squats, I only let him out when we can watch him very close so I usualy grab him immediatley and put him on his puppy pad but by then he has lost the urge.

My boyfriend and I have been together for 2 years, and live together. He believes the same way that my father and every man I know does, that if a dog uses the carpet you rub his nose in it and pop him on the butt, not hard just pop him. (he only uses 2 fingers since Aiko is so tiny).

I don't agree with that method. I mean I know it has worked for some, but now my puppy cringes when my boyfriend comes around, and I hate hearing the baby yelp. I don't agree with it.

He is home with Aiko for about 3 hours during the day while I"m at work, and doesn't always get him out but sometimes does. He just doesn't watch him as close as I do I don't think and sometime he does have accidents.

Any ideas on approaching this?

[Rachael x]

The pup is not even 12 weeks old yet, he cant be expected to be house trained.
You probably wont see much progress until the pup is around 4-5 months old, yorkies are small dogs and their bladders are tiny. They cant hold it for long especially at that age.
When training Poppy my BF told me to rub her nose in it. I was horrified and told him if ANYONE was getting their nose rubbed in pee it wouldnt be HER.
So what I did was when I caught her peeing or pooping on the carpet I picked her up took her to the accident and held her close (NOT rubbing her nose in it) with her face a few cm's away so she knew what she was getting wrong for and told her NO then put her straight on the pad/outside.
Seen as your BF is home alone with your pup for 3 hours a day you need to tell him you are totally against him rubbing the pups face in the accident, and maybe suggest what I did and show the pup the accident before putting him on the pad.
Good luck!

[MI Yorkielover]

I don't believe this old school method works. If you are consistent with taking your puppy outside to go after eating or drinking and then praise and give a treat you will have far better results. It takes a lot of work and close observation but your results will be well worth it. I suggest you continue to try and educate your boyfriend on the importance of housebreaking in this manner and once he sees it's working he should become a believer. Your yorkie wants to please you and this method will give him an opportunity to do so. Your puppy will be much happier and so will you !

[ArmaniMan]

The only method that truly works is catching the accidents before they happen or as they happen and correcting them at that moment.

Your puppy is still very young- you need to have some set-up like an expen to put him in when no one can watch him. When he is out, you need to have your eyes on him at all times- as soon as you see the signs that he wants to eliminate or as soon as he squats- clap your hands, say NO, and take him to the pad (or outside, whereever you are training him to go)- if he eliminates on the pad or even just finishes up on the pad you give him lots of praise and a treat. Also, be proactive- every 15 minutes take him to the pad and give him a chance to go, if he does, again lots of treats and praise. It will take a consistency and time but eventually you will see progress. If your BF is not on board with this plan- keep him (either the BF or Aiko, your choice ) in the ex pen while you are gone, so there are no chances for accidents.

Punishing a dog for going in the wrong place, only punishes them for going in their eyes- they will start to hide when they are going. Then you are left with the situation where they are peeing under and behind objects and you don't know until you start to smell it.

[chachi]

Confine him to an area when you cant watch him. Line it completely with potty pads. Each day remove a potty pad untill he is using the one remaining potty pad. This method of pad training really works and its the easiest way to do it. You just cant let him have any accidents so you need to make sure he does stay in his confined area some. Play with him a bit put him back. Always make sure he is in the confined area after he eats because that is a usual time for them to go. Good luck

[Maximo]

Originally Posted by MI Yorkielover

I don't believe this old school method works. If you are consistent with taking your puppy outside to go after eating or drinking and then praise and give a treat you will have far better results. It takes a lot of work and close observation but your results will be well worth it. I suggest you continue to try and educate your boyfriend on the importance of housebreaking in this manner and once he sees it's working he should become a believer. Your yorkie wants to please you and this method will give him an opportunity to do so. Your puppy will be much happier and so will you !

Praise profusely when your pup potties in the correct place, either outdoors or on the pad. Cheer, dance, and give a treat. Your pup will learn to work for the attention and treats.

I would ignore the accident site and take the pup to the pad/outdoors and say (nicely) "potty here." Then be sure to clean the accident site with an enzyme cleaner like Nature's Miracle to remove the smell so that your pup won't be tempted to return and potty there again.

Work hard on your boyfriend to convince him that positive reinforcement will yield better results in potty training and will make for much happier pup. Consider putting your pup in an xpen with a piddle pad when he is home alone with your boyfriend, or contain him in one room with babygates.

[YorkieMom82]

Originally Posted by Rachael x

The pup is not even 12 weeks old yet, he cant be expected to be house trained.
You probably wont see much progress until the pup is around 4-5 months old, yorkies are small dogs and their bladders are tiny. They cant hold it for long especially at that age.
When training Poppy my BF told me to rub her nose in it. I was horrified and told him if ANYONE was getting their nose rubbed in pee it wouldnt be HER.
So what I did was when I caught her peeing or pooping on the carpet I picked her up took her to the accident and held her close (NOT rubbing her nose in it) with her face a few cm's away so she knew what she was getting wrong for and told her NO then put her straight on the pad/outside.
Seen as your BF is home alone with your pup for 3 hours a day you need to tell him you are totally against him rubbing the pups face in the accident, and maybe suggest what I did and show the pup the accident before putting him on the pad.
Good luck!

I love the comment regrding rubbing the nose in it. I know he's just a puppy and thats what I'm trying to make my boyfriend understand. He never believed in animals in the house, so when we moved in together I already had Tocho, he has gotten used to Tocho, and even after a year and a half Tocho still has some accidents but only very little (we get busy and forget to take him out for a few hours), (he gives no sign when its time) So yes, he didn't grow up with animals in the house and I did, he is learning as much as the dogs are I guess. It's just Aiko is my baby and I don't want to see him mistreated.

[LaurenPatrice]

My puppy didn't not show improvement till recently and he is 5 months old. When he was 12-20 weeks old we had accidents constantly. They are too little to hold their bladder. Now my other dog is not a yorkie and was completely housebroken by 5 months old. Yorkies are very hard to train with housebreaking. Make the rules firm with how you want the training to be done for your yorkie and be patient. Good luck!!

[YorkieMom82]

I love the Nature's Miricle. I use the one that is supposed to make them not want to go there anymore as well as clean the spot.

[ArmaniMan]

Originally Posted by ArmaniMan

The only method that truly works is catching the accidents before they happen or as they happen and correcting them at that moment.

I want to clarify this- you can ignore the accidents altogether as well- I meant the only way to correct them is if you do it right away- they don't understand if you correct them an hour later when you find the accident.

[YorkieMom82]

I do keep him confined to the kitchen it is very small. It's just that the boyfriend feels bad for him being confined and lets him out, starts playing video games and next thing you know, theres a puddle in the living room. I hate to say "don't touch my dog" but I feel like I need to.

[Maximo]

Originally Posted by YorkieMom82

I do keep him confined to the kitchen it is very small. It's just that the boyfriend feels bad for him being confined and lets him out, starts playing video games and next thing you know, theres a puddle in the living room. I hate to say "don't touch my dog" but I feel like I need to.

Frame the message in other terms and it will go over better with your bf. Reason with him, explain why "the" dog, rather than "my dog" has to be kept contained.