Hello, I just bought 2 yorkshire terriers boy and girl and want to potty train them. I bought puppy pads to pee on and most of the time they tear this to bits.. unless I shove it a little bit under a folded blanket on which they lie on. I just bought a grass mat yesterday but they eat that too.. little grass bits are on the carpet.. just now I put lots of drops of it of beaphar to draw them to the spot.. and they still 'eat' the grass. Tear at it I mean.. Can somebody tell me what I am doing wrong perhaps? Thank you
Is there a reason you are not training them to potty outside? First, puppies chew things. They explore with their mouths and enjoy the feel of ripping things up. It's normal for them to chew those "toys" you put down for them. Second, puppies don't instinctively know that they are supposed to potty in a specific spot - unlike kittens who will instinctively use a catbox if you set it in front of them. I would recommend you train them to potty outdoors from day one. It may seem more difficult to do, but it is actually easier than training them on pee pads and THEN trying to retrain them to go outside. If you really need to train them to potty inside, then I recommend laying out a group of peepads. Then, every couple hours, take them to the peepad on a leash so you can keep them on the peepads and wait until they potty on it. Then praise them profusely. Keep doing that. This teaches them that the peepad is the only appropriate place to potty. Using a group of peepads together lets the puppies walk around a bit and still ensure they go potty on a pad. As they get used to pottying on the pad, you can start reducing the number of peepads you put down. If they potty off the peepad, go back to more peepads. Don't put the peepads right by their bed as that encourages them to use them as a plaything. Instead separate it a bit so they have to walk over to it. This means you actively have to train them to go to it to go potty. But that is the only way to potty train a dog.
I’ve never used puppy pads or newspaper as I don’t see the logic in training pups to go indoors then expect them to go outside it just confuses them. Take them outside after waking from sleep/ play, and shortly after eating or drinking, and about every hour or so throughout the day, wait until they go then praise. At Night Alarm set for every 2/3 hours for first couple of weeks, working time up, when they stir or wake up a swift, out of the bed, outside for a wee/poo, No playing or fussing or anything else. It is a constant job in the first weeks, but well worth all the effort as it does pay off.
