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Potty issues

385 Views 5 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  Curls, 
jimwhawthorne
Hi, everyone. I am not new to owning dogs. In fact many years ago I bred Rottweilers.
This is my first experience with a small dog.
He is a 7byear old Yorkie. He's a perfect dog except for one thing.
He won't think twice about going to the bathroom in the house. We walk him 2 -3 times a day. He isn't crate trained. But we have grandchildren and we have a large corral ( it's a big, fold up one to set up a quick area to keep the kids in. ) when He's in there he will hold it. So we know he can hold it if he wants. But if we leave him alone for awhile then all bets are off.

So I would like any suggestions 🤔 that the community will come up [email protected]
Thanks
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JoanneF
Sorry, I have a few questions. But they are necessary to help us answer.

First, have you had him long? If not, how long has he been with you? What were his toilet habits in his last home?

Is there an anxiety element from being left?

If you have had him a while, is this a new habit? If so, has a vet ruled out a medical cause?

How have you approached toilet training so far?
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JoanneF
It's worth popping a sample into the vet to rule out a UTI first. Then, I'd go back to basics with toilet training.

That means taking him out on leash more often than he needs to toilet, to keep him empty. As soon as he toilets, immediately reward him. It has to be immediate to be clear that it's for toileting and not for anything else and it has to be generous to make it worth his while to try to hold his toilet until he is outside.

It's when he realises that outdoor toilets win sausages and indoor toilets win nothing that he will try to hold his toilet to get the reward.

If he has an accident inside don't react at all. If you get annoyed he may learn to fear your reaction and avoid you if he needs to toilet (by going off and toileting out of sight) - the opposite of what you want. Dogs cant make the distinction between you being annoyed at him TOILETING, as opposed to toileting INDOORS. Just clean the area with an enzymatic cleaner to remove any trace of smell that might attract him back to the spot.
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