Yorkies are harder to potty train than most dog breeds, but it's entirely possible with patience and consistency

Yorkshire Terriers have a reputation for being stubborn about housebreaking, and that reputation is earned. Yorkies are small, independent dogs with strong personalities, and they often decide when and where they want to go to the bathroom rather than following your schedule. A typical medium or large breed might be reliably housetrained in 4 to 6 months; a Yorkie can take 6 to 12 months or longer, and some owners report ongoing accidents well into the second year.

The difficulty isn't that Yorkies lack the physical ability to hold their bladder—it's that they lack the motivation to care about your preferences. They have tiny bladders (they need to go out 8 to 10 times a day as puppies), and they're confident enough to ignore correction. This combination makes them one of the more challenging small breeds to housetrain, but owners who commit to a strict routine and avoid common mistakes do succeed.

Key Takeaways

  • Yorkies need to go outside 8 to 10 times daily as puppies and 4 to 6 times as adults, so a rigid schedule is non-negotiable for success.
  • Crate training works better than punishment because Yorkies naturally avoid soiling their sleeping space, making it the foundation of most successful housebreaking plans.
  • Yorkies respond to reward-based training (treats, praise, play) far better than correction, and they will ignore you if they think you're angry.
  • Accidents happen for months with Yorkies, and cleaning them with enzymatic cleaner (not ammonia-based products) prevents the dog from returning to the same spot.
  • Yorkies under 4 months old cannot physically hold their bladder long enough to sleep through the night, so nighttime accidents are normal and not a sign of failure.

Why Yorkies are harder to potty train than other breeds

Yorkies have two working against them: a tiny bladder and a stubborn temperament. An adult Yorkie weighs 4 to 7 pounds, so their bladder capacity is roughly one-third that of a 20-pound dog. This means they genuinely need to urinate more often, not just because they're young but because of their size. Even a well-trained adult Yorkie may have an accident if left alone for more than 6 to 8 hours.

The stubbornness is the real obstacle. Yorkies were bred to hunt rats in mills and mines—jobs that required independence and confidence. That breeding shows up in their personality: they make their own decisions and don't automatically defer to humans the way breeds like Labs or Golden Retrievers do. A Yorkie will look at you, understand exactly what you want, and then pee on the carpet anyway because they felt like it. This isn't stupidity; it's personality.

Yorkies also have a high prey drive and get distracted easily. If a squirrel runs past while you're waiting for them to go to the bathroom, they'll chase it and forget why they're outside. This makes it harder to establish the cause-and-effect connection between going outside and getting rewarded.

The crate training method: the most reliable approach for Yorkies

Crate training works better for Yorkies than any other method because it uses their natural instinct to avoid soiling their sleeping space. Dogs are den animals and will hold their bladder to keep their bed clean, even stubborn Yorkies. The crate becomes a tool that forces the schedule rather than relying on the dog's willingness to cooperate.

Start with a crate just large enough for the puppy to stand, turn around, and lie down—not so large that they can pee in one corner and sleep in another. A crate that's too big defeats the purpose. For a Yorkie puppy, a small dog crate (24 inches long) is usually right. Place the crate in a room where you spend time so the puppy doesn't feel abandoned.

The routine is: puppy goes in the crate, you set a timer, puppy comes out and goes directly outside, puppy goes to the bathroom, puppy gets a treat and praise when ready, puppy comes back inside and either plays under supervision or goes back in the crate. For a young puppy, this cycle repeats every 1 to 2 hours during the day and every 3 to 4 hours at night (though most puppies under 4 months will have nighttime accidents regardless).

Never use the crate as punishment. If you put an angry Yorkie in the crate, they'll associate it with being in trouble, not with being safe. The crate should feel like a good place—toss treats in, leave the door open, let the puppy nap there voluntarily. Once the puppy is comfortable, the housebreaking routine becomes much easier to manage.

Establishing a strict outdoor schedule

Yorkies cannot learn to housetrain on a flexible schedule. You need to take your Yorkie outside at the same times every single day, at least initially. A typical schedule for a puppy looks like this: first thing in the morning, after breakfast (15 to 30 minutes later), mid-morning, after lunch, mid-afternoon, after dinner, before bed, and once in the middle of the night if the puppy is very young.

The timing matters because Yorkies have predictable bladder patterns. They almost always need to go within 15 to 30 minutes after eating, within 5 to 10 minutes after waking up, and after play or excitement. If you take your Yorkie out at these moments, you'll catch most of the bathroom trips and can reward them. This creates the association: outside = bathroom = reward.

As your Yorkie gets older (around 4 to 6 months), you can gradually extend the time between trips, but do it slowly—add 15 minutes at a time, not hours. An adult Yorkie should go out at minimum 4 to 6 times daily. Some owners find that taking their adult Yorkie out 5 times daily (morning, mid-morning, lunch, late afternoon, bedtime) works well.

Write down the times you take your Yorkie outside and note whether they went to the bathroom. This log helps you spot patterns and adjust the schedule if accidents keep happening at the same time of day.

Rewards and praise: what actually motivates a Yorkie

Yorkies respond to when ready, high-value rewards. This means the treat or praise has to happen within seconds of the bathroom trip, not minutes later. The dog has to connect the act of going outside with the reward, and Yorkies have short attention spans.

Use treats your Yorkie loves—small pieces of chicken, cheese, or commercial training treats. The treat should be tiny (pea-sized) so the dog doesn't fill up and skip meals, but it should be something the dog gets excited about. Some Yorkies are food-motivated; others prefer play or a favorite toy. Experiment to find what your individual dog cares about.

Praise matters too, but it has to be genuine and enthusiastic. A flat "good dog" doesn't register. You need to sound excited: "Yes! Good potty! Good girl!" in a high, happy voice. Yorkies are sensitive to tone and will tune out half-hearted praise. Pair the praise with the treat for the first few months, then gradually phase out the treat as the habit solidifies (though many owners keep occasional treats as a maintenance reward).

Never punish accidents. Yelling, rubbing the dog's nose in it, or any form of correction teaches the Yorkie to hide when they need to go to the bathroom, not to go outside. A Yorkie who's been punished will sneak behind the couch to pee instead of asking to go out. If you catch an accident in progress, calmly interrupt ("Uh-uh"), take the dog outside when ready, and reward if they finish outside. That's it.

Cleaning accidents properly so they don't repeat in the same spot

Yorkies will return to the same spot to go to the bathroom if they can smell their own urine there. This is why cleaning matters so much. A regular household cleaner or paper towels won't remove the scent—you need an enzymatic cleaner that breaks down the urine compounds at a chemical level.

Products like Nature's Miracle, Rocco & Roxie, or Rockin' Green are designed for this purpose. Spray the affected area generously, let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes (follow the product instructions), then blot it up. Do not use ammonia-based cleaners like Windex or some bathroom cleaners—ammonia smells like urine to dogs and actually encourages them to go in that spot again.

If your Yorkie has had multiple accidents in the same room, consider temporarily blocking access to that room or confining the dog to a smaller space where you can monitor them more closely. Once the enzymatic cleaner has done its work and the dog has gone several weeks without accidents in that spot, you can gradually give them more freedom.

Common mistakes that slow down housebreaking

The biggest mistake is assuming a Yorkie will housetrain on the same timeline as a larger breed. Owners often get frustrated after 2 to 3 months of accidents and think something is wrong with the dog. With Yorkies, 6 to 12 months is normal. Patience is not optional.

The second mistake is an inconsistent schedule. If you take your Yorkie out at 7 a.m. one day and 9 a.m. the next, the dog can't learn the pattern. Yorkies thrive on routine, and housebreaking requires that routine to be rock-solid. If your schedule is unpredictable, hire a dog walker or ask a family member to help maintain consistency.

The third mistake is leaving a young Yorkie unsupervised for too long. Yorkies under 6 months should never have access to more than one room without supervision. They'll wander off and pee in a corner you didn't know existed. Use baby gates to confine them to a small area where you can see them, or keep them in the crate.

The fourth mistake is using the wrong size crate or leaving the dog in the crate too long. A crate that's too big defeats the purpose. A puppy left in a crate for 8 hours will have no choice but to soil it, which breaks the housebreaking process. Puppies can hold their bladder for roughly one hour per month of age (a 3-month-old can hold it for 3 to 4 hours), so plan accordingly.

Nighttime training: a separate process from daytime housebreaking

Nighttime dryness is a different skill from daytime housebreaking and develops on its own timeline. Yorkies under 4 months old cannot physically hold their bladder through the night, so nighttime accidents are not a failure—they're biology. Don't expect a young puppy to sleep through the night without peeing.

Around 4 to 6 months, some Yorkies start staying dry at night. Others take until 8 to 12 months. You can help by taking your Yorkie out right before bed and first thing in the morning, but you can't force it to happen faster. Some owners use puppy pads in the crate at night as a temporary measure, though this can confuse the dog about where it's acceptable to go to the bathroom.

Once your Yorkie has been dry at night for several weeks consistently, you can remove the pads and transition to a full night without accidents. If accidents start happening again, go back to the pads for a few more weeks—the dog isn't ready yet.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it usually take to housetrain a Yorkie?

Most Yorkies take 6 to 12 months to be reliably housetrained, though some take longer. Consistency and crate training speed up the process, but even with perfect technique, expect accidents for several months. Yorkies are straightforward slower to housetrain than larger breeds.

Can I use puppy pads to housetrain a Yorkie?

Puppy pads can confuse the process because they teach the dog that it's acceptable to go to the bathroom indoors. Most trainers recommend skipping pads and going straight to outdoor housebreaking with crate training. If you must use pads (for example, if you live in a high-rise with no straightforward outdoor access), place them in a designated spot and treat them like an outdoor bathroom—reward the dog for using them, then gradually move them closer to the door and eventually outside.

What if my Yorkie has accidents even after months of training?

First, rule out a medical issue by having your vet check for urinary tract infections or other health problems. If the dog is healthy, the issue is usually an inconsistent schedule, inadequate supervision, or a spot that still smells like urine. Go back to basics: stricter crate training, more frequent outdoor trips, and enzymatic cleaning of any accident spots. Some Yorkies genuinely take longer than others.

Is my Yorkie too old to housetrain?

No. Adult Yorkies can be housetrained, though it takes longer than puppies because the habits are more ingrained. Use the same crate-training method and strict schedule, but expect it to take several months instead of several weeks. An adult dog may also have learned that indoor bathroom trips are acceptable, so you're retraining rather than training from scratch.

Should I punish my Yorkie for accidents?

No. Punishment teaches the dog to hide when they need to go to the bathroom, not to ask for outdoor access. If you catch an accident in progress, calmly interrupt and take the dog outside. If you find an accident after the fact, clean it with enzymatic cleaner and move on. Reward outdoor bathroom trips instead of punishing indoor ones.