House Training Your Yorkshire Terrier

First and foremost, you must have a routine for your Terrier to follow daily. To be really successful in housetraining, you must have a schedule to take your terrier outside to potty and, over weeks to a few months, it becomes ingrained in their every day life.

Most people want to go to the bathroom right after they wake up. Your Yorkie is no different and this is where the routine begins. As soon as you are up in the morning, take him outside for his first potty trip of the day. He has been holding it all night, so go out quickly without any disruptions or distractions.

Make this potty trip a short one. Let your Yorkshire Terrier do its business and then come right back in for breakfast. Let him eat while you get ready for your day. By the time you are all dressed and have eaten your breakfast, it will be time to take your Yorkie out to potty again.

Hopefully your Yorkie's food and water has settled enough so that he is ready to go back out and do it again. Your Yorkshire Terrier puppy will need potty breaks at mid-morning and mid-afternoon. If your job or school takes you away from the house during the day, then you will need a friend or family member to keep to the routine.

Your Yorkie will need to be taken out again as soon as you return home. Again, a schedule or routing needs to be followed consistently. It may be helpful to keep a chart with times of day for potty breaks. These can be adjusted gradually as you make note of your puppy's natural elimination patterns.

Feed your Yorkie dinner at the same time every evening, early enough to have his food settled enough to have a successful potty break before going down for bed for the night. And in the morning, begin the whole routine again, keeping to the same schedule.

Potty trips should be kept short (ten to 15 minutes at the most) and low keyed, and do not let your Yorkie confuse these breaks with playtime. Give your Yorkshire Terrier plenty of praise and affection when he does his business. A small treat and verbal praise work good for this purpose, and will reinforce his good potty habits.

At one time, negative reinforcement was the rule. If your dog had an accident in the house, he was scolded and punished. This has proven to be less effective than positive reinforcement. Praising the good behavior works because your Yorkshire Terrier wants to be loved and to please you. If you are late getting home and find an accident, just go right to your normal routine.

After taking your Yorkie out on his potty break, you can clean up the mess without any fanfare. It is best if your puppy doesn't even see you doing it. You both just let it pass and do better tomorrow.

Your Yorkshire Terrier is dependent on you for almost everything. One of the most important is a firm foundation of potty training, which is only possible by following a routine from the beginning, and will result in a happy Yorkie and a happy owner.