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Potty Training Yorkshire Terriers Made Easy
Housetraining Yorkshire Terriers can be a lot trickier than many people think! To be successful in housetraining your Yorkshire Terrier, you have to set up a schedule. Your Yorkie isn't going to do that for himself. It takes your effort and monitoring for several weeks to a few months for this to occur, so that your Yorkshire Terrier learns a routine.
Housetraining Yorkshire Terriers can be a lot trickier than many people think! To be successful in housetraining your Yorkshire Terrier, you have to set up a schedule. Your Yorkie isn’t going to do that for himself. It takes your effort and monitoring for several weeks to a few months for this to occur, so that your Yorkshire Terrier learns a routine.
You can help your Yorkshire Terrier know when it’s the right time to go potty by repeating that routine consistently. When most people wake up, they usually go to the bathroom soon afterwards.
So, the first thing on your schedule should be to take your Yorkshire Terrier out as soon as you’re up in the morning, without any delay. Your dog has been holding it all night so give him a potty trip outside right away!
This morning potty break should be short. Next, allow your Yorkshire Terrier to eat breakfast as you’re getting dressed and ready for the day. Next, take your Yorkie out for a potty break once you’ve had your breakfast and are ready to go out for the day.
If he’s had some time to eat and let the food settle, he’ll be ready for elimination before going into the crate or the room where he spends the day. With a puppy, you need to come back for a mid-day potty break and a mid-afternoon break if possible.
For those who work or are out of the house most of the day, find a family member or friend or dog-walker to take care of the mid-morning and mid-afternoon breaks for you. Just be sure that whoever does this follows the housetraining schedule you have created down to the letter. These potty breaks should be short, under fifteen minutes for sure, and should not be confused with play time.
Keep the same routine for dinnertime. Let your Yorkshire Terrier out for a potty break as soon as you return home from work or school. Set a time to feed the Yorkshire Terrier and don’t get more than thirty minutes off schedule.
Your goal is to feed your Yorkie early enough in the evening such that he has time for the food to digest and be ready for a potty break before going down for sleep. And you’ll want to follow the same pattern and schedule for housetraining the next day, and the following day, and so on.
Keep notes on the times and schedule for housetraining your Yorkshire Terrier. You can even create a simple checklist of the Yorkie’s schedule and post it on the refrigerator. This will keep your whole family on track and will also help you figure out your Yorkie’s potty pattern.
Remember to give your Yorkie praise and affection when he goes potty. You can give him a food treat and lots of verbal approval. Old-fashioned training methods called for punishing your dog if they made a mess in the house...and that’s been proven to be far less effective that a more positive approach.
Since your Yorkshire Terrier wants you to love him, he will be willing to try his best to please you. Just don’t make it difficult. If you’re running late and miss his potty break, clean it up and get back on track without scolding him. Your Yorkie depends on you for many things, including staying on target for housetraining. He doesn’t want to mess in his space - or in yours - so help him do the right thing by sticking to a schedule.