Question about training a yorkie

[hearts and roses]

Okay, easy child's puppy is about 8 months old. easy child is very bad at training and housebreaking her puppy. It has for the most part fallen to me. I am a busy woman, but I manage to stay on top of it. The puppy wants to be clean and wants to make us happy I believe. She 'goes' when we take her out most of the time, but will have an accident in the house if we're not careful of getting her out often. in my opinion, she should be confined to the kitchen when we're home with her, but easy child allows her to have run of the house, which means if she has to go and there is no one around she will pee or poop in the house.

Aside from that problem, another problem is that when we're all gone off to work for the day, Puppy needs to be confined and away from the other two dogs. In the kitchen or easy child's bedroom would be fine, but I've now noticed that she apparently doesn't like this confinement and has been chewing on the bottom of the doors. Today, when I went home at lunch to take her out, there were wood shavings outside easy child's room on the floor. Yes, the little devil dog chewed and scraped (SCRAPED!!!) the bottom of the door with her little yorkie claws. There were big thick bands of wood/paint scraped off the back of the door! H had pointed out to me that she did the same thing just outside the bathroom door last week when I was in the shower!

I crated both my cairn terriers - Todo dogs - as puppies and they were just fine. Turned out okay, no separation anxiety, well adjusted, etc. When they weren't in their crates as puppies they were confined to the kitchen with me while I made dinner or tied to the table to prevent them from 'going' on the floor until I could take them out again.

easy child refuses to crate train this puppy. Claims that you simply cannot confine a Yorkie to a crate - that is will cause all sorts of social problems and anxiety for the pup. Now, granted it's true that when she's confined she does tend to squawk a bit, but eventually she settles down. H has told me that when he's working out in the yard and I leave she carries on for about 10 minutes and then is fine till I return.

Today, after discovering her destruction, I went to the basement and pulled up one of my old crates - that is quite roomy for a Yorkie - and set it up for her. She's in it now, I am back at work. She was carrying on when I left, but I threw in some favorite toys, a new bone and her little favorite sleepy blanket.

I just searched on line and one site said not to crate train a yorkie (use confinement to a room instead) and another site said it was fine to crate train any and all breeds.


Anyone have particular experience with training a Yorkie???
My feeling is that it is MY house and not easy child's and since she's not trying very hard to train this puppy, but it lives in MY house, the pup should be trained according to what style suits me until easy child can prove another method will work. What do you think?

Incidentally, the puppy sleeps with me also, since I'm the one who is it's primary caretaker and she knows it. easy child will take the pup in her room and within10 minutes the pup is back in our room. I feel like because it's work, easy child can't be bothered. But if this puppy is allowed to do whatever, whenever, however, she will be the worlds most obnoxious dog, living in MY house.

 

[donna723]

Who said you can't crate train a Yorkie?

You really, REALLY need a crate! The crate will help with the potty training too.

 

[Shari]

I have no Yorkie experience, but its my understanding all dogs are den animals...That's the way I would go.

And I agree with you...either she steps up and trains the dog to abide by your rules, or you do.

 

[Hound dog]

Ok. I happen to know at least 3 excellent breeders of yorkies.......and they all use crates.

This pup needs a crate. And I'd insist on it if she is to remain in the home. by the way make easy child pay damages to the door like repainting or a new door altogether. Most likely will make her more receptive to the crate. lol

Yorkies are a bit harder to housetrain simply due to size. They need to go more often. But the crate will encourage her to learn to hold it better and teach her control. I've never had a dog completely accident free until after age 2. Usually this was due to my kids, and rare after age 1.

Your house your rules. Doesn't matter if this is easy child's dog or not. She can comply, or maybe either find a new home for the pup or herself. Otherwise, it will get worse, not better.

((hugs))

 

[flutterbee]

Buster (a yorkie) is crated when we're not home and until about a week or so ago, was crated at night, too.

 

[Star*]

Okay - you want training 101 on Yorkshire Terriers? I'll help -

But....easy child has GOT to be willing to DO and FOLLOW through - really or it won't work.

First off - CRATES or Dens are a safe haven for a dog. In their primal brains they have for thousands of years burrowed and lived in their dens. Wolves and wild dogs still do this today and SOME domestic dogs left outside, bored and unattended.

Get a bloody crate and GET a baby gate for the kitchen. First things is first - PUT the crate in the kitchen and LEAVE THE DOOR OPEN.....put her blankie and a few toys in there.....COVER the crate or cage with a towel or blanket to make it dark ...like a den. SHE DOES NOT PUT THE DOG IN THE CRATE AND LEAVE HER THERE TO START - NO WAY will this work and all you will end up with is a frustrated YOU and a dog now stomping around in poop and piddle -that "A dog won't carp in it's bed." statement? Phooey. They will.....some don't but most eventually will.

Put the baby gate up - and put some potty pads AND newspapers DOWN and put them as CLOSE to the back door as possible- take up ANY and ALL rugs - the pads of their feet will GO for the softest /most unusual spot. So rugs at this time are a no no. The idea about putting the newspaper and pads close to the door is so that eventually (yes when it's snowing) you move the papers OUTSIDE and she can smell them and you move them to the BACK part of the yard - so she's not piddlypooing near the back door - this payoff only works if you remember to put the piddlypoo papers as far away from the backdoor as you want her to piddlypoo. If you leave them by the back step or on the deck? Yup - that's where she'll go from then on - so this is really some work.

Okay - so crate darkened, baby gate up, papers down with blankey and comfort toys for Chewing - I recommend a KONG for little tiny mouths. You can buy the pnut butter and cheese filling, squirt it in there in the morning and leave it for her to play with. Also at her age I'm not a HUGE proponent of rawhide for babies BUT if she's an aggressive chewer? a Rawhide KNOTED bone - NOT a flip chip (she needs a challenge) will help. Also toys that squeek - go to thrift stores or yard sales and buy baby teethers - get a NYLABONE - get toys with different textures, rattles....etc. Leave those for DAY time - when you see she has a favorite?? Leave it - the other toys - ROTATE.

NOW comes the fun part - If you want to get used to HER getting used to the crate? YOU have to put her in it.....give her treats ONLY (like wavy bacon, snaussages, biscuits) IN the cage - NO treats ANYWHERE ELSE but in the crate.....NOT UNTIL SHE GETS THE CRATE IS GOOD.....if I go in the crate? I get a treat. MMMM I like the crate. And for the first WEEK.....? You or your daughter will PUT her in the crate WITH a treat and you sit in front of the door and talk very calmly to her and give her tiny tidbits of say a piece of wavy bacon dog snack. This needs to be increased every night starting with about 5 minutes each night until you build up a 30 minute tolerance of you sitting outside the cage talking to her and reassuring her.....

Once you have 30 minutes under your belt - you can leave her in the crate with an added treat and toy - and shut the door. LEAVE HER - ignore her barking - NO ONE is to even pretend she exists. At the end of 10 minutes - you let her out and say NOTHING. Her freedom is the kitchen. She is going to LIVE in the kitchen and YOU all are going to learn to step over the baby gate.....

The only time you ALLOW her out of the kitchen in the BIG part of the house is when you have taken her out and she piddlypoos #1 and #2 AND the toys you have in the rest of the house are new too - When you are done playing? Back out to the yard.....piddlypoo chance before bed time and then back in the kitchen -

Eventually you will see her go into her crate by herself - but NEVER EVER leave her in a crate for more than 6 hours at a time - puppies can't hold their piddle for maybe longer than 5.5 so even 6 to start after she's used to it is long --a little too long to me. You want a smaller crate but not a tiny one - give her some room to move around, but not like a great dane box.

The plan here (and Yorkies are VERY smart) is to train YOU. *you are ALSO VERY SMART!

You also need to have an exercise plan -

DO NOT CONFUSE piddlypoo time with playtime - HUGE mistake.......

When you come home at night - THE FIRST thing you do - before she's used to the crate is take any and all piddlypoo papers OUTSIDE to the designated piddly poo spot, put her down and say "Okay hurry up, do tinkles or do pees in the grass, or POTTY POTTY." whatever it is you want to say - but when she piddly poos? PICK HER UP and NO playing -

Playing and PIDDLYPOO time are to be separate. BUT if you are playing and she does piddlypoo? PRAISE her. LAVISHLY. Then just keep playing.

She's bored. She's very bored and terriers are high energy animals....if someone could come home in the middle of the day to exercise her that would be better - but not always possible - so you're going to rely on papers and toys and you'll see that IF she is IN the kitchen, with a baby gate - she'll go into her crate BY herself and you WILL NOT NEED to lock her in it-

That's what I love about the baby gate - If you could install a doggy door? She'd potty train her self to go outside - the grass would be more squishy than the kitchen floor - (FYI)

Good luck -

 

[Star*]

And for the boredom?

Training classes. Yorkies are some of the quickest learners I have ever seen at the trials. Even doing agility. Find a place that you can take her to like Petsmart or some local vets. When she's learning, she'll be also socializing and less bored.

 

[mom_to_3]

I have a Yorkie too! He is the sweetest, well mannered (except when someone rings the door bell), potty trained little guy I've known. I crate trained him from the beginning and we had NO accidents ever. We didn't allow for accidents. By that I mean that when he was a teeny, tiny guy, he was in his crate at all times, we had water accessible at all times and fed him at different times thru the day. He was only out of the crate at designated times to potty. We didn't let him walk outside, I carried him to the spot in the yard, that I wanted him to forever potty at. After he did his business, he got loads of praise and then we ran and played in the yard. He was able to come into the house and walk on the carpet only in the same area we were and sit in our laps. He only got about a 10 min. time span of that. Then he would go right back to his crate where he would promptly go to sleep. In about 45 min. we would repeat the process. This worked only because I was at home and able to do it, and most importantly..... I was dedicated. My "Buster" loves his crate, I made it soft and warm. We are able to leave the door open and he "puts himself away". When he was young, I was able to say........ get in your bed and he made a run for it. It's very doable and your dog will love you for it! Good luck!

 

[donna723]

My girls are all past the puppy stage but they stay in the crates all day while I'm at work. I give them their breakfast in the crates just as I'm leaving for work, so they don't mind getting in at all.

They eventually come to love their crates. It's their sanctuary, their own private little space where they feel safe and secure. Ragan has slept with me since she was a tiny puppy but Katy prefers to sleep in her crate. I just tell her "Bedtime!" and she runs and gets in - I cover the crate to make it dark and a few seconds later, she's snoring. It's so much their 'private space' that neither one of them would even dream of going in the others' crate! They just won't do it.

 

[hearts and roses]

Star , you hit the nail on the head when you said that WE are the ones to be trained!!

We have the gate - she jumps it. She literally climbs up it and jumps over it. If we stay in the kitchen then she won't jump it - only if we leave her in there will she jump it.

The crate, we have one of those too. It has her bed, blankey and toys inside. I toss in a few snacks. She was in it this afternoon for 3 1/2 hours and cried a bit when I was leaving, but was completely fine when I got home. She wasn't making a peep and her bed was warm when I let her out of the crate - she must have slept.

She always goes piddles when we go out and poops too. It's when easy child is 'busy' or not paying attention that the little sweetie will tear into the living room and pee on the floor. I've already tossed out my rug from in there.

It's a matter of diligence on OUR part, I already know. My dogs are trained fine. It's easy child who needs to get with it.

I told her how it's going to go from now on and she shrugged and said, "Fine". I almost rung her neck - I cannot tell you how much she has balked in the past every time I suggested the crate. I think the puppy likes the crate really, or at least, she deals with it and in the end will be okay with it. I just don't want her running wildly through my house anymore leaving her pee in front of my couch - and with winter coming, NO THANK YOU!

Thanks so much everyone. I think there are crazy breeders out there. The breeder easy child bought the puppy from told her to not even bother with crating the dog because she allows all her dogs and their pups the run of her house. Ugh.

 

[mom_in_training]

I say its your house and this puppy as darling as it may be is doing damage. I say crate train. Ummmm I had two yorkies that I started crate training as soon as they were old enough to come home with me at 9 weeks. The doors and what not can be fixed but the foreign things that this lil doll is ingesting very well could can turn into a problem medically. My yorkies automatically went to their crate when they saw my on the go coffee cup, Lol!!. They always no matter what stayed in their crate when I was leaving the house. I never had to worry about them chewing on anything, Urinating in the house or even worse deciding that a lamp cord or something seemed to taste pretty good that could electricute them... That would be horrible. The only other option is to trade dogs with me, I have a Chihuahua that is crate trained, He is a lil over a year old. We adopted him from the shelter almost three months ago. I keep telling my difficult child that I wish that I had just got a yorkie. Don't get me wrong, He is sweet and all but I think getting a puppy would have been soooo much easier considering I do not know what kind of life this lil guy had before he ended up in the shelter. A puppy knows no different so I think its easier to train the way you want to train them is all where is this lil guy (Baily) is already a year old and is somewhat set in his ways. I have the same issue with him using my house as a toilet despite my consistancy on taking him out. Today was a better day though so we are making progress. He also stays in his crate when we leave the house with no questions asked and he sleeps in his crate at night as well and has adjuted very well to it.

 

[mom_in_training]

Lol!!! I loved the way Star* put it. I say the same thing about us humans. The majority of the time it is the humans that need to be trained so that they don't sc*** up the animal. Lol!!!! So true. I believe in that so much that I even started puppy training classes with Baily thinking that I was missing the boat somewhere and thought that I could learn where I very well could be messing up. Lol!! I think they need to call it human training for your dogs sake....

 

[susiestar]

I think you are right on to tell easy child how it will be. easy child brought the dog into YOUR home. YOU have the RIGHT to a piddle free living room. IF easy child wanted a piddlypoo living room, she should get ehr own place.

It just isn't fair to insist on not training the dog. It doesn't do the dog any favors, and animals who are not taught to be well mannered are far more likely to be taken to the pound. And that is SAD.

I don't know why on EARTH anyone would say Yorkies can't be crate trained. It is silly.

Star nailed it.

So, are you keeping the yorkie for your own dog? It sure sounds like easy child is bored with it, with all the work of it, so the dog thinks it belongs to you.

Many hugs, and Way To Go for standing up for yourself and your right to a piddlypoo free home!

 

[witzend]

I would recommend a crate for when you are away. easy child can take puppy potty before she leaves the house and puts her in the crate. The puppy won't mess in it, and as long as easy child (or whoever) is letting her out of the crate she can take her outside to go potty.

 

[hearts and roses]

I understand why easy child doesn't want to use the crate (she doesn't mind me using it). The poor little Izzy shivers and shakes all over when she can tell I'm readying to leave for work. She doesn't like being alone. I would love to leave her free with the other dogs for company, but for many reasons, that is out of the question. For starters, Izzy isn't safe left free and secondly, our older dog Sophie may bite her (she's missing the social gene).

This morning, the little Izz-Bizz, as I call her, was all curled up on the kitchen chair next to me snoozing. As soon as I pulled my stuff together and got ready to leave, she started shivering. I took her and held her and cooed to her and after letting her pee outside, I grabbed some treats, walked to easy child's room where the crate is and placed her inside. I knelt down outside the crate and talked to her a bit and settled her in. When I left she gave a couple of yaps, but then she seemed quiet. I think she may actually be at the perfect age to understand. If I had waited any longer, it may have been a real job. Yesterday and today (so far) were accident free! It honestly feels like Izz-Bizz respects me more or something...could that be or is it just my imagination? Hahaha~

What a relief to hear all of your encouragement. I can't believe I was buying easy child's line of BS about yorkies not being able to be crated. I honestly do not think she is such a easy child anymore. Hahaha. Just kidding. She's just a pita.