[gunnarwhisler]

Hi there everyone. It has been awhile since I have posted on here!

I am currently house sitting for my mom's friend for 9 days! I'm very excited as I'm doing this all by myself! Along with the house sitting, I get to watch two dogs! One is an 8 week old Shih Tzu/Yorkie puppy named Ella, and they also have a 10 year Yorkie dog named Elijah! They get along very well despite the age difference.

Elijah is a very VERY well trained dog, and uses a doggy door to go outside and do his business, and it is very well trained, and can even do a few a tricks! I have no problem with him obviously!

Ella however is another story! Ella is the very typical puppy liking to chew and play and be involved with anything and everything! It has been three years since I have had to be around a puppy, and I'm not exactly remembering how to potty train... Being that she is so young, and I will only have her for 9 days, I would love to help the owners by starting. Also... I would prefer to not have to clean up a mess EVERYTIME she goes, which is what they have been doing...

I'm not exactly finding a sticky for potty training, so this is what I have been doing...

Every 30 minutes I have been taking her out, and praising her and giving her treats everytime she goes to the bathroom. She has went once since I have been here (4 hours), and not ate a whole lot. I'm just seeing if I am doing everything right! No accidents (knock on wood!) I hope I am doing everything okay. Please redirect me if not! Any helpful comments are MORE than welcome. Thanks everyone!

 

[Amaryllis]

That's pretty much it. Potty training at that age is just lots of supervision and time outside. Good luck!

 

[georgiapeach]

Good for you! You sound like you're on the right track.

Are feedings controlled (i.e. no free feeding)? It makes potty training easier, b/c you have a better idea of when they need to go potty.

 

[Willowy]

You're dogsitting. Your job is to keep the dogs from dying while their owner is gone, that's it. I would be mad if a dogsitter took it on themselves to do any training or changed my feeding schedules. Of course, taking her outside frequently and praising her when she goes potty out there isn't going to hurt anything. But beyond that your job does not include training.