How to house train a Yorkie: The basics
If puppies are left to their own devices, they will find their own type of entertainment by chewing on things that shouldn’t be chewed, by eating things that shouldn’t be eaten, and marking their territory with sprinkles of urine, much the same way that we decorate a new house.
Consequently, when you get a new puppy you must teach them the rules of the house, such as what to chew on, where they can dig, and where to perform toilet duties. If we leave them home alone for many hours at a time, we cannot expect the puppy to amuse himself by watching TV.
It is unfair to keep the rules of the house a secret from the puppy, and then get upset and punish the puppy for breaking rules he did not even know existed. Without adequate education and guidance, the puppy will be forced to make his own rules, and they will be doggy rules, and probably will be at odds with your view of domestic living.
Most problems develop during the first few days in a new home, as a new puppy owner you should be clear about the principles of housetraining before your new family member comes home. Early mistakes can quickly become bad habits and can set a precedent for years to come. Make sure you start from the beginning to teach good manners, as good habits are just as hard to break as bad ones!
Ideally, when the new puppy comes home, someone will be present as much as possible during the first few weeks. When you cannot be at home, or cannot pay full attention, confine the puppy to an area where elimination is appropriate, such as a small comfortable indoor kennel with access to an outdoor run. If that’s not possible, confine the puppy to a utility room or kitchen. Use newspaper to cover the floor of the puppy’s day room. It will soak up any mistakes made and once your puppy develops a preferred spot it will only be necessary to cover that part of the floor with papers. You will then need to move the papered area a little at a time towards the outside door. In that manner, the puppy will learn to go to the door when he needs to relieve himself.
Don’t confine a puppy to a crate for long hours. Doing so will only force him to soil the crate and himself. In order to teach the puppy to do his business, you have to be there to give directions and support. In order to be there, you need to know when he needs to go. In fact, the success of housetraining depends on your ability to predict these times. Certainly, a regular feeding schedule will help with your prediction. When you can predict when the puppy needs to go, it enables you to be on the spot to praise and reward the good behavior. Never forget the praise, “Good puppy!!!”. A tiny treat would be in order. Always use the same words for instructions so he will associate the words with the acts that are expected of him.
Following this success is a good time for some on-the-spot playing, and the newly-empty puppy can be allowed more freedom in the house for about a half-hour or so, but always be on guard that he doesn’t find some other kind of mischief to get into.
Short-term confinement in his crate teaches a puppy that occasional quiet moments are a reality of living. Regular confinement at this time soon exerts a calming influence over your puppy’s personality. Your puppy is very impressionable during his first few weeks at home. Learning a regular time for eating, sleeping, playing, and doing his business, is essential in these early weeks.
Yorkie house training routine
7:00 AM First thing go outside, encourage going potty, back in for breakfast and water. Allow 10 minutes to eat. Back outside to potty. Then it’s playtime. ˝ hour into playtime go back out to potty.
8:30 AM Back outside to potty before going to bed for a nap.
12:00 noon Back outside to potty, lunch for 10 minutes and water outside to potty, It’s playtime again, outside ˝ hour into playtime to potty
1:30 PM Back outside to potty and then to naptime.
5:00 PM Back outside to potty, Dinner for 10 minutes and water, outside to potty, Playtime, outside ˝ hour into playtime
6:30 PM Back outside to potty before taking nap.
10:00 PM Back outside to potty, a small snack and water, back outside to potty, playtime, outside to potty then bed for the night. Your puppy should be able to sleep the night without soiling his bed.