House training Yorkshire Terriers can be a lot trickier than many people think! To be successful in house training 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.
To help your Yorkshire Terrier know when it’s the right time to go potty, simply stick to the routine consistently. Your Yorkie is like most people in that when they awake, they normally go to the bathroom right away.
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!
Keep the first potty break short, and then bring him inside for breakfast. Let your Yorkshire Terrier eat breakfast while you’re getting dressed and ready for the day. By the time you finish your coffee and breakfast, you can take the Yorkie out for a potty break.
Ideally, your Yorkie has had enough time since their breakfast for the food settle, and if so he will be ready for potty before you leave for the day. If you have a Yorkie puppy, you’re going to need to plan a mid-morning and mid-afternoon break.
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 house training 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.
For dinner time, use a similar house training schedule. This means taking your Yorkshire Terrier out as soon as you get back to the house. Try to feed your Yorkie dinner at the same time each day.
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 house training the next day, and the following day, and so on.
As you’re house training your Yorkshire Terrier, keep notes of the times. You can even create a simple checklist to post on the refrigerator. Then anyone who feeds the Yorkie or takes him for potty breaks can make note of the time. This is helpful in noticing what the Yorkshire Terrier’s natural elimination patterns are.
Be sure to give your Yorkie lots of positive praise and affection when he goes potty. Verbal praise and a small food treat work great. In the old days, dog trainers advised punishment when a dog went in the house…but this has been shown to be less effective than the positive reinforcement house training.
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 house training. He doesn’t want to mess in his space – or in yours – so help him do the right thing by sticking to a schedule.
