# Ugggg.... will this Yorkie Poo ever get house trained????



## benalexe (Nov 9, 2009)

Tootsie is 1 year old she is half way house trained? What do I mean? Well from about 9:00 AM until about 4:00 PM she has the run of the downstairs of my house and never has an accident. Then when we all get home - Wife and 3 boys the house is crazy. We take her our. Feed her- She pees and poops and all is well. 

Then all of a sudden later on we will find a Pee Spot or a poop in the house. Pee more than poop. We do not really use the crate anymore. She also holds it all night too. 

She never tells us when she wants to go out. She just does it when we turn our heads or a minute. What can we do? Will she ever get trained?


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## spotted nikes (Feb 7, 2008)

Treat her like a puppy and start housebreaking her. Tether her to you when she is out of her crate. Take her out as soon as you get up, after feeding, after she wakes up and after playing. Contain her somewhere at night.

Clean accidents with an enzyme cleaner. I'd recommend you buy a black light and check all of your floors to see if there is any urine reside attracting her, and clean those spots with an enzyme cleaner like "Natures Miracle" or "Kids N Pets".


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## benalexe (Nov 9, 2009)

So I should put her back in the cage again? She will bark her head off and never stop! Do you think it is possible to get her housebroken or will she be one of those dogs that just don't get trained. 85% of the time she is really good. She can go days without having accidents and then 3 in a row. My guess it is probably more us than her as we are getting lazy. On the same hand she gives us no indication that she wants to go out. She is good all day and all night. It is when we are home that she can have an accident. 

Also - She has peed in our bed which is just gross.


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## spotted nikes (Feb 7, 2008)

Google/search this forum for "Crate Games" to learn how to make the crate a nice place for the dog. You need to reintroduce the crate to make it have good associations for the dog.

I've got a feeling that the dog is peeing when you are not home, as well as when you are home, but you just aren't finding it until you are home. Have you ever scolded the dog when you see her having an accident? If so, she probably leaves your sight to go pee somewhere to avoid getting yelled at. You cannot punish for accidents. They don't associate the scolding for actually peeing inside. They just learn to not do it where you can see them.

Yes...her lack of housebreaking is because you haven't trained her properly. My personal belief is that ALL dogs can be housebroken. But you need to be 100% vigilant and consistant in your training. You can't let her out of your sight, until she is 100% relaible. Every time she pees inside, you are teaching her it is ok. (But that doesn't mean you punish her for it. Tether her to you when she is out of the crate. Read the stickies at the top of this forum, and at the top of the training forum.

You should be taking her out after waking up, after she eats, after she plays. If you are free feeding her, stop, and start feeding on a regular schedule so you can learn when she poops. Walk her twice a day at a regular time, so she will not be full of energy when you do have to crate her. (A 40 min brisk walk twice a day will help dramatically, in instilling calmness when crated.


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## PollyWog (Oct 11, 2010)

I don't agree that you shouldn't punish them when you catch them in the act. Punishment could mean a number of effective and humane techniques, like using your voice alone to prove your point and being consistent with what you say. I rush them over to the litterbox (or outside or wherever you want them to potty) hopefully before they've finished. It's important that when you catch them you stick them where they need to be going. And they won't learn to do it when you're just not looking if you are in fact constantly watching them, which you should be doing until they can be trusted. You should start with a small space like penning them up in the kitchen if it's small enough, or a pack n play, or something, and then when they learn not to potty in their personal space you can expand the space. When there is even one accident they go back to being penned up, and of course you correct the accident in the meantime and give praises for pottying in the right spot. Dogs are really simple when you break it down and realize that they associate everything they did last with everything you do next. Good luck!


I second with this too!



spotted nikes said:


> Google/search this forum for "Crate Games" to learn how to make the crate a nice place for the dog. You need to reintroduce the crate to make it have good associations for the dog.
> 
> You should be taking her out after waking up, after she eats, after she plays. If you are free feeding her, stop, and start feeding on a regular schedule so you can learn when she poops. Walk her twice a day at a regular time, so she will not be full of energy when you do have to crate her. (A 40 min brisk walk twice a day will help dramatically, in instilling calmness when crated.


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

Pollywog: using your voice to interrupt them when you catch them going in the house ISN'T punishment. It's just interrupting them, so you can take them to the right spot. It's redirecting them. That's all. 
The reason I make the distinction is because when anyone say it's ok to punish, a lot of people think the old school rub your nose in it, or swat with a newspaper. I don't want them to think negatives are the way to go. Of course, you qualified your comment to say humane, which would rule both of those out, but even yelling and scolding does no good. So, I wouldn't even recommend that. They don't understand that you're yelling or scolding because it's wrong to go in the house, they just think you get mad when you find it in the house. They don't make the connection.

Your voice should never really be considered punishment to your dog. It's the way we communicate with them. It can be firm, or goofy and excited depending on the situation, but never negative enough to be considered punishment.

If you've seen some of the other threads on potty training, you might have noticed that I, and many others DO recommend using your voice, or a sound, to get your puppy's attention, and interrupt them, if you catch them going in the house. BUT, it's not as a punishment, it's just to get them to stop long enough for you to rush them to the RIGHT place to potty.

If you use too loud or angry a tone, your puppy could get scared, and work harder to hide their "accidents" from you. You're right, they can't hide them if you are always watching, BUT, if you do turn your back for just a moment, they will find a spot to hide it, rather than going in front of you. And, then, you can't clean it, if you don't know it's there.

To the OP: I would say, yes, it's because you've gotten complacent in your potty training. You relax a bit, because it seems she's getting the hang of it, so you don't ALWAYS watch her, and then BOOM, she has an accident. I think you just stopped supervising closely too soon, before she was 100% trained.
So, back to the basics is what I'd suggest. Hopefully, all she'll need is a refresher course!


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## benalexe (Nov 9, 2009)

Thank you everyone for the great advice. This is all really good. I honestly do not think that she makes during the day. We have solid floors donwstairs in my house and we would see a puddle if she did. She blocked off from the upstairs when we are not home and a night. How do you get them to tell you they want to go out?

If I bring her our ever hour on the hour I can get her to pee and she would never have an accident but is that getting her to learn?

She can also definitely hold it a long time. 
In terms of the cage- Not sure I want to go back to it unless you tell me it is a must. SHE WILL BARK LIKE CRAZY IN THERE AND NEVER SHUT UP. She has yorkie in her


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## katielou (Apr 29, 2010)

benalexe said:


> Thank you everyone for the great advice. This is all really good. I honestly do not think that she makes during the day. We have solid floors donwstairs in my house and we would see a puddle if she did. She blocked off from the upstairs when we are not home and a night. How do you get them to tell you they want to go out?
> 
> If I bring her our ever hour on the hour I can get her to pee and she would never have an accident but is that getting her to learn?
> 
> ...


She will bark like crazy in there because you haven't trained her not to.

Yes you need to take her out at least every hour. If she is peeing in the house she either has a UTI or she doens't know 100% she is suppose to go outside.


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## kitley2001 (Aug 11, 2010)

Hi there..our dog sits at the door, to let us know she needs out. That is what worked with her previous owner, but in our house, the door is not at a visible area. At our dog wash, the handlers there...who also have a day care, suggest teaching her to ring a bell hanging by the door. That is what they use for the day care. We have started doing that..each time I take her out, I ring the bell first. Ginny caught on quickly..but she also rings the bell for fun..but at least that way, I know she is at the door. Several people I know, have trained their dog to ring a bell.


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

You wouldn't necessarily see puddles on your solid floors - we have laminate flooring, and sometimes the pee evaporates, so we have to really search for "puddles". Usually we can tell because it looks a bit "crackle-y".


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## benalexe (Nov 9, 2009)

Hi Everyone, I first posted my original message in October. We put Tootsie through doggie boot camp and started in again like she was a puppy. We watched her like a hawlk. Put her in the cage when we were not watching her. She did great. Not an accident to be done. Over time we started to give her a bit more freedom. Not a lot but when we were home we let her have the run of the house. Our thinking was that she is now trained. We were wrong. She is starting to get back to her old trick again. So apparently it seems she did not learn anything and we were just very diligent. in taking her out. WHAT DO WE DO NOW?


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

Have you tried giving her her own bed on the floor next to yours? That's what we have because I don't allow dogs on any furniture esp the bed. Also what time do you feed her & does she have water available right up til bed? If she does, stop feed her a minium of 2 hrs before bedtime... I go to bed about 10:30-11:30pm on average so the dogs get fed around 7:30pm afer they cpme inside for the nite (they stay outside during the day weather premitting & come in at nite.


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## benalexe (Nov 9, 2009)

We only leave here food and water out 2 x a day. Thats it. She is fine when she is in the cage. But she never tells us she needs to go out. Instead she will just have an accident.


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