Expert: Jeff Millman - 9/12/2007

Question
hello! I have a Yorkie that is now a year old. When I got him at 8 weeks old, I was still in school and couldn't take him out while I was attending. I put him on a schedule and tried everything I thought of but nothing has worked. I tried leaving him in the cage, but he goes in the cage too, and it gets all in his hair and I had to give him a bath for 3 weeks straight! PLEASE HELP!

Answer
Hi Amanda,
I hope your medical career is going great. As far as your puppy, you need to do some remedial work to get the little guy on track.

You need to use the crate for shorter amounts of time so he doesn't have an accident in there. Make sure it is small enough. It should be just bigger than him so he can just lie down and turn around. If it is too big, he will potty in one corner and move to the other corner.

If you think it is his time, take him outside (on leash) and then ask him to go potty. Wait 3-5 minutes at the most. If he doesn't go potty, put him back in the crate and try again in 15-60 minutes. He should get an AMAZING treat (dried liver, steamed chicken), a short amount of freedom only after he goes potty outside.

Write down his progress and circle any accidents in the chart to see if you can identify a pattern.

You also need to create a long-term confinement area if you think there is a risk of an accident. This can be a bathroom or a dog play pen with a puppy pad.

Let me know if you have more questions, and good luck!

There are a lot of variables with this situation, so you might want to purchase my housetraining video and watch it instantly on your computer at http://www.watchandtrain.com - it is only $7

Good luck!