How Long Does It Take to Potty Train a Yorkie?

When you bring your Yorkie home to the family, there is a lot of excitement and fun for everyone to enjoy. One question that you need to consider when it comes to setting up a new area for the puppy is how you plan to potty train them. There are many rules and tips around potty training a Yorkie, but the biggest question is how long does it take to potty train a Yorkie.

It takes between two to four months to potty train a puppy to go in just one area of the home and between two to six weeks when you want to potty train them outside. Potty training times will vary depending on the personality and learning style of the Yorkie. The owner needs to have a lot of patience and use praise to help make this possible.

Let’s take a closer look at how long it takes to potty train your Yorkie, when you should start, and some of the tips and tricks that will make this process easier on you and on your Yorkie.

How Long Does It Take to Potty Train a Yorkie?

If you choose the right place in the house to train your Yorkie, you can get this done pretty quickly. For most Yorkies, it will take between two to four months to house train the dog. This means that they will go to a training mat or a certain area of the home to do their business, but will leave the rest of the home along. For training the Yorkie to go to the bathroom outside, it takes about 2 to 6 weeks.

Each Yorkie is going to be unique so the amount of time that it takes to potty train the Yorkie will depend on each dog. However, on average it will take between six months to a year before Yorkies are completely potty trained and you should start teaching them sometime around the age of five to six months if not earlier.

During this time, your Yorkie will start to show signs of being potty trained and will not need to worry about having accidents all the time. But you are likely to still see accidents, especially during the night when they sleep, for at least six months. It takes this long to get the Yorkie completely potty trained.

Along the way, you may notice that the Yorkie will have accidents and even setbacks to any progress that they made. As long as there are no health concerns or anything else that come up to cause these, patience and more praise are the best way to get things back on track. These progressions are normal and just need to be worked through. If you worry about what is causing that setback in the potty training, then the best option is to talk this over with the vet.

When Should I Start Potty Training My Yorkie?

The best time to start potty training is when you bring the Yorkie home. Having this be part of the training process to adapt them to the new home is a great idea and can help you get all of the work done at once. Yorkies that are brought to your home from the pet store need to be trained as soon as possible. Dogs in pet stores would have spent a lot of time in cages and may not have been let out as often as they should have. These dogs may need to break the habit, even if they are older so get a potty training routine done as soon as you bring them home.

If you get your Yorkie from a reputable breeder, the task of potty training may be a little bit easier to work with. A good breeder is going to train any puppies who are still around after 8 weeks, so if the puppy is a little bit older, then you may already have a head start. If the puppy is just at eight weeks when you pick them up from the breeder, you may be responsible for training them right away.

The earlier you can start training your Yorkie, or even any other dog for that matter, the easier it will be and the sooner they can learn. When you train them earlier, you will find that they will get into the habit of going outside, rather than getting into another habit of having to go inside and then training them the new way later.

How Should I Potty Train My Yorkie

Potty training your Yorkie is something that may take a little time to get down. You and your Yorkie will need to work together and have some patience to see this happen. Some of the training tips that you can use with your Yorkie include:

• The first thing you should start with is to restrict some of the areas where your pet can freely move around. This helps the Yorkie remember where they are allowed to go when relieving themselves.
• Use lots of affection and praise during this time. This is one of the best ways to get the Yorkie to trust you and to make sure that they will feel comfortable with you. The Carrot and Gingerbread method is a good one to go with. When the puppy has an accident, scold it and use the word no or another simple command to help. Do not threaten or hit or use other bad behavior. But when the Yorkie is good, praise them and give them a treat.
• Never punish the Yorkie during this time. They are learning and they will make mistakes. Punishing them will cause them to get hurt. Plus, the Yorkie will not understand why you are mad at them and can get confused on the right way to behave.
• It is best if you start potty training the Yorkie as soon as possible after you bring them home. The younger you start this process, the faster the Yorkie will get the potty training done.
• Get ready to be observant at the beginning. You need to learn the behaviors your Yorkie has when they need to use the bathroom. This can help you get them outside to the bathroom before they have an accident. It will also better show the Yorkie that they are supposed to go outside and can speed up the training process.

Keep in mind that the Yorkie is just like a person and they need attention and patience to get everything done. You need to make sure that your Yorkie knows you care and love them. With some time and patience, your Yorkie will get potty training down and everything will be easier.

Are Yorkies Hard to Housetrain?

The good news is that the Yorkie is relatively easy to housetrain when compared to some of the other dog breeds out there. As long as you maintain consistency when you work with your Yorkie and training them, you will find that they can learn fast and will start to go outside.

Of course, training your Yorkie how to use the right area of the home or how to go outside when they relieve themselves will always be easier when they are younger. Adult dogs will need some extra attention and care to make this possible, but you can do it with some more patience along the way.

Remember that positive reinforcement is always the best approach. This can be hard when you find an accident around the house that you now need to clean up. But swearing at the dog or punishing the Yorkie is not an effective way to train them on how to behave. Lots of praise, rewards, and goodies as they learn, just like with teaching them any other type of trick, is the best solution.

How Often Does My Yorkie Need to Go Out to Potty?

The younger the Yorkie is, the more often they need to go outside to relieve themselves because they are smaller. Your Yorkie puppy will need to be taken outside ever two to three hours at least. You should also take them outside after playing, sleeping, and eating. Consider taking them on a walk in the morning and at night before bed to help wear out some of their energy. Consider another walk if you plan to leave them alone for a longer time during the day so they have a chance to relieve themselves. Adult dogs will still need to be let out, but they can alert you more than the puppies.

Potty Training Your Yorkie

No matter how much we may wish for it, the Yorkie is not going to be potty trained overnight. This is a process that takes time and attention to accomplish. You will need to be consistent with the methods for at least a few months to make this happen. But once the Yorkie gets this training down, you will find fewer accidents and be able to have them in your home without any incidences.