I received a message from someone recently - she is having trouble potty training her puppy. I thought the best way to get the most info would be to ask the forum members for advice

Here's the message:

I have a HUGE problem and hope that you can assist me with it.

I have a Yorkshire terrier, Savannah and she is 9weeks old. She is very obedient a listens when I speak to her.

But I have a huge problem with potty training her. She doesn’t alert me when she needs to go, even though I take her outside after meals, after playtime and after naps. She’ll hold it in till she gets inside.

She obviously sleeps in the bed and doesn’t alert me when she needs to go and just goes on the bed. I have tried liter box training, doesn’t work.

She walks straight to the newspapers, over them and does her business right on the other side of the paper.

What can I do?

PLEASE HELP…!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Savannah is still very, very young. Ideally, puppies should only go to their new home after the age of 12 weeks. During this time, the mom and siblings teach the puppy manners. Savannah's potty training would have started at the breeder's home, so maybe you can contact your breeder and find out what she did and how she potty trained the puppies. If she didn't train them on newspaper, that might be why Savannah doesn't see them as a place to potty.

There are several ways to potty train a puppy and personally, I prefer to use an expen with a designated potty spot. I use washable pee pads with newspaper over it. The pee pad keeps the scent and the newspaper can cover the wetness and keep their feet dry. The most important thing is to distinguish the potty places for her: make the pee spot smell like a toilet and make sure that her beds, toys and the rest of the house smells clean and fresh. Also, wash your floors with vinegar and water - many cleaner contain ammonia which smells like urine and it encourages the puppies to potty everywhere.

When you get up in the morning, take her outside. Make that the first thing you do every single morning. Because she has to hold it through the night, she will have to potty. Take her outside (have her walk, don't carry her) and wait patiently until she squats to potty. When she is almost finished, use your command for potty. I use the Afrikaans 'pieppie' for both number 1 and 2 When you say the command, she will look at you and that's when you praise her. Give her a treat and just keep doing this every morning (and every time you know that she has to go potty) and eventually, she will realize that she's supposed to potty outside.
Outside potty = praise, treats & mom's happiness. Inside potty = silence (if you don't catch her in the act) or if you do catch her, make a sharp sound to get her to stop and then a rush to get her outside.

Thanks you guys, i will try that..

But it's strange cause its just the last week thats she's been doing this.

And like i said i'm fed up..

Any other tips or training methods. At this stage i will try just about ANYTHING...

How long have you had her? Please don't tell me you got her at 6 weeks ? Where did you get her from? There are many breeders in SA who just don't care and new owners like yourself often end up with sick or unhealthy puppies.

Have you tried an expen? It's like a big crate - you put her bed, water, toys, and pee spot in there. When you can't watch her constantly, you can put in the expen and because she won't want to soil her bed, she'll use the pee spot. When you can supervise her, you can make sure to take her out as soon as she shows signs of having to potty.

Does she has free run of the house? In other words, is she allowed to everywhere she wants? Because they don't have the same sense of space that we do, she will think that any room far from where you are is a good potty spot.

Yes i got her at 6weeks. I got her as a wedding gift. And the mother is NOT potty trained and that is why i am astruggling i suppose.

She is kept in the open plan bathroom during the day when i'm at work but gets taken out a few times a day. When i get home @ 16h00 i take her outside to play and to potty.

And then she has free run in the house but i take her out at least every hour. And before bedtime.

For the first few weeks she slept right through but the last week she is impossible. The routine didnt change but she cant keep it in and she's just going on the bed and the carpet as she pleases. She used to cry during the night if she wanted to go and i'd take her out but now she just goes.

I'll try the crate. Like i said i'm dessprate.

Hi Liz,

Your baby girl really was taken away from her mommy & littermates too young At 9 weeks of age this little girl does not yet have bladder or bowel control

Here are a few lines quoted from the book - "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Yorkshire Terriers"

"As your Yorkie puppy gets older and develops more bladder and bowel control, he'll be able to go longer between trips outside, but this is a gradual process. Many puppies can be considered house trained and reliable by five to six months of age as long as they aren't required to hold it too long. However, it is not unusual for some puppies to need a strict schedule and many trips outside until six, seven, and even eight months of age. Just as some children potty train at different ages and rates, so do puppies. A puppy is house-trained and reliable when he is ready and able to do it."

Thank you for that one... i really appreciate all your support.

But like i said she was fine until monday... She is very bright. I trained her to sit and lie down when she was only 7weeks and it took me about 2hours. Obviously with play breaks inbetween.

But we will get there eventually...

Wow Liz, you really got her at a young age. She still had to learn so much from her parents!!

I got my second Yorkie in August this year. I got him at 8 weeks, which was also a little too young. But I must thank my breeder as she trained them from day one. Mika is quite good when it comes to pottying and also cries (when on the bed) when he wants to potty. We kept him in the kitchen scullery for the first few weeks during the day. His papers are still there now and he runs to do his business there if the doors are closed. We are training him to do it outside now, with the other dogs!!!

Just be patient. It takes a long time to get them used to something. Persistance is key here!!! Dont loose hope. We close our room doors because if they are open the yorkies will mess there, not always though. I think they like the soft carpet!!! Or they just want to be naughty at times!!!

The best will be to restrict her to areas and keep newspaper there so that she can go when she wants to.

All of the best with the potty training!

Thank you sooo much... I feel alot better now. This morning i was on the verge of loosing it. But now i feel like we can go on.

Time heals all i know..

I will keep you guys updated on how it goes..


Thanks for the support...

Oh yes....and Welcome to the forum!!! You will love it here!!!

I like the name Savannah and she is too adorable!!! Is that a pittbull in the pick with her? Our yorkies also loves our boxer!!! He has all the patience with them!!!!

Thanx, i also fell in love with that name and when i saw her i just knew she was a Savannah kinda girl... lol

Yes thats my pitbull, her "Brother" Sergeant... he is an angel and he is also VERY patient with her. As you can see he just lies and watches he and if she falls of the bed he wakes me to pick her up and they both sleep in my bed with me...

They just LOVE each other...

I got Puddin' at 6 weeks and she barely had teeth. Like most Yorkies, she has a strong mind about what she wants and has always been that way. When we faced the potty training dilemma, I gave it some thought and came to this conclusion:

In all my years I have never seen a mother allow her unpotty-trained child to walk around the house, crawl on furniture or sleep in Mama's bed with a naked baby butt. So why do we think naked puppy butts are any different??

So, I sat down and designed a nappy for Puddin', one that I could put a sanitary pad inside to absorb urine, and stitched one up. It worked so well, I made four more. Puddin' is long since trained but I kept the nappies (which have ruffles and lace on them and even match some of her clothes) and now I use them for her oestrus cycles and when we take her out in public with us (prevents accidents).

Marilize has the pattern and I'm happy to allow her to post it on the site for your use. It is so simple to make you can even do it by hand if you don't have a sewing machine. If you want to see a picture of it, go here: http://sweetvioletsa.blogspot.com/2009/05/free-sewing-pattern.html . Unfortunately the referenced website is no longer in operation, but the pic is actually Puddin's bum wearing one of the nappies. If all else fails and you want the pattern, PM me with your email addy and I'll send it to you.

As a potty-training aid, you use it just like you normally train the puppy, but keep the nappy on between trips to the potty/outside, especially if the pup is on a piece of furniture. I used to take Puddin' to the pad before bedtime and immediately upon rising, and after each feed. The morning wee is the most important, as their little bladders are full...I had a potty pad next to the toilet where she would be placed with the command "go potty" while I sat down next to her and did the same thing. Today we keep a potty pad in the guest loo and in our en suite (opposite ends of the house) and she is very good about using them.

Best of luck!

Thanks for mentioning the nappy, Sweetviolet! It's a really great training aid! I'm working on uploading it onto the forum...