If you own a yorkshire terrier, you probably know they’re not the easiest dogs to house train. How to stop yorkies peeing in the house is probably the most common problem yorkie owners face.
If you are working on housebreaking a yorkshire terrier, let’s start here… As much as you don’t want to hear this, I’ve seen people do everything right to house train a yorkie, but the yorkie never fully catches on. However, that is not the norm. I would guess that one out of a thousand yorkies will always have accidents inside. Just about every yorkie can be taught to not pee or poop in your house. You just need to use the right techniques.
One other thing to remember… your yorkie will never pee or poop in your house just to aggravate you. As much as you might think they’re trying to annoy you, and as much as you get to know their personality, they really don’t purposely pee or poop inside for some sort of practical joke.
How do you housebreak a yorkie?
First, you need to be consistent with outside potty times. Don’t expect your your yorkie to not pee or poop inside if you only take your yorkie outside 2 or 3 times each day. Set a schedule and stick to it.
Obviously, your yorkie will need to go outside as soon as she wakes up. Obviously, you should take your dog out before bedtime. Between waking up and bedtime, take your yorkshire terrier out at least every 2 hours. As your yorkie begins to catch on, the time may be increased a bit, but use your own judgement.
When you are outside with your your yorkie, praise him when he pees or poops. Give him some type of treat as a reward. Let him know that outside is the place to go. When you are inside and you catch your yorkie in the act of relieving himself, say a firm “No!” and immediately take him outside.
Another very effective housebreaking method for yorkies (and all types of dogs) is crate training. Read our article about crate training. We have an excellent crate training eBook for immediate download (only $7.00). The Crate Training Made Easy eBook will teach you everything you need to know in about 30 minutes of reading.
Here’s a big mistake people make when trying to house break your yorkie… rubbing the dog’s nose in his mess. That does absolutely no good. Abusing your dog like that will never bring about anything positive. As angry as you might get, you should never take out your anger on your tiny yorkshire terrier.
If your yorkie is only peeing or pooping in one area in your home, it’s possible that the odor of previous urine or poop spots are still attracting your dog. Make sure the area is cleaned thoroughly to remove all traces of odor. Read our article about stopping a cat urinating or pooping on furniture or carpet. These techniques work on yorkies also.
One final note… if your yorkie seems to have a lack of control over his bowels, it may be some type of medical condition which your veterinarian needs to diagnose. If your training techniques don’t work, consider visiting a vet.
Above all, be patient and be consistent when housebreaking your yorshire terrier. They are intelligent animals and can be trained. You can do it, and so can your yorkie.
Tags: crate training yorkie, house train a yorkie, house training yorkie, yorkie peeing, yorkie pooping, yorkshire terrier training
66 Comments on Housebreaking a Yorkshire Terrier? Tips for How To Housetrain a Yorkie
- « Previous
- 1
- 2
- « Previous
- 1
- 2
1 been neutered the other cant due 2 liver disease which he had from a pup, due to this cant b put sleep risks to high could kill him,they now stay in the kitchen an dining room loads space,I never dream puttin my dogs in a cage,since iv put them in kitchen not 1 mess they made,wish iv put them in kitchen from the start,still get up check on me dogs durin the ng,the older dog robbie shakes a lot due to liver disease make sure hes ok.so in the day they have the run down stairs ng time kitchen. so far so good.
Yes Lesley thats what I do with my yorkie while I am working I let her have the run downstairs (no carpet) and lift anything I think she might chew, put pads down and leave the tv on!! I come home and she is usually curled up on the sofa happy and content, she uses the pads if I am not there and I do not mind she is 6 months old and I dont expect he to go 6 hours without a pee. Also people make the mistake of thinking yorkies dont need much exercise mine gets 2 good walks a day (1 hour at a time ) a tired dog really is a good dog.
@cherrys mummy: Wow, your reply was really cruel. I posted on this thread because I was very discouraged and needed and desired encouragement. What I got from you was shame and judgment. If that makes you feel better, great. I wish a lot of things in the world were different than they are. I didn’t think I could feel worse but after reading your post, I feel a lot worse. Thanks so very much.
Tony
If you think that I was cruel for telling you that locking your dogs up for 8 hours in a crate and then moaning that you had to wash them when you got home because they were soiling then yes I am cruel !!!you then went on to say that you had to play ball with them and only got peace when they were asleep !! is it me or are you not only cruel but selfish and full of self pity too ? do me a favour ring the yorkie rescue centre and find them a loving caring home with someone who actualy wants to spend time with them and give them the love they deserve.
@Tony It sounds like the crate you are using is too big if you can feed them in there too. The crate should just fit the dog’s sleeping and should not be so big they can run around in it. For those of you who think crate’s are cruel, most vets recommend using them. Our dogs ancestors were sleeping in caves and dogs like the security of a crate. I have two dogs and the one I crate trained when she was a puppy, does not pee in the house. She’s a Cairn Terrier. I purchased my Yorkie from a person who did not use crate training and he has peed almost every night in our house since we got him; had to get rid of our carpet and put tile in. We have a doggie dog but he just won’t use it at night.
My dog is 6 mnths, had him castrated due to marking & dominence issues. He is now worse than ever! I love him, but nit emough to clear up wee numerous times each day. He is restricted to the kitchen-dining room. I let him in the living room at nght and he sneaks off to pee. He will pee after he has just been taken fir a walk. I have treat trained succesfully he will sit, roll over, give paw and so much more but will just not get the potty training. He seems to somtimes do it out of defiance, if he is put in kitchen for bad behaviour. He has everything he needs & is loved, he is not nervous and has the will of a lion!
My little poppy is 4 months old and I can honestly say she has been an absolute gem since the moment I brought her home, I had planned ahead and put down training pads before i collected her so from the moment she home I put her her on them every time she does her business I praise her to no end and always give her a tiny treat from my kitchen cupboard which is on floor level so now she has learned that if she does her business she will run to the cupboard and scratch the door to get her treat! I don’t know if this is the right way to train her as I have never had a yorkie before but I find it works.
@Kayla, my puppy does this same thing. I will take her out and give her a good long walk, where she sniffs constantly and I tell her to go potty. After a long duration of walking she usually will whine wanting to walk back home… so i figure she just doesnt have to go. Yet, as soon as I am unloading the dishwasher or something simple like that she will go hide and poo or pee, I have never made her feel like eliminating is wrong (rubbing her nose in it) I have always been consistent with taking her out while she is in the process of eliminating to reinforce that outside is where she is suppose to potty… but she continues to eliminate right after a long walk in the house…. totally lost by this. Any suggestions
I think it’s definitely ok to give your dog a littls swat when it eliminates in the wrong spot. Sometime’s, a simple “no” doesn’t work. A mom dog will actually snap and bite at her pups to teach them lessons – and it works. Whatever you do, don’t keep saying ‘no’ to the dog when it runs outside or into it’s ‘box’ to go pee. Always change your attitude and say “good boy/girl” as soon as it runs to the right spot.
Guys! Thank you all for the great answers above. Advice is what I need since we recently purchased a Yorkshire Terrier for the first time.
I want to know everything, I should purchase a book, but the best is learning little by little from advice. Our Yorkie is 2 months old. He is cute, stubborn and sweet. Since we got him, he has a designated space in the kitchen. Enough to walk and run around. We have taught him to pee n the WEE PADS, and he has been doing it since the first week. We had a cage from our old juggle, the cage is pretty big. I read above that big cages are not good…Am I doing wrong by putting a big cage for him to sleep? Should I have a smaller cage? Also my puppy is 2 months old, when can I start giving small treats? Now? I am just confused on how treating a 2 month old puppy and not a 2 yr old puppy. Thank you all for the advice, and hopefully I can get some good recommendations.
@ Tony, I understand why you had to keep your dogs in the crate, my sister recently got a yorkie so she pays me to puppysit but then again she only works certain days of the week. i know its hard but dont give up hope!
@ Jahir: Definitely get a smaller cage.. just room for a place to lay down and another place to go pee. There will be no accidents that way. It worked perfet for my yorkie and now he goes in his litter box all the time. I also noticed that it works to only give them treats when they go to the bathroom and not for anything else.. This way, they will be SUPER excited for the treat. Try to always catch the dog in the act when it gets in trouble.. If he gets in trouble afterwards, he’ll think that the actual pop/pee is bad and not the fact the he releived himself there. I think it’s good to be a little more agressive then just a simple ‘no’. How many times do people actually say ‘no’ to there puppy in a day? If it’s not too harsh, the dog won’t get that it is really BAD to go in the house.
My Yorkie is trained to go on the wee wee pads by our door but I don’t know how to get him to pee and poop outside and to scrach when he need to go outside.What should I so
Here is my problem and I need help PLEASE. I am a pround owner of the sweetest, extremely intelligent 2 1/2 year old 4lb yorkie. I have trained her to do all kinds of tricks, shes very very smart, and has the traits that AKC considers a standard yorkie to have. I have moved 4 times in the past year. Ya, crazy i know. She gets confused. She never pee’s on hard wood floors, only carpet. She started off going on ONLY potty pads minus when she went on walks at times because we lived in a high rise. Since then she has gone from all kinds of different scenarios. Now I am living in an all carpet apartment. At the moment I do have time to take her out every couple hours. BUT it wont last for much longer. I take her out now 1-3 times a day, as well as have two potty pads in the house. There is just no way she could go w/out potty pads for her entire life. Tell me if im wrong? But shes a tiny 4lb’r and goes 10-15x’s a day. Ive thought of everything but no matter how many times I catch her, then either take her outside, or to her pad…she keeps on peeing and pooping allll over my apartment. I am buying an air can to try that technique. She has gotten better at past places, but never fully trained. She also is smart and waits to do it when im not looking! she is a SNEAK!! Crate training WILL NOT WORK. My xgf and I gave it our all for 4 whole months when we first got her. Got her the proper size crate and tried for 4 solid months. She not only cried EVERY SINGLE night, but also pooped and pee’d in her crate consistently!! We gave up and let her sleep with us. Moral of story. I need help w/my smart, sneaking ..love of my life. (thining about the air can as mentioned and any sort of carpet deterents maybe?) THANKS!
Correction…she goes pee about 5-10x’s a day(that i know of). I really dont think she has any sort of bladder issue. She has never peed on anyone or in any weird(not normal) area. Im guessing her bladder is the size of a grape!
I wish I found this forum earlier. Our yorkie is 3 years old. We took her in from another family when she was just under 1 & she was not trained. We had her trained ok for a while..as some people here have mentioned, she would go now & then but she would mostly go outside once we properly crate trained her. A few months ago we moved into a townhome. She started pooping in the house a lot, after taking her out back & walking her with no results, she would still go hide & poop after we got inside. Now, the pooping inside has stopped, & starting last week she is peeing in the house all of the time. I started putting her in the crate during the day again, and she doesn’t go in the crate (she’ll be in there for about 8 hours). She will go outside right after work like a good girl, and bam an hour or two later she’s peeing on the floor. Today she was in the crate for 2 hours & I came hom early. She peed outside and 2 hours later she pees on the couch. I’m going to have to throw out my area rugs because I’m pretty sure they are ruined. I have NEVER been able to get her to go on a puppy pad…I would feel like I hit the lottery if she did go on puppy pads! I just don’t understand how she will not go when she is in the crate for hours at a time but when she’s not in the crate she goes all over….and why did this just start up a week ago?