# 13 week old yorkiepoo housebrakeing. What am I doing wrong / right



## benalexe (Nov 9, 2009)

Hello, 
Tootsie is 13 weeks female yorkiepoo. I want to tell you how we are training her for housebreaking and make you can tell me what we are doing wrong / right.

Background. We live in a house. 3 boys ages 11, 8, and 5. We both work and no one is home from abou 9:00 to 4 PM. We have a crate with a divider and pen.

We want her to go on the wewe pads when we are not hope and also be able to go outside.

Currently when we take her outside and say go ahead she pees. We give her a treat every time she pees. She also does poop outside but we need to wait 15-20 minutes for her to poop. When outside she goes on a pad outside. There has been ocasion where she does not want to poop outside. comes in and a few minutes later is pooping in my carpet. (Even thoug there is a pad in the room) Other times she will pee in the room but only a very small bit. 

At night and when we are not watching her she is in her PEN. In the pen is a bed for her and some toys, and a weewee pad. Also the cage is in the pen with the door open. We find she prefers the bed to the cage. 

When we leave and in the evening she goes in the pen. usually in the AM there is poop on the pad and pee not on the pad but in several spots in the pen.

We have been told many things... leave her locked in the cage if we are gone under 3 hrs. Make the cage very very small so she can't do anything but sleep. Do not put newspapers in the cage because it obsorbes the pee. 

Leave the food out... don't leave the food out. Leave the water out don't leave the water out...

Etc. etc.. Waht am I doing wrong what am I doing correctly.


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## briteday (Feb 10, 2007)

You can choose how long you want to take to train your dog. Some dogs are able to accomplish elimination success, crating, and basic commands in a few weeks. Others never do. It's all up to you, not the dog.

First, buy an alarm clock. The night time elimination in the pen needs to be taken outside, 24/7, 365, no matter the weather...if you want to train the dog to the outside.

Rule of thumb...dog can WAIT (not hold it aws muscle control does not even begin to develop until 6 months of age) # of hours = age in months...also remember that you have a toy breed(s) = small dog, small bladder.

your dog is 13 weeks = 3 months = 3 hours...at the most.

To be truly successful in a shorter period of time your dog should start by going out every 2 hours (24/7...set an alarm). And when the dog is in the house she should be tethered to an adult with a leash so that she cannot wander out of sight and do things. When you are not home, you are asleep, or you cannot tether/directly uspervise...then she needs to be in her crate. No pad, no extra room. She should only have enough room to stand, turn around, and lay down. That would be a VariKennel size 100 for your dog.

By using the pee pads and outdoors at the same time you are confusing the dog. What do you want? in or out?????????????? She's just a baby and completely confused about where and when you want things to happen that she has very little control over to start with...so you need to make it simple...I take you out every two hours, use the potty command ("hurry up", "go potty", ...), before I can even stand up you have a SPECIAL treat in your hand every time, and then I get to go back inside for a little bit of tethered/supervised freedom aka snuggles and fun. Think of this as a one-year-old child, old enough to move away from where they messed but unable to control the messing part. Oh, and diapers are not an option. You wouldn't leave them in a crib all day and let them mess in the corners. You would take that child to the potty every hour or two so they would get the hang of things as quickly as possible.

Typical schedule:
6AM - wake up and immediately take dog out of crate to eliminate outside
7AM- feed dog breakfast with free access to water, in pen, while you get ready for work
7:15-7:45 - dog will need to go outside to eliminate before you leave for work, you should see a pattern develop regarding the time from eating to needing to eliminate, most dogs are 15-45 minutes...and it will change as the dog matures
9AM- leave for work, leave minimal water in bowl hooked to crate, crate dog (and I would probably err on the side of caution and let dog out one more time just before leaving)
11AM - kind neighbor comes in to let the dog outside to eliminate
noon/ 1PM- let dog out, feed midday meal, let dog out again
2PM - kind neighbor comes to let dog out again (you might be able to eliminate this one if someone really gets home everyday at 4PM)
4PM - someone gets home and lets dog out, plays a bit
6PM - dinner meal, let dog out, either a play session indoors until tired or a nice long walk until tired
8PM - let dog out and pick up water bowl for the night
10PM - let dog out just before going to bed, crate the dog
midnight - someone takes turns getting up to let dog out, don't wait for dog to whine, set an alarm, intervals between outings can be lengthened by 15 minutes at a time if dog goes 4-5 nights of total success = having a dry crate each and every time you check at the 2 hour mark when you take the dog out...if successful, then go 2 hours 15 minutes, etc
2AM - ditto
4AM - ditto
6AM - start all over again

OK, so you may not have a kind neighbor to let the dog out. Alternatives...alternate coming home (one adult comes home mid-morning, the other comes home at lunch, and maybe you can find an older nieghborhood kid who can do something right after school around 2-2:30), taking the dog to a friend or relative who can follow the plan during the day while you are gone.

The pad thing will only work if that is the only place you ever want her to go. Then instead of training her to the outside when you are home, you exclusively train to the pad. There is nothing magical about the dog choosing to go on the pad, just like there is nothing magical about the dog choosing to go outside. But it takes a very brainy dog and lots more time for the dog to figure out to do both at the same time. You would just be choosing to have a much longer training period.


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## benalexe (Nov 9, 2009)

Thank you for taking to time to respond. 

Okay lots of questions... Regarding the crate. We have one with a divider. I can make it small. put no newspaper or anything in there. I am assuming you are suggesting no using the pen area?

I have heard some people cover the crate in the evening what do you think of that?

What do I do if the dog eliminates in the crate?

How long do you suggest leaving out the food if she does not eat much?

In terms of the schedule... I have no problem waking up if you think it will better potty train the dog but some days I can leave at 9 am come home and noon and then wife is home by 4. that would be best case other days I may not be able to get home to take her out.

We both work and so do neighbors. 

We purposely got a small dog because we were told that you can wewe pad train a dog to learn to go on the pad. We have a friend that has a morkie that has free run of the downstairs of the house and know to make on the pad. The place we got her told us that the days we can't be home to heave the crate in the pen with the door open. She can sleep in the crate and use the pen to go to the bathroom.

In terms of when the dog is out of the cage. When we are playing with her can't we confine her to a room? not just a leash? She wants to run around a bit. 

What do we do if she makes in the house. Right now we have been catching her in the process swooping her up and bringing her outside. with praise?


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## briteday (Feb 10, 2007)

benalexe said:


> Thank you for taking to time to respond.
> 
> Okay lots of questions... Regarding the crate. We have one with a divider. I can make it small. put no newspaper or anything in there. I am assuming you are suggesting no using the pen area??


Some people use pens with success, especially with small dogs and long work hours, no alternatives. I tend to try to find better alternatives to shorten the training time. We had one neighbor that did puppy pee pads and the pen, leaving the puppy alone all day every day. The dog has never successfully been housetrained, even now. And maybe I'm a bit sensitive but I think the pee pads make the house smell bad.



benalexe said:


> I have heard some people cover the crate in the evening what do you think of that??


I start out with the crate next to the bed so the dog can see and smell me. I have a collection of old, clean bath towels (try a thrift store) for the bottom of the crate. They are easy to throw in the wash as needed. If the dog is too noisy and I'm not getting enough sleep then I move the crate to the other end of the house. Garages are good places too if they are temperature controlled. Covering the crate seems to give some dogs a sense of security. Just be observant to be sure that the dog isn't chewing or eating the parts of the cover that they can reach...same with any towel or such that you put in the crate.



benalexe said:


> What do I do if the dog eliminates in the crate??


Buy an enzyme cleaner at the pet store and use it. There are many brands. I've had the best luck with Natures Miracle.

Enzyme cleaners are necessary for any clean up of bodily fluids. Although you may think that you have gotten it all up the minute amounts left behind breed bacteria and the dog can smell it long before a human can. The dog is inclined to return to that spot to cover up the smell by leaving behind his own, well, smell. 



benalexe said:


> How long do you suggest leaving out the food if she does not eat much??


Feed the dog the suggested amount at three regular times per day. Small dogs are prone to hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) if left too long between meals. Put the food down for 15 minutes and then pick it up until the next feeding time. Do not give more at the next meal, just the normal meal portion. Healthy dogs will not starve themselves. (has the dog had a thorough vet check yet? I suggest a thorough exam by your own vet within 72 hours of acquiring any new animal in the household) And your puppy will learn that you are in charge of the food and eat when you put it down. Be reasonable by feeding at nearly the same time each day and feeding at reasonable intervals. Also feeding on a schedule will bring much faster results to potty training. What goes in on a schedule comes out on a schedule...really!



benalexe said:


> In terms of the schedule... I have no problem waking up if you think it will better potty train the dog but some days I can leave at 9 am come home and noon and then wife is home by 4. that would be best case other days I may not be able to get home to take her out.
> 
> We both work and so do neighbors.
> 
> ...


You can pad train a dog. But use the pad exclusively and forget about outdoor training when it is convenient for you. The pad or the grass, choose. Again, I have known people that used the pen method but it does take longer to train the dog. And you need to be consistent yet reasonable. When you are not there who is going to teachher to use the pad? If you are to be successful at either method you have to be there.

When your dog has been successful at eliminating (whether it be the pad or outside) then you can bring her to the room where you will be to play for a bit. Since she has just emptied herself she will probably go another hour or two before needing to eliminate again. You can leave the dog un-tethered as long as you are DIRECTLY SUPERVISING the dog at all times. One adult must have both eyes on the dog every second. Do not let the dog wander out of sight, under furniture, follow the kids to another room, ... the dog stays within 10 feet of you. Once the puppy has tired herself out with some playtime then you can put her in the crate to sleep or let her cuddle with a human. But remember that she will need to eliminate as soon as she wakes up and her feet hit the floor. So don't go to the kitchen to get cheese doodles during the commercials and leave the dog alone. You wouldn't chance leaving a toddler human alone in a room. Don't do it with the dog.



benalexe said:


> What do we do if she makes in the house. Right now we have been catching her in the process swooping her up and bringing her outside. with praise?



Enzyme cleaner right away, after you take her to the preferred elimination spot. If you catch the dog in the act you can scoop her up, use the potty command words while you are placing her where you want her to go, and then praise alvishly with food reward the second she stands up from the squat. Have treats in your pocket and get one in your hand while she is squatting. She needs to associate the treat with the act of eliminating, and dogs have very short memories, literally seconds. If you have found the mess after the fact just clean it up and slap your hand for not supervising the dog properly.

So, try to schedule intake and encourage a healthy schedule of output. Just like the kids you have to make time to do things with the puppy if you want her to be successful. Leaving her alone all day at this point may cause some anxiety on her part. I would definitely work on a friend, relative, or neighbor to keep her or visit her during the day if you have to be gone for 7 hours. Once she is a few weeks past her last set of shots you can do a doggy daycare a day or two per week to break the boredom. Bored dogs create jobs for themselves, and their humans usually disapprove of the job description. A tired dog is a good dog. Another good tip is to get up a bit earlier in the morning and take the dog for a good long walk to tire her out. Same before bed. A tired dog is generally a good dog. And don't forget the vet appointment if you haven't already done so.

Dogs are not couch potatoes, especially puppies. We have small breed dogs. To keep them balanced they go with us on a one hour, three mile hike before we leave in the morning, run around for another 15-30 minutes while we do barn and yard chores. Then they are crated while no one is at home from 8:30 until 2. As soon as someone gets home they get another one-mile walk (about 20 minutes). If the weather is nice they will go on an evening stroll with us. If the weather is nasty they get to play games like fetching tennis balls down the bedroom hallway until no one wants to retrieve anymore. I'm just trying to give you some examples of what to expect. You mentioned that you have children. If they are responsible enough you can give them some of the playing / walking duties before school and after dinner/homework. 

Good luck!


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