Please help...housetraining older Yorkie

[rnruns50]

I am so desparate. I have inherited my sons yr old Yorkie who he and his fiancee(college kids), obviously trained very poorly. She had little structure in her life and not much of a schedule. They did take her outside to potty,but at their convenience. Now I have her and she is peeing all over my house, literally, in her bed on my chairs, (even my dining room chair which had to be difficult for her). Because of various things there are several of us in the house and awake throughout most of the day and night, so she goes out at least every 2 hrs. My son(former owner)stays up late and even takes her out in the middle of the night...plus dh works nights and takes her out at 5am when he comes home. I work full time but take her out numerous times when I am home. We have two older dogs in the house also. I love this dog and she has had a hard life, but i cant take it anymore. Peeing on my down quilt was the last straw. I am desparate and dont want to give her away. Do you think going to the vet would help or would it waste my money? Having accidents is one thing,but the places she chooses are unacceptable, not that any place is good. Is it impossible to train a Yorkie and how long should they be able to go without accidents? I know they have a small bladder, but we have another Yorkie mix and she goes up to 8 hrs without accidents. please help with any ideas.
Laura

[adunphy]

I think its just a matter of she has never been house trained. It'll be up to you to do that. It takes longer and is more difficult with older dogs - especially small ones. But they can do it none the less. If she wont pee in a crate - keep her in there when you can't watch her. When you are with her, put her on leash and keep her with you ALL the time. If you catch her going, pick her up, and take her to an appropriate place to go. Reward her after she goes to help reinforce it. Its a long process. 2 hours is probably too long for a dog who isn't house broken. I would start with 20 minutes and work up from there.

amy

[Stewart]

Okay, peeing eh? Well, well, well, here is a solution but first a question:
"would you let a one year old baby walk around your house without a diaper unsupervised?" NO WAY!
So here's the deal, CRATE training! Purchase a crate, or build one- make certain there is enough room for her to stand and turn around in- it also must house her comfortably when she is laying down. Make the crate fun, add treats in it on occasion, and make certain you introduce it to her slow- have her smell the outside and inside- don't shove her in and close the door immediately. This place is hers and should be kept in a dry, warm, breeze free place. I have ours in our bedroom so nights are less stressful and she feels part of the "pack". Now this maybe difficult at first, but she will get it. after introducing her to the crate and letting her explore it, put her in and close it up, I provide FUN toys and play music or have a tele playing. She may start to panic at first and or may start to wimper/bark- DO NOT GO TO HER- if you do let her out she will say to herself- "Hey, everytime I wimper or bark these humans come and let me out." if her barking is non-stop or whimpering keeping you up at night I suggest you introduce her to it in the morning. That way by the time night hits she should be calm. If not withstand it! It might be hard-especially with an older dogs. But TRUST me, she will quickly learn that she has to stay in the crate until she can be trusted! Okay, she's in her crate, now what? well, wait one hour, take her out to her "spot" on your lawn- Always take her to this spot everytime you go out. As she urinates say in a soft voice " Good, ROVER, pee outside" then when she is done throw a party- give her a really good treat and praise her saying "WOW ROVER PEE OUTSIDE GOOOOOOD DOG!"
after she urinates or deficates, always treat it like the 4th of July! Then with her going outside she has proved to you that she can stay out of her crate for an additional 25 minutes- use this for a walk or to play. If you go outside and she doesn't go (wait about 5 minutes) then bring her back in and she goes into her crate. This may seem harsh, but she will then piece together- "hey, when I pee in my special place I not only get a treat, but time to play as well." The 5 minute mark may seem short but she'll figure that she only has 5 minutes to go and will go as soon as she is brought outside- you'll thank me especially when it is raining or snowing- and your dog goes as soon as you go out. If she starts to perform this task on cue perfectly for the first, then lengthen the times to take her out, until you have the result you want. If she eliminates in the crate then shorten the crate some how- dogs won't go where they den. If she still continues to eliminate, then get her urine checked at your vets. Collect a sample by attaching a margerine container to a stick and putting it under your dog when she pees- your vet will look at her urine- if it comes back with crystalization then she may have a urinary tract infection- it can be helped by medication- or in some cases, some cranberry juice mixed into her water. Chart down when she goes and make certain that at about 8:00pm, take her water intake away. Only let your dog "loose" in the house when she has proven to you that she can be trusted.
Hope this helps some.
Tom