[jrhoutsong]

I have a 6 month old male Yorkshire Terrier and am having next to no luck in housebreaking him. I take him out VERY regularly and he still has accidents on our kitchen floor the second I leave him to run upstairs or in to the next room. He poops and pees almost every night in his crate. The other day when his crate was open during the day he chose to go into it and poop rather than pooping on the kitchen floor. PLEASE HELP! I need some advice so that I can start enjoying this little guy instead of dreading what I will find each time I see him!

[labman]

Start by reading the sticky at https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/i...tml#post251809

When you do take him out, make sure you walk him around to stimulate elimination. Learn to read the warning signs, and you can make fewer, shorter trips outside and have fewer accidents.

[idsrvit]

This is going to sound counter productive... but you must start at the beginning with this little guy starting over with crate time. IF you follow this to a T... it should only take a week or two... a month tops and then you can let the little guy out for time spent with you.

First... start by creating a regular schedule that you follow pretty much the same way each day. i.e... feed/water same times. For email purposes.. lets say... first feeding at 7:30 am. Feed in crate. Leaving the little guy in the crate... wait 15 min after feeding. Take him outside to the [U]same[U]spot each time. DO NOT PLAY with him at this time. Give him the command... "go pee" and ignore him otherwise. IF he goes... praise him as soon as the squating starts. Good boy... good pee pee. IF he does not go within that time frame... take him back into the house and place him back into the crate. Wait 10 min and go back outside to the same spot to try again. Repeat this until he both pees/poops. When you come back into the house... he can be out of the crate for about 1-2 hours. Take him back outside to pee again. If he does not pee... back into the crate. Keep track of the time. Puppies that small must go at least every 2-3 hours when they are young. When he pees/poops.. he can be out of the crate for about 2 hours. Otherwise.. back into the crate. He should be spending a lot of time in the crate and not freely roaming the house... that is an accident waiting to happen. Also... confine him to a small area of the house for the first couple of months. Only allow him in one small area.. where he has access to the door he goes out of for relief. Taking him out every 2-3 hours throughout the day... with no more than 2 hours of outside crate activity for the first week or two is important. Love him up while he is out... as socialization is also important. The bladder is a muscle.. this little guy just needs to strengthen the bladder muscle... and this will only happen if he is forced to hold his urge. You say he is going in his crate... it sounds as if his crate may be too big. His crate only need be big enough for him to stand up fully... and turn around. If it is too big... it will not help with training. IF it is bigger than that.. find a way to confine him to one side with less room for accidents. When he wakes from naps... take him outside immediately. Give him the "go pee" command each time you take him out. Do not forget... Praise.. Praise.. Praise. Little dogs work well with treat rewards... as soon as he pees... praise him with voice.. and give him a little snack of cheese or something he enjoys. The "go pee" command is a life saver on rainy or cold days... or when you take the dog on trips for rest stops. It is much nicer when a dog will go on command.
Good luck...

[labman]

As you have found out, schedules don't work. At least not putting him on your schedule. If you can see a regular pattern to his bowel movements and walk him on his schedule, it will help. Don't watch the clock, but him for the behaviors I mention in the sticky along with crating, a command, and praise.

I don't know if you are fighting poor care before you got him, or a lack of good instructions, but it will take other than good housebreaking technique now to correct your problem. In some ways a well cared for 7 week old, such as Xanthe we picked up yesterday, is easier than an older puppy. She is not used to having to live in her filth. She does have to eliminate frequently, making it easy to anticipate it and take her out when her body is ready. As I mention near the end of the section on housebreaking, the timing is different for older dogs. The behavior before hand, is still largely the same. Most dogs have a natural preference for grass. Perhaps that is why he chooses a carpet rather than tile. To break the pattern of eliminating inside, you need to take him out at the right time, and exercise him until he can't hold it. Then praise him.

It will take a long time for him to catch on if you take him out when he doesn't have to go and stand there repeating a command he has no idea what it means.