Getting on the right track is the first action toward housetraining your new Yorkie puppy.
- Designate a potty area
- Guide your puppy there to do his business.
- Heartily praise him when he goes.
Occasionally giving him a treat right after your puppy finishes, you can encourage him to potty in the desired area. The odor left from previous visits to that area will quickly mark it as the place for the puppy to do his business.
An eight-week-old puppy should be taken to the potty area every one to three hours. Older puppies can generally wait longer. Most puppies should be taken to potty
- After waking in the morning
- After naps
- After meals
- After playing or training
- Immediately before being put to bed
Pottying on Command is a way to train your puppy and to avoid spending a lot of time waiting for your puppy to go, you may want to teach him to potty on a unique command. Such as "Hurry up" or Potty" in an upbeat tone of voice. After a few weeks of training, you'll notice that when you say the command your puppy will begin pre-potty sniffing, circling and then potty shortly after you give the command. Be sure to praise him for his accomplishments.
Feeding Schedules are very important. Most puppies will potty within an hour after eating. Once you set your puppy's feeding schedule, you will have some control over when he needs to go.
- Schedule your puppy's dinner times so that you will be available to let him potty after eating.
- Avoid giving your puppy a large meal just prior to confining him or he may have to go when you're not around to take him out. Schedule feeding two to three times daily on a consistent schedule.
- Have food available for only 30 to 40 minutes, then remove it, this will be different for younger puppies and teacup puppies, they will need to be on free choice
- he last feeding of the day should be done several hours before he's confined for the night. By controlling the feeding schedule, exercise sessions, confinement periods and trips to the potty area, your puppy will quickly develop a reliable schedule for pottying.
Crate Training a puppy to be comfortable in a crate is a good way to keep him safe and confined during times that you cant be with them. Most puppies will quickly accept crate confinement when you make the introduction fun. Since it's important to associate favorable things with the area where your puppy is confined, it is a good idea to play with him there, or simply spend some time reading or watching television nearby as he relaxes with a favorite chew toy. If he is only in the area when you leave, it becomes a social isolation area that he eventually may resist entering. When you pick up his toys, store them in the crate so the puppy will enter on his own to play. You may even want to occasionally hide a biscuit in the crate as a nice surprise.
The crate is not to be used for a period that exceeds the length of time the puppy can actually control the urge to urinate or defecate. If you are gone for long periods each day, you will need to provide a larger confinement area. You may want to consider using an exercise pen or small room. Provide an area large enough so that if your puppy has to potty when you are gone, he can do it in a space that is separate from his sleeping area. A 15 to 30 square foot area is adequate for most puppies. If he chooses a specific place to eliminate, cover it with paper to make cleanup easier. Expect some mistakes, it happens. Left on his own, the untrained puppy is very likely to make a mistake. Close supervision is a very important part of training. Do not consider your puppy housetrained until he has gone at least four consecutive weeks without pottying in the house. For older dogs, this period should be even longer.
- Your puppy should constantly be in your sight
- .Baby gates or playpens are helpful to control movement throughout the house and to aid supervision.
- Keep them in the crate when unsupervised. When you're away from home, sleeping or if you're just to busy to closely monitor your puppy's activities, confine him to a small, safe area in the home. Nervous wetting is sometimes a problem when your puppy squats and urinates when he greets you, this is called submissive urination. Dogs and puppies that urinate during greetings are very sensitive and should never be scolded when they do this, punishment makes the problem worse. Most puppies will grow out of this behavior if you are calm, quiet and avoid reaching toward the head during greetings. Another helpful approach is to calmly ask your dog to sit for a very tasty treat each time someone greets him. Be sure to use a good commercial product made specifically to clean up doggy odors. Follow the manufacturer's recommendations for usages. If a carpeted area has been soaked with urine, be sure to saturate it with the cleaning product and not merely spray the surface. Rooms in the home where your puppy has had frequent mistakes should be closed off for several months. He should only be allowed to enter when accompanied by a family member. The basic principles of housetraining are pretty simple, but a fair amount of patience is required. The most challenging part is always keeping an eye on your active dog or puppy. If you maintain control, take your dog outside frequently and consistently praise the desired behavior, soon you should have a house-trained canine companion. Additional Training Help Yorkie Information Center
