New Member - Suggestions???

[heylids]

We have a beautiful 4 1/2 month old female yorkie named Maya.
We are enjoying her delightful personality even though we
are having some challenges.

Our main concern is her pot training. We are not crating her
but have the hall boarded where her bed, food, water, toys
and pads are all located.
The pads are away from her personal living space and if she
is in her area she is quite good at going on the pads. It is
when she is let out of her area that the problem arises. She
will go where ever she pleases even if the she is near the
pads. We thought we had made headway but recently she seems
to have taken several step back.

Today was not a good day. She did her usual pad business
early morning before my husband got up and around mid morning
I had her in her area repeating go paper potty. After about
45 mins she went again and I waited another 30 mins to see if
she would poo. Thinking she didn't need to go, I let her out
of her area and no soon did she go poo on the front door mat,
merely a few feet from her pad! Back in her area she went
for a time out.

We were on the couch this afternoon and I could tell she
needed to go, I lifted her off the couch and said go paper
potty off she went up the stairs, no soon did I get up to
follow her and she was on the mat again peeing. I picked her
up, say no, put her on her pad, saying paper potty and then
boarded her in her area for more time out.

After well over an hour, we were back on the couch when
suddenly I discovered she pooped on the couch. She has never
done this before!
I scoulded her and once again a time out. I let her out an
hour later and she immediately went and finished her poo on
the mat!!! Time out again...

I'm at a loss as to what to do to impress upon her to use her
pads.
We will be throwing out the door mat and cleaning the area
with proper products to remove the scent. She also goes in
other areas not just the mat. Some days she is good but
other days OMG

We are feeding her 1/2 a cup twice a day, morning and
evening, Royal Canine for Yorkie puppies. She tends to
finish her morning meal around mid day but she enjoys her
evening food well into the night. Any comments on this brand
or any other brands would be greatly appreciated. If you are
a representative of a product please identify yourself as
such. I am interested in regular peoples comments on what
their experiences have been with their brand.

We have noticed she loves to lick us, our clothes and when in
bed with us she licks our pillows. We have recently noticed
her licking the pads of her paws and seems to scratch her
behind several times a day, but not excessively.
I am wondering if she has an allergy, dry skin or has a salt
defiscent. Is this normal behaviour?

Any thoughts or suggestions on the above or any other
information we should know about our little Maya would be
greatly appreciated.

Good thoughts
P.S. The vet stated there is no need to brush
her teeth since brushing doesn't get into the underlying gums
were disease begins to form. What are your thougths?

[Rachael x]

Oh the joys of potty training!
Dont worry there will be good days and then again there will be days when you feel like hitting your head against a wall, but she WILL get there.
Poppy was the same when I was training her, some days she was like wonder dog going on the pad or crying to be outside. And other days she was just going potty all over the place, Ive lost count on how many times I have steam cleaned those carpets.
But then one day she cried and pawed at the back door went straight outside to potty then came straight back in, I was like LOL but practice makes perfect and they WILL get it in the end. You just have to get her into a routine and keep at it. It could take weeks, it could take months but you WILL get there.
Poppy is 8 months old now and hardly ever has an accident in the house, she is crated at night and when she is home alone. But she didnt start to catch on to the idea until she was around 5/6 months old and even then it didnt happen over night.
Just keep calm and keep at it, it will all be worth it in the end!

Oh and another thing, find out which treats she LOVES and use them as a reward, Poppy loves cheese and carrots, food works!

[deonk1]

I ended up resorting to timeouts along with my positive training. Harley kept marking blankets.
I would buy a cheap crate, use it only for time outs of you wish... when I have Harley i bought a massive crate, used it to block off our hallway, and just put the divider in it... but he was free in the hall just like you described. When you catch her in the act. A stern no! Get her to the pad if you can while she's doing her thing, praise while on pad if shes still going.... but if you've missed it, go straight to the crate, say nothing but the one or two nos, and put her in, no food no water no toys no blankets, for 1 minute. and walk away. She doens't have to be shut up that long. If you put her in her living area, she may think... oh I pee outside my place and then I go play and sleep in my bed...

Don't forget to throw a praise party when she gets it right!

Lastly, welcome! have fun with your baby.

[deonk1]

Oh and I just realized you're in Toronto... Welcome fellow Canadian! lol

[dawn27]

Potty training, fun stuff. I have used the technics listed below with all of our dogs with much sucess. Here is what you will need.

Small to medium cage; one that gives pup full view of family and surroundings, one that is just big enough for pup to stand turn and lay back down.

*Keep in mind of what size your pup will grow to be so that he or she does not out grow the cage or start with a small cage for potty training purposes and later purchase one suitable to the size of you dog for him to comfortably lay down and stretch out in. Why use a small cage ? The smaller area the dog has to move around in the less chance of them useing it as a torlet!

*A medium cage with a divider would work best. You just adjust it as they grow.

* Lots of Toys; something hard and soft.

* Soft bedding ; something that is washable

The cage should be used as a safe place for your new pup to go when done playing, tired and when left alone for even the shortest time unsupervised. Get used to putting them in and taking them out of their cage several times in an hour and all day long. If your pup is tired , put them and their cage , but only after they have been taken out to go potty. If left alone while sleeping “they will rise and pee”. You should always take your pup out to go potty before putting them in their cage and the moment they are taken out of their cage. Let them know that it is time to go outside and go potty by saying their “name” and “let’s go outside and go potty” and by saying it often. Do not put them down, they will pee on your floor. They should be carried out and then put down to go. It’s important that you always stay with your pup so to encourage them and praise them when they are going potty, just like you would a young child . This is a must!

Carry them out to the same place every time. They will smell their scent and eventually know what they are there to do. It is important that you do this for the first 2-3 month’s. This will take some hard work and some time for them to know when and where is the right time to go potty.

Of course if they are in their cage for long periods of time , they will go potty in their cage. Try to make arrangements for someone to let them out if you are unable to. The object is to avoid any and all accidents, and at the same time give them a clean safe place all their own. Not to let them use their cage as a torlet. If accidents occur do not scold them, simply clean it up and put fresh bedding down for them. It just means that they couldn’t hold it any longer. You must take them out quite frequently.

Be prepared to get up in the middle of the night with your pup to take them outside to go potty. If they hear you up, they get up and what is the first thing that you do when you wake up?.... that's right... pee ! Be prepared to get up in the middle of the night with your pup to take them outside to go potty. If they hear you up, they get up and what is the first thing that you do when you wake up?.... that's right... pee !




Important notes;

* Never put food or h2o in the cage.
* Never FREE FEED a new Puppy. Scheduled feeding is a must.
* Pups have tiny bladder and should be Taken out after just a drink.
* Always take pup out after every meal.
* Always use the same door and words for potty time.
* Encouragement is a good thing.
* Always take pup out after playtime & then rite to their cage for a nap.
* Pup should be put in cage when not being supervised and at night time.
* NEVER use the cage for punishment / It's their Safe Place! They should be encourages to use it.

In your case you prefer to have them use pee pads. So, you should be placing them near the door that will be use to take them out doors to go potty! If they are in other areas of the house (in a room, hallway, etc.) than that is were they will releive themselves.

When Paper training its always good to have some papers down next to the door that you will be using for going out side for potty training. It is important that you always use the same door each time you take them out, this becomes part of the routine for them. You should have several layers of papers down at all times. (just put the pee pad on top of them) When they potty on them you simply remove the top two layers and than place the bottom two layer on top of the new clean papers. Why ? Do you ask, well because their scent is now on those papers and just like when you take them back to the same spot each time outdoors, they smell and then go pee pee. Sometimes I will take a poo and place it on the papers just to give the pup the idea of where to go.

One of the easiest way to train a pup is to first start teaching them their name so that it helps with training. Once they have learned their name training becomes a lot easier. At the same time you are teaching them to come, sit, stay as well as other commands this is also the best time to start get to the next step in teaching them about going "outside" to go potty and not on the floor in your home. One of the easiest way to train a pup is to first call them to you and then say "lets go outside and go potty". Of course in return you take them outside to go potty. This should become a normal routine for potty time and in no time at all your new pup will be coming to you and begging to go out and go potty. But be sure that unless you wish to be the primary puppy taker outer this practice should be practiced by all of the family members. The number one rule in our home is ..The first one up...Puts the dogs out. Puppies can't wait...and wont wait.

Good Luck I hope this helps !

[Wylie's Mom]

I'm not the best at potty training -- but I can share a couple links:

http://drsophiayin.com/docs/articles...earns2Earn.pdf

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/tra...ebreaking.html

[heylids]

Thank you very much for taking the time to respond to my message. We appreciate you all taking the time to respond with your suggestions.
To Wylie's Mom, thank you for the links, fyi, the first link doesn't work.
I am so very pleased to have found this link and all the wonderful members who are so willing to take the time to respond with their thoughts.

Good thoughts

[kjc]

Have you tried the washable pee pads? Some doggies prefer them to the disposables... and vice versa.