YorkieInfoCenter | Yorkshire Terrier House Training

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Yorkie House Training

Overview

A Yorkshire Terrier is actually more easy to house train than other types of breeds. In general, the Yorkie aims to please.

It must be understood that a puppy or dog has no idea that they should pee and poo in a designated area unless they are trained to do so. A dog will not do this instinctively. The idea that a dog will not want to eliminate in the area in which they live is not true.

The key to success to be consistent. You must repeat your training method until your Yorkie fully understands what is expected.

Age Appropriate Training

To be successful, one must understand the limits that a puppy has. A Yorkie puppy can only hold their needs for a certain amount of time. To not allow your puppy to relieve themselves within this time frame, is setting the dog up to fail.

A 2 month old Yorkie puppy can hold its needs for 2 hours at the most. A 3 month old Yorkie puppy can hold its needs for 3 hours at the most.

This continues on until the dog is an adult, at which time the Yorkie can only hold on for a maximum of 8 hours.

Choosing a Method

Choosing and staying with 1 house training method will help you be successful in housebreaking your Yorkie. If you do crate training 1 week, paper training the next week and litter box training the 3rd week...your Yorkie will be 1 very confused dog!

We highly recommend training your dog to be brought outside for their needs. The Yorkshire Terrier, being a small toy breed dog can learn to use a litter box. However, this type of training is more difficult. A dog loves to be able to "choose just the right spot" and this is not possible with a litter box.

However, for those who feel it would work best to train their Yorkie to use the bathroom indoors, we will discuss this option also.

Training to Go Outdoors

The key to this training is to:

Take your Yorkie puppy outside to the same area each time
Bring your Yorkie out at designated times during the day & also when they make actions to indicate that they must "go".

First, let's discuss the times during each day that your puppy should be able to depend on knowing it is time to go outside:

After waking up
15 minutes after each meal
After each nap
Before bedtime
When they make an action that shows they are about to "go"

You must keep an eye on your puppy to train in this way. Therefore, you may opt for the Umbilical cord method, Gate method or Crate method.

The Umbilical Cord Method
This is a great method for toy breed dogs such as the Yorkie. You can have your freedom of moving around, your Yorkie can have their freedom to play and you can both close to each other. You will simply attach a leash to it's collar or harness and thread a belt through the loop on the dog leash and wear the belt on your waist. This keeps your dog from roaming out of sight and allow you to do what you wish to do in the home. Be careful of walking around too fast! This method calls for you to take your Yorkie outside or to the litter box at all of the times listed above.

Gate Method

The Gate Method may work for you, but you will need to keep checking on your Yorkie. This is not always so easy if you are traveling from room to room. This method calls for you to place your Yorkie in one room and block the exit with a baby gate. The idea is to just block off certain rooms of your house, this will allow your Yorkie to be able to walk freely but will they will not be able to go far from your sight. This method calls for taking the dog outside or to the litter box at all of the times listed above.

Crate method

We do recommend having a dog crate and training your Yorkie to become used to it. Why? Because you want your dog to feel comfortable being in the crate for times that they must be: When traveling, perhaps when going to the vet (if a crate is required) and for time that you must put the dog in the crate for safety reasons.

However, we only recommend crate training if you can not possibly be home during the day and you are not able to gate off an area for some reason.

Most dogs actually enjoy having it's own "room" and dogs often like having a place to "retreat" to if they are feeling overwhelmed. Your puppy or dog may feel this way if there is too much noise in the home, if they are growing tired of playing with children or other dogs and if they are not feeling well.

It must be noted that it is not true that a "dog will not pee or poo in a crate". A dog will most certainly pee and poo if they are in a crate and cannot hold their needs ! If you leave a dog inside a crate for a long time, you will only find that you have a big mess to clean...both the crate and the dog.

Some dogs will resist entering the crate. You can help your Yorkie get used to it. Begin by leaving the door open, making sure that it is not possible for it to close accidentally. You can also put it's dog food closer and closer to the back of the crate each day, beginning with the food right outside the crate door.

Once your dog is used to it's crate with the door open, try closing the door but not locking it shut. Increase the time inside the crate by a bit each day. Do not take your dog out of the crate if they are barking, unless it is time to do so. This would only encourage your Yorkie to bark and show them that barking = being let out of the crate.

Patience

When you bring the Yorkie outside to pee and poo be sure to:

Attach a leash to the dog's collar or harness. A 6 foot leash is best.

You will want to walk to the area that you have chosen. This should be the same area each time.

However, within that 6 foot radius, you will want your Yorkie to be able to take the time to make the final choice on exactly where to "go".

Be patient, as some dogs will take up to 15 minutes deciding on "just the right spot". This is very important to many dogs. If you give up after 5 minutes, chances are that your dog will have an accident soon after going back into the house.

Marking

Many times an un-neuter male (who marks to "claim" their territory" or a female who is not spayed (who does so to attract males) will urinate inside the home. This is not a matter of house training. Marking is a behavioral issue.

When a dog needs to urinate, they release their full bladder. When a dog marks, they only spray out a bit of urine.

How Can You Stop a Dog From Marking

Neuter or spay all animals in the home. A neutered male will mark if there are other animals in the home who are not spay/neutered.

Clean the areas that were marked with a low fragrance cleaner. A strong smelling cleaner may cause a dog to mark again...to reclaim the area

As soon as you see that your dog is about to mark inside the home, bring them outside or to the litter box. If the dog does urinate there, give great rewards.

More Information

If you have a puppy or dog, then you already know.. all of the training information cannot fit inside 1 website! Therefore, we have collected all of our training instructions, behavior information & much more into a very easy-to-download ebook format for you. And if you still need more specific advice for your Yorkie's situation, just ask ! Learn more