Tips for Potty Training Yorkies
Although potty training Yorkies is very difficult, it is not impossible. Many Yorkie owners go so far as to claim it can’t be done. This is simply not true. You will, however, have to try much harder when it comes to Yorkies than you would with other breeds.
Designate a Potty Area
The first thing to do is to set aside a part of the your living room near the front door or sliding door to the back yard which is the official potty area. This is where your Yorkies will go until they get the hang of asking to go outside. The closer you can make this to the door where they will go out to go potty, the better.
Of course, you want to be sure to inform everyone you live with of what you are doing so no one messes up the area or inadvertently wanders into the area and has a most unwelcome surprise.
The way you “designate” this area is to buy potty training pads at the pet store and to set them down on this section of your house. These pads are absorbent, easy to clean, and especially scented so that they attract your Yorkie to pee on them.
Supervision
The key to potty training Yorkies, however, is supervision. Learn your Yorkie’s signal that he or she is about to defecate or urinate. Often they will start sniffing at the ground or becoming otherwise agitated. When they do this, pick your Yorkie up, and take the little guy to the designated area and set him down. Do not seem agitated or put out by doing this. Just act calmly. If you seem angry, you will only encourage your Yorkie to sneak off when it is time to potty and make your job that much harder.
If your Yorkie begins to defecate or pee in the wrong spot, you can sternly reprimand them. The best way to do this is with a stern guttural, command that sounds somewhat like a bark. You should know however that many trainers do not like this procedure as a process of training. I would say that paying close attention and moving your Yorkie before she poops is preferable but that when he or she does start pooping in the wrong place, it is okay to reprimand them, especially if they are beginning to slide back into old habits.
Do not, however, reprimand them after they have already pooped. Puppies don’t really get it when you yell at them for something did more than a minute ago. The old method of “rubbing their noses in it,” works neither in real life nor in the puppy world.
Because you need to catch them before they start to poop, this means that you will need to watch them constantly in the first weeks of having a puppy. When people talk about the difficulty they had potty training Yorkies, you will usual find that they were incapable of giving their Yorkies the supervision they needed to succeed in the training. You need to watch them 24/7 for the first few weeks while training them.
I recommend that if you really want to potty train your Yorkie, you should set aside the time necessary to do this. If you have to go to work for the most of the day or can’t be at home, you will either have to find someone who can watch your Yorkie or take time off work to do it yourself. This is the only way you will have success.
Narrowing the Space
As your Yorkie starts to get used to peeing in the correct space start making it smaller and closer to the outside area where you want them to go potty. Do this at no faster than one pad per day. Eventually you should have the pads outside and then, when you think puppy is ready, you take them all away and see if they have learned how to hold it.
Crate Training
Many trainers also prefer to use crate training. You do this by placing your Yorkie in a dog crate during the day when you can’t watch them. This is a good idea because it works with your Yorkie’s natural instinct not to pee where he sleeps. In addition, crates are useful for helping soothe dogs that might bark during the day.
If you follow these instructions diligently, potty training Yorkies can work just as well as for other dogs. Because Yorkies are so stubborn however, you will need to work harder and longer at it. Usually they pretty much get it after a month with only a couple of follow up periods needed to really reinforce the lesson.