Toilet Training a Yorkshire Terrier: Why It Takes Longer and How to Do It

Yorkshire Terriers have a reputation for being hard to toilet train, and the reputation is fair. It is not because they are stubborn. A puppy under a kilo has a bladder the size of a grape and can hold it for about an hour at ten weeks. Their accidents are a teaspoon, so owners miss them and the habit builds unnoticed. They get cold and wet on the grass and would rather not. And they are so easy to pick up that many are never put down long enough to learn to ask. Get the routine right and a Yorkie is reliable by five or six months. Get it wrong and you have a fifteen-year-old who still pees behind the curtain.

The schedule by age

• 10 to 12 weeks: out every thirty to forty-five minutes while awake, plus after every sleep, meal, play and drink. Once or twice overnight. Twelve to fifteen trips a day is normal.
• 3 to 4 months: every one to two hours. Once overnight, then none. Accidents should be dropping; if not, you are waiting for signals instead of running the clock.
• 4 to 6 months: every two to three hours. Overnight usually fine. Marking may begin, especially in males; go back a step for a fortnight rather than getting cross.
• Adult: four to six hours maximum. A dog this size should not be asked to hold longer, and a dog asked to hold longer will find a curtain.

The method

Same spot, same word, every time. Go out with them; standing at the door doesn't count, because you need to be there to pay within two seconds of them finishing, with a treat that is worth it. Pen or crate for naps and nights, sized to turn around in, not to roam. Freedom in the house is earned in twenty-minute chunks after a successful trip, and a puppy is never loose and unsupervised on a carpet. Watch for the signs: sniffing, circling, sneaking off behind furniture, sudden stillness in the middle of play. When you see one, pick them up and go.

The weather problem

A wet, cold Yorkie stops mid-squat and comes back inside to finish. Build a rain routine before you need it: a waterproof coat, a sheltered corner of the garden, a spot under a tree or an awning, a patch of artificial grass under cover, and treats that are worth getting wet for. Go out with them in the rain, every time, from the first week. A puppy who learns in September that rain is optional will tell you so in January.

The indoor toilet, and why it's allowed

For a dog this size, an indoor toilet is a legitimate second option, not a failure. A grass tray, a litter tray with pellets, or a pad clipped into a frame, in one fixed spot by the back door. It suits flats, high floors, brutal winters, night-time, illness and old age, and it means a fifteen-year-old Yorkie with a weak bladder never has to be told off. The rules are strict, though:

• One fixed spot. Never loose pads moved around the house, which teach a puppy that soft things on floors are toilets. Your bath mat will pay for that lesson.
• Take them to it on the same schedule you'd use for the garden, and pay for using it.
• Still teach the garden. A dog who can only go indoors is a dog who can't go on holiday, and a dog who can only go on grass can't cope with a tray when they're old. Teach both.

Accidents

Information, not naughtiness. Clean with an enzymatic cleaner; never bleach or ammonia-based products, which smell like urine to a dog and mark the spot as a toilet. Never punish, never rub their nose in it, never shout: a punished Yorkie doesn't learn to hold it, they learn to hide, and hiding means behind the sofa. If you catch them mid-act, a cheerful interruption and a trip outside, then a treat if they finish there.

When a trained adult starts having accidents

Vet first, training second. A urinary infection, bladder stones, which are common in the breed, and a liver shunt can all show up as a dog who suddenly can't hold it or is drinking and peeing far more than usual. A senior who starts having accidents may have a kidney problem, Cushing's disease, or early cognitive decline. Rule out the body, and only then go back to the schedule. The health guide covers what the vet will be looking for.