Potty training is often the most dreaded part of getting a new puppy. There are several ways to go about housebreaking your pup. Depending on the breed’s learning capacity, it can take anywhere from a couple days to several months to potty train him. My Morkie (Maltese-Yorkie) puppy, Mila, learned very quickly, so you will be glad to know it is not a difficult task. I would like to share some of my Morkie puppy potty training tips with you.
Step 1: First of all, you need to decide whether you want your Morkie puppy to do his business outdoors, on a potty pad, or in a puppy litter box. I had originally thought I would train Mila to use a potty pad while she was still young, but when I picked her up, the breeder told me about puppy litter boxes. She told me that Morkies are small enough to use them their entire life.
I was open to trying it out, although I had no interest in dealing with two litter boxes in the apartment – one for the cat and one for the dog. Luckily, I came across some very helpful advice when we stopped at Petco to pick up some puppy supplies. I did buy some potty pads, but to this day, Mila has yet to use one.
Step 2: Immediately upon arriving home, take your puppy outside or to his special place (whether it is a potty pad or litter box) and tell him to “go potty. It might take a while, but keep repeating this phrase. Within three seconds of eliminating, give your puppy a treat and lots of praise. Since dogs only have a three-second attention span, waiting longer will just confuse him. He won’t know what the treat is for – although he will greedily gobble it up!
Take your new puppy outside every half hour in the beginning. Don’t forget to take the treats with each time. Once he has become comfortable with going potty outside, you can gradually increase the amount of time to every two hours. By five to six months of age, he should be able to wait up to four hours.
Step 3: If your puppy has accidents on the floors – and he will! – do not scold or punish him. Quickly and calmly clean up the mess or take him to his ‘special place’ immediately. He will not be completely potty trained until about five or six months old. In fact, Mila is five and a half months old and still has the occasional ‘leakage’ when she gets excited.
Finally, keep your Morkie in a crate during the night to help avoid accidents while you are sleeping. I use the smallest Pet Taxi and it still has plenty of room for Mila to turn around, but she has never had an accident while inside it. You will probably have to get up every few hours to take your puppy outside over the next couple weeks. Eventually, he will be able to go all night without being let out.
By using this method, Mila was almost completely trained to go potty outside the day I brought her home. Of course, she is a quick learner, but I am confident that you will be able to potty train your Morkie using this method, too. Just have patience and give your puppy lots of praise for his successes.
