My husband and I just got a 8 wk old yorkie-maltese a few days ago. We are newbies at being dog owners and we already think we’re in over our heads with this guy. Here's our situation:
Pee and poo is a major problem. We usually feed him (in the AM before we leave for work and in the PM when we get home) and then let him out in our patio to pee and poo. He seems to pee okay at times, but he has yet to poo outside. Instead, he waits until we are inside and poops all over the carpet as well as pee again and again. He seems to pee all the time.
He is kept in a crate/kennel while we are at work with a little bit of dry food and water, and a friend comes by a couple times a day to let him out to pee and poo. Is it better if we block off our kitchen and let him run around there with a potty mat? What's the best way to train him to use that and will it confuse him having both the mat out and then taking him out to the patio to pee/poo? I'm just worried we'll come home to a mess if we let him roam around.
Also, he is teething right now and nipping is becoming a problem. He also wines and cries a lot at night, but I think we will put him in our bedroom and see if that helps. Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.
Where to Begin??!
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Fundog
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You're going to have to make better arrangements for one of you to take some vacation time, or for your helper to come over and puppy-sit all day for several days.
Puppies need to eat three or four small meals a day, so providing a bit of food and water in the crate while you are gone is good.
Puppies need to be taken out more often than every couple of hours-- more like every 30 minutes!
And after every meal, after every nap, after every play session, after every training session, etc.
Puppies need to be accompanied outside to potty, not just "let out."
It is very helpful to give some sort of reward, be it a food treat, favorite toy, or a quick game, after a successful outside potty. This will help to reinforce puppy's desire to go outside to potty. Make sure you have that reward in hand when you go out, so you can reinforce the good potty before puppy forgets what she did right.
Even when your puppy understands that she is to potty outside only, she will not develop the control necessary to limit it to that, and your convenience, until she is about three or four months old. So accidents are likely if you forget or get busy, or just become lax. Just like with the very young, recently toilet trained child, you will still need to "remind" your puppy that it's time to go outside and potty frequently-- the time between potties can be gradually increased as she gets older and fully understands. But it will still take some vigilance and understanding on your part.
Puppies need to eat three or four small meals a day, so providing a bit of food and water in the crate while you are gone is good.
Puppies need to be taken out more often than every couple of hours-- more like every 30 minutes!
And after every meal, after every nap, after every play session, after every training session, etc. Puppies need to be accompanied outside to potty, not just "let out."
It is very helpful to give some sort of reward, be it a food treat, favorite toy, or a quick game, after a successful outside potty. This will help to reinforce puppy's desire to go outside to potty. Make sure you have that reward in hand when you go out, so you can reinforce the good potty before puppy forgets what she did right.
Even when your puppy understands that she is to potty outside only, she will not develop the control necessary to limit it to that, and your convenience, until she is about three or four months old. So accidents are likely if you forget or get busy, or just become lax. Just like with the very young, recently toilet trained child, you will still need to "remind" your puppy that it's time to go outside and potty frequently-- the time between potties can be gradually increased as she gets older and fully understands. But it will still take some vigilance and understanding on your part.
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Fundog
- Posts: 3874
- Joined: Wed Dec 03, 2008 8:31 am
- Location: A little gambling town in the high desert
Oh, and having him sleep (in his crate) in your bedroom at night is an excellent idea. 
However, you will still want to get up twice during the night and take him out to potty. Even when he is officially "potty trained," you may need to get up once during the night until he is about four or five months old, as he will not be able to hold his urine all night long until he is much older.
Having a puppy is a lot like having a human baby, as far as sleep deprivation goes.
However, you will still want to get up twice during the night and take him out to potty. Even when he is officially "potty trained," you may need to get up once during the night until he is about four or five months old, as he will not be able to hold his urine all night long until he is much older. Having a puppy is a lot like having a human baby, as far as sleep deprivation goes.
You have to look at a puppy like you would a human child. I hate to say this but leaving the puppy for hours at a time even with someone coming to let it out is not a good situation. You might want to look into doggy day care. Yes it's going to cost you. It's going to cry and whine at night, it misses it's litter mates and it needs to go out more often.
One thing that I do before I bring a puppy home was to get a good sized soft stuffed animal, remove anything the puppy could chew off, eyes, nose, button types of things and take it with me to the breeder, let all the puppies play with it to get the scent on it. I put the stuff animal in the crate with my puppy and it works well for me, I never had a puppy cry at night in many years.
As for weeing and pooing. I took some of the soiled paper from the breeder and put it where I wanted the puppy to go. It's all in the nose. After a time the puppy got the idea that this is the spot. Pick the puppy up and take it to "the spot", don't let it walk there or your going to have the puppy stop to wee on the way. Lucky you, this is a small breed dog.
One thing that I do before I bring a puppy home was to get a good sized soft stuffed animal, remove anything the puppy could chew off, eyes, nose, button types of things and take it with me to the breeder, let all the puppies play with it to get the scent on it. I put the stuff animal in the crate with my puppy and it works well for me, I never had a puppy cry at night in many years.
As for weeing and pooing. I took some of the soiled paper from the breeder and put it where I wanted the puppy to go. It's all in the nose. After a time the puppy got the idea that this is the spot. Pick the puppy up and take it to "the spot", don't let it walk there or your going to have the puppy stop to wee on the way. Lucky you, this is a small breed dog.
The best days are spent with my dogs.
You must make a choice btwn pads & outside. The dog will not learn either/or. It will be so confused! 
and it will be unsuccessful & you will be aggravated. A young pup must go out much more often & you can slowly increase the time, in 15 mts increments.A general rule of thumb for dog holding it is to add 1 to dogs age. for ex: If dog is 4 mths old it should be able to hold it for 5 hrs--this is at night tho. But it has to be worked on from day 1 to get to this point. Be consistant & praise/treat when she goes where you want. Also be aware of the dbl pee/poo. It is very common for pups to doo dbl dooty (pun intended! ) especially in the am after breakfast. Good Luck!
and it will be unsuccessful & you will be aggravated. A young pup must go out much more often & you can slowly increase the time, in 15 mts increments.A general rule of thumb for dog holding it is to add 1 to dogs age. for ex: If dog is 4 mths old it should be able to hold it for 5 hrs--this is at night tho. But it has to be worked on from day 1 to get to this point. Be consistant & praise/treat when she goes where you want. Also be aware of the dbl pee/poo. It is very common for pups to doo dbl dooty (pun intended! ) especially in the am after breakfast. Good Luck!Fundog did touch on this, but basic potty training is this - LOTS of praise when the puppy goes outside! Be it treat and play or any other combination, but make it a big deal and be genuinely proud of her!
She'll also need to be let out every 30-60 minutes and increase time between potty breaks from there - and you might consider picking up food and water after 7pm so you'll only have to get up to let her out once at night.
Others have said this too - you might want to consider taking a few days off, or if you and your husband can tag-team it to make a 4 or 5 day weekend to REALLY get her started in basic house training. We made it work to take a long weekend off when we adopted our (adult) dog from a rescue, and even just those few extra days can make a big difference.
She'll also need to be let out every 30-60 minutes and increase time between potty breaks from there - and you might consider picking up food and water after 7pm so you'll only have to get up to let her out once at night.
Others have said this too - you might want to consider taking a few days off, or if you and your husband can tag-team it to make a 4 or 5 day weekend to REALLY get her started in basic house training. We made it work to take a long weekend off when we adopted our (adult) dog from a rescue, and even just those few extra days can make a big difference.
