Hello, I have a 5 month old Yorkie Chihuahua mix that is having problems with house training... I got him when he was 2 moths old and started training right away. Saying "No!" when he peed or pooped in the house but no hitting. Giving him treats when he went outside. He was doing really well for about a week, but here lately he has gotten a lot worse.

He really only goes in the house if he is upstairs. But he knows it's bad because after he does he runs and hides, but then sometimes he will come right up to you and pee right there and run away! Like I said, a few weeks ago he was doing great! He would stand at the door and cry anytime he had to go out. The good days would out weigh the bad, but now the bad out weigh the good. I have also noticed that the more people that are home, the more he goes in the house. If it's just me and him (most of the time) he is great.

I have tried puppy pads, he just tears then into pieces. We thought about trying a baby gate at the bottom of the stairs but that would be really annoying seeing as we go upstairs a lot. And I think that would just make him upset to see us upstairs and he couldn't go or he would just start going downstairs. He is crate trained at night and does very good. And we have not changed his food or anything like that.

Thanks for your time and any help you can offer!

1st... I'm no expert, just an animal lover all my life, so my input is strictly from first hand experience and reading. He is a puppy, that may be the first reason he is doing this. At this stage they require so much attention. My experience with small dogs such as yours (I have had the joy of both), is they just do this, just because they just want to or they are trying to get more attention from you. Do you worked away from the home or leave him for long periods? I would not leave him down stairs either, this may make things worse. The pads worked for my sweeties but not all dogs are alike. Have you considered a professional dog trainer (whisper) to work with you and the little one? Don't give up and good luck!
;)

I actually suggested this to someone yesterday who was having a similar problem...

I would be getting that babygate installed at the bottom on the stairs.
I know it will be a pain but it is only temporary until you get his toilet training under control.

I recently had to put a babygate in between my living room and kitchen... now THAT is an inconvenice!
We did this because every single time we went out and left the dogs inside they would pee on the rug!

Remove them from the situation and they physically cannot go on the rug anymore... same as with you...
Remove the temptation of going potty upstairs and he will no longer do it.

He is only 5 months and I have heard that Yorkies are hard to train (as are a lot of smaller breeds) so don't lost hope.

Does he go in the house even if the backdoor is open? Or do you let him out at certain times?

I ask because I personally do not like leaving my backdoor open as we have some "bad" dogs in my area and I don't like them being outside unsupervised.

To Snappermylove, unfortunately we do have to leave him in his room for long periods, but it is only on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday and not for the whole day. And no I haven't looked into dog trainers because I figured that would be expensive. But thanks for you help and your probably right, he is still a puppy.

To Shazamataz, if this keeps up we probably will get a baby gate but I think we will try to tough it out a little longer before trying that. And no I have to take him out on a leash because we don't have a fenced in yard and don't want him out there alone. I usually just take him out if he is at the door, if he starts going into the other room, or if it's been a few hours and I just figure he needs to go.

Thanks so much for your help :)

Are you still working on the crate training and the possible separation anxiety?

Could that have anything to do with his current behavior?

You might just have to be very dilligent with taking him out for a few weeks... even every half an hour would be good.

Once again, a huge inconvenience but if you can get it under control fast then you can stop.

Another thing to consider is training him to ring a bell when he needs to go out.
I have also been meaning to that with mine but haven't gotten around to it :rolleyes:

You rig up a little bell at nose height near your door.
Every time you go outside ring that bell and eventually they learn to push it with their nose when they need to go to the toilet.

Good catch Cat... (I forgot about that)
Has he been doing it since he came back from the kennel?