Yorkies can't hold it forever

Greetings:

I believe that Yorkies (small dogs in general) are a tad more difficult to housebreak. I also go mad when people tell me that they leave their dog home alone all day long and expect it not to go potty. Excuse me, do you hold yours all day long? Yorkies need to be taken out for long walks or let out often so they can go Potty. I walk my dogs at least a dozen times a day, one or two long walks and then the rest are quick short walks around the area. (We live in a townhouse so there is no just letting them out)

Even with going out Buddy has a problem. We rescued Buddy at the age of 4.2 (don't ask me how they knew he was .2 years old) and he was not neutered or housebroken. We were able to do the first, but never got the second one down. We even had Buddy's trainer take him for two weeks in order to get him trained but she brought him back and said he was the first dog she could not house train.

The good news is Buddy doesn't Poop (at least not very often) in the house. We worked with him so that he understands he needs to do number 2 outside.

I have done everything I was told by the trainer and the books to get Buddy to stop peeing inside. I even tethered him to me for three months. That was the most effective but who can live with a fur child tied to them all day?

So how do we manage living with a fur child that pees in the house. Buddy wears a Belly Band or what we call, a Nappy. I put a pad in it (the kind people use for incontinence) and change the pad when he goes in it. He wears one at all times in the house. He doesn't like wearing it but I don't like him peeing in the house, so in order to keep him this is what we had to do. We also put a wrap on Surrobbie our female if we are going to be gone for very long. She does okay for a few hours but not all day.

According to Your Pure Breed Puppy,

"As a behavioral consultant, I would put the Yorkshire Terriers on my Top Five List of "Hard to Housebreak." Consistent crate training is mandatory. Sometimes a doggy door is necessary. And some owners never do get their Yorkshire Terriers fully housebroken."

There are some great books and methods for training your Yorkie and I think most Yorkies can be house trained. Not to say there won't be accidents. If you have a Yorkie you need to own a carpet cleaner!

Rachelle