# Toy Poodle Housebreaking & Breeders



## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Hi I trained Timi on the pad and later added outside. I would say that up until maybe six months she used the pad every couple of hours, so perhaps you might have to go a couple of months longer taking them out frequently then you would with a big guy. Timi still uses a pad, but since she has been grown she prolongs the time between potty all on her own. Now she can certainly hold it just as well as the big guys - I will often notice that although she had not used the pad for 3-5 hours before bed, she will go all night and still not even bother to saunter over to the pad until an hour or so after we get up!
She has not had an accident since her first week home at 14 weeks old, but that may have been different had I been training her strictly for outside - I doubt I could have kept up with her schedule for months!
If you let people know more exactly what you are looking for - color, sex, personality traits/what you expect to do with the dog, they would be better able to recommend a breeder to you.


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## TrixieTreasure (May 24, 2015)

All of my dogs ( except for one) were easy to potty train to go outside. I would start with putting newspapers down, and when I wasn't home, I would put up baby gates,along with having newspapers. I would also crate them at night. By 6 months, they were totally potty trained. That's what worked for us.

The reason why I had one dog that took longer was because she was a dog with seizures, and she just couldn't quite get the concept of going outside instead of inside. She actually did good though. It just took her a little bit longer.


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## MSDS (Feb 14, 2016)

Thank you for the info....

I have read and been told that housebreaking a small breed dog is very difficult. :afraid: I guess if you are consistent with your daily routine a poodle any size will housebreak to go outside.

My new Pup may even watch his big brother (Golden Retriever) potty habits and will pick up...

Also I would consider a Mini or a Toy. I prefer a male and flexible with color. 

I'm located in New Jersey and my search for a new pup is not easy....alot of pet stores, puppy mills and byb in the area. 

Thank you everyone!


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I think that there are a number of reasons why house training a small dog can seem more difficult than a large one, most of them human-based! When you are toilet training a bigger puppy everything is writ large - it is easier to see the body language signals, the start of squatting is obvious, the puppy is easier to keep an eye on or to leash to you, and the puddles and poops are so big that you have a constant reason to really concentrate. Very small pups are so close to the ground already that many people miss the squat altogether; they can vanish under furniture and find a peaceful spot to toilet there; the tiny puddles make less mess, so there is less of an incentive to avoid them happening - and every "accident" delays complete training of course. Add in that they do seem to take longer to achieve full bladder control, and you can see why it can seem harder! As you say, being consistent with frequent and regular trips outside and letting big brother help with the training should get you there.


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

Housebreaking a small dog IS more difficult. It's not a myth. I have housebroken dozens of dogs, but all the small ones, without exception, were harder or took longer. And They were all housebroken in the end.

Why ? Since they are smaller, everything is harder for them. Everything is more of a challenge and demands more will and energy. For example, going down the steps if there are any. Stepping in grass when it's wet : where a big dog will barely feel the grass, the small dog might have it up to it's knees, or even shoulder... When it rains if it takes 10 minutes to soak a medium or big dog, it will take 2 minutes to soak a small one. Snow is again a much bigger challenge when you're small. Their paws are little and they feel the cold faster, and more. It takes a while before they understand that the quicker they do their business, the faster they'll go inside. All they want to do is go back where its warm, understandably. Noises are more scary when you're small, so they are more easily distracted.

Toy Poodles are easier than other small breeds, I would say, because they are people pleasers. Housebreaking a stubborn Yorkie can be a nightmare and easily takes a whole year.

I have a toy poodle and he was 16 months old when I got him and he would mark in the house and poop on the floor. It took about 10 days for him to understand the concept of going outside (he had never been outside at all), and 2 months to be reliable but not perfect. Then we had a big setback with the snow and it took another 2 months of work. Now he is okay. A puppy will be much easier than that.


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## blueroan (Dec 28, 2015)

Mine was 7mths when I got him and he wasn't housebroken! (Why, I really don't know...the breeder couldn't be bothered training her dogs.)

He was a Toy poodle but he was pretty easy to train for going outside. We did the sit at door method. Every few hours, we'd go to the door, make him sit, wait a min, then go outside and let him go to the bathroom. He got the hang of it pretty quickly. It was probably about 2 weeks to be pretty solid. 

Which is why I shake my head when I think of him not even being housebroken at 7mths...you just need a bit of effort!!

The new one one she comes will already have been trained to paper...so one less step yay! And she'll be 8 weeks old.


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## mom2Zoe (Jun 17, 2014)

Where in Jersey? I am in Bergen county. My toy came from a puppy mill. Thank G-d everything turned out ok and she is delightful and healthy.

Zoe goes outside and the process was not difficult at all. I would say she was trained by 4-5 months with the occasional accident the first year. She hated rain and took her awhile to know she did not have a choice but to run out and do your business.


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## peepers (Apr 13, 2012)

*Toys*

Have a look at the Watchung Mountain Poodle Club puppy pen.


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## MSDS (Feb 14, 2016)

mom2Zoe said:


> Where in Jersey? I am in Bergen county. My toy came from a puppy mill. Thank G-d everything turned out ok and she is delightful and healthy.
> 
> Zoe goes outside and the process was not difficult at all. I would say she was trained by 4-5 months with the occasional accident the first year. She hated rain and took her awhile to know she did not have a choice but to run out and do your business.


Hi Mom2Zoe....I'm in Bergen County too! I saw a toy Poodle at Kaismiers pet store in Hackensack. I'm also going to look at a Mini Poodle from a breeder in Long Island over the weekend. 

I'm glad to hear the housebreaking process for a toy poodle is not that bad.


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## shell (Jul 10, 2015)

I have two maltese, one is 5lb one is 6lb. Our first maltese took nearly a year to potty train. It was kind of a nightmare. I have had mid sized mixed breed dogs all my life and never had an issue before. Yes smaller dogs are harder to train but stick with it. They don't all take that long-but in my experience they are more difficult to train than larger breeds. My second maltese was trained by 5 months old. I think he picked it up from the first one thoug-and he's also pretty brilliant 

One thing I came to realize about the tiny dogs is I don't think they have 100% control of their bladders until they are over a year old. They seem to start to develop some control at about 6 months and it just gets continually easier from there. They will start to let you know they have to go out-but you have to be quick about it.

I did crate training. I taught our boys to go outside from the start but with some of our tough Iowa winters, I wish I would have potty pad trained them. We have issues in the winter because no one wants to poop when it's below zero outside. :\


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## mom2Zoe (Jun 17, 2014)

MSDS said:


> Hi Mom2Zoe....I'm in Bergen County too! I saw a toy Poodle at Kaismiers pet store in Hackensack. I'm also going to look at a Mini Poodle from a breeder in Long Island over the weekend.
> 
> I'm glad to hear the housebreaking process for a toy poodle is not that bad.




I live a few minutes from Riverside mall in Hackensack. I got my Toy from Troys in Englewood grooming shop. My friend who has two Malteses guided me there. They get dogs from what they call" breeders" with little knowledge to where they come from.
I still get her groomed there because one of the groomers does poodles well and I tried other places not to my liking. She does more of the traditional poodle even though I keep Zoe's muzzle longer. They are very nice even if they know nothing about proper breeding.
I think there is a reputable place called songbirds poodles in CT which is not far from us. I do not know if anyone has a poodle from there on PF. I met a lovely welll bred girl in the dog park during the summer.


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## mom2Zoe (Jun 17, 2014)

I would look at Songbirds. I think you were open to a mini, right? i do not think they do toys. 
They also do not concentrate on all colors. Just a suggestion since not far from us. I do not know of any reputable breeders in our area. I would like to know for the future or to help people who are looking.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

shell said:


> I have two maltese, one is 5lb one is 6lb. Our first maltese took nearly a year to potty train. It was kind of a nightmare. I have had mid sized mixed breed dogs all my life and never had an issue before. Yes smaller dogs are harder to train but stick with it. They don't all take that long-but in my experience they are more difficult to train than larger breeds. My second maltese was trained by 5 months old. I think he picked it up from the first one thoug-and he's also pretty brilliant
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Please don't take this the wrong way, but I have many friends with Maltese, and although they do score just as high on the sweetness scale as poodles, they can't compare to poodles on the learning scale, not even close...


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## MSDS (Feb 14, 2016)

mom2Zoe said:


> I would look at Songbirds. I think you were open to a mini, right? i do not think they do toys.
> They also do not concentrate on all colors. Just a suggestion since not far from us. I do not know of any reputable breeders in our area. I would like to know for the future or to help people who are looking.


I just emailed Songbird..Their website does not show any available puppies though....

Mini or Toy is fine. I'm about 10 minutes from Riverside Square Mall.  I'm going to check out Troys in Ridgefield in the morning.

Sunday I'm taking a look at a Mini from a breeder. She's asking $2,000. for a black male 3 months old.


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## MSDS (Feb 14, 2016)

Tiny Poodles said:


> Please don't take this the wrong way, but I have many friends with Maltese, and although they do score just as high on the sweetness scale as poodles, they can't compare to poodles on the learning scale, not even close...


My Sister had 2 Shihtzu (different times) and took close to a year to housebreak. Her current Shihtzu is a sweet cute little guy! 

She also had a Yorkie for a year that never housebroke. She had to give him up he was very mean and started biting family members (drawing blood). 

Poodles are ranked up there on the list for smart Breeds. I would think that helps during housebreaking.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

MSDS said:


> My Sister had 2 Shihtzu (different times) and took close to a year to housebreak. Her current Shihtzu is a sweet cute little guy!
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Yes, Shih Tzu's are sweet as pie but not Einsteins either. And Yorkies can be feisty little terriers who think they know better than you.
But honestly I think that 2/3 of the small dog housebreaking issues are the owners fault - they just don't take it as seriously when they have accidents, or maybe don't even notice until they have had twenty accidents! I have known many small dog people who simply decide that it is just easier to pick up the tiny little poops or to get the rugs cleaned often than to housebreak their dogs. I have only had toy poodles, but every single one was perfectly pad trained, wouldn't dream of eliminating anyplace else indoors in less than a week. Just remember that in addition to teaching your dog where to eliminate, it is just as important to teach them where not to go. And if you live in a large home, realize that you may have to housebreak them room by room - just because they are good in the room where they spend most of their time, you cannot assume that they will be the same in less traveled rooms.


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## MSDS (Feb 14, 2016)

Tiny Poodles said:


> Yes, Shih Tzu's are sweet as pie but not Einsteins either. And Yorkies can be feisty little terriers who think they know better than you.
> But honestly I think that 2/3 of the small dog housebreaking issues are the owners fault - they just don't take it as seriously when they have accidents, or maybe don't even notice until they have had twenty accidents! I have known many small dog people who simply decide that it is just easier to pick up the tiny little poops or to get the rugs cleaned often than to housebreak their dogs. I have only had toy poodles, but every single one was perfectly pad trained, wouldn't dream of eliminating anyplace else indoors in less than a week. Just remember that in addition to teaching your dog where to eliminate, it is just as important to teach them where not to go. And if you live in a large home, realize that you may have to housebreak them room by room - just because they are good in the room where they spend most of their time, you cannot assume that they will be the same in less traveled rooms.


Thanks that is great advise....Luckily my house is not big so it's an advantage to housebreaking. I met a lady at the mall that was holding her toy poodle I had to stop her to ask questions... when I asked her if her dog was housebroken she answered..."when he wants to be"....she said if she's out of the house for a long time he will pee on her bed. But also stated he was an unaltered male.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

MSDS said:


> Thanks that is great advise....Luckily my house is not big so it's an advantage to housebreaking. I met a lady at the mall that was holding her toy poodle I had to stop her to ask questions... when I asked her if her dog was housebroken she answered..."when he wants to be"....she said if she's out of the house for a long time he will pee on her bed. But also stated he was an unaltered male.



I should have pointed out that all of my poodles have been girls - male marking is one challenge that I never wanted - especially living in a highrise, and always keeping them trained to pads regardless of if they also go outside.


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## TrixieTreasure (May 24, 2015)

MSDS said:


> Thanks that is great advise....Luckily my house is not big so it's an advantage to housebreaking. I met a lady at the mall that was holding her toy poodle I had to stop her to ask questions... when I asked her if her dog was housebroken she answered..."when he wants to be"....she said if she's out of the house for a long time he will pee on her bed. But also stated he was an unaltered male.



One thing that I always preach about, when housebreaking a dog, is being 'consistant' in whatever technique you're using. Don't do one thing one time, and something else another time. That can be confusing. And if the dog has an accident, don't just pick up the mess and go on. The dog has to have some kind of understanding that he has done wrong. A firm NO is good. 

And until the dog can be 100% trusted, never allow it to have free reign of the house. When I was gone for several hrs, I would put the dogs in a room and/ or put up baby gates ( along with newspapers on the floor). I had both boys and girls, and I never noticed a difference in how they were understanding what to do. The key is to always be consistant.


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## glorybeecosta (Nov 11, 2014)

As for poodles I have had all toys, 1 male and 6 females, puts to 3 yrs. All were trained for out side, except the last one, she uses a potty patch and also outside. I will always train for a potty patch first, as they all hated snow and getting wet.

I had a Silkie Terrier, never ever again anything that has terrier in it. Stubborn, he was awful the only dog I ever got rid of. Totally house broke, but if company came over, he would look straight at me and lift his leg on the satin sofa, knowing I wanted to kill him and probably would have if I had not found some to take him, who adored him for years.


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## mom2Zoe (Jun 17, 2014)

How did it go with the breeder? Any leads?


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## hopetocurl (Jan 8, 2014)

I have a small toy poodle and she practically housebroke herself. I mean, I started crate training and taking her outside from the very first day. She was practically housebroken at 4 months old. Now, I was vigilant with my crate training and always had my eye on her if she was out. Looked for her cues.. and she picked right up. 

I agree with TinyPoodles... maltese are stubborn and not easy to housebreak.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

hopetocurl said:


> I have a small toy poodle and she practically housebroke herself. I mean, I started crate training and taking her outside from the very first day. She was practically housebroken at 4 months old. Now, I was vigilant with my crate training and always had my eye on her if she was out. Looked for her cues.. and she picked right up.
> 
> 
> 
> I agree with TinyPoodles... maltese are stubborn and not easy to housebreak.



I think more slow witted than stubborn. Though I did know one belonging to a friend who was every bit as bright and well trained as my poodles, she and Teaka were best friends.


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## Naira (Jan 9, 2015)

I've had a really hard time house training small dogs.. 
However if and when I have a small dog again I would love for them to be 100% pad trained and trained for outside


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Naira said:


> I've had a really hard time house training small dogs..
> 
> However if and when I have a small dog again I would love for them to be 100% pad trained and trained for outside



Small dogs, or small poodles - there is a difference I think.


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## MSDS (Feb 14, 2016)

No Poodle in my home yet....

I ended up not going to the Breeder to look at the Mini she emailed me that she was going to a dog show and was not available on Sunday then she emailed that she will be available after all but I already made other plans and the Breeder was an hour drive each way. 

I went to look at the black toy poodle at Kaismier's but he was not there he was sold his sister was still there but I prefer a boy plus she was very yappy never stops barking.


Stoped by Troy's Pets no poodle there but saw a Mini Schnauzer 9 weeks that was cute. But my heart is set on a poodle. :bounce:

There are beautiful Toy poodles available with Dalin Kennels...most likely this breeder is where I'm getting my TPoo. :cool2:


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## glorybeecosta (Nov 11, 2014)

However if and when I have a small dog again I would love for them to be 100% pad trained and trained for outside 

My Cayenne uses the pot patch and if we are outside she will go there, it is a big thing to her to pee in the grass she gets all excited, and also a treat. I do not treat her for the potty patch she just goes there. Bella will not go near the potty patch always out side


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Naira said:


> I've had a really hard time house training small dogs..
> 
> However if and when I have a small dog again I would love for them to be 100% pad trained and trained for outside



Timi says that's not a problem - perfectly pad train them first, then take them for walks where other dogs have been, and they will get the message. Treat for the message replies, and bam you have a dog trained for both!
Teaka, who had never pottied outside before in her life, peed within the first 15 minutes of her first visit to the dog park last year. She has peed every time that we have gone there since!


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## TrixieTreasure (May 24, 2015)

glorybeecosta said:


> As for poodles I have had all toys, 1 male and 6 females, puts to 3 yrs. All were trained for out side, except the last one, she uses a potty patch and also outside. I will always train for a potty patch first, as they all hated snow and getting wet.
> 
> I had a Silkie Terrier, never ever again anything that has terrier in it. Stubborn, he was awful the only dog I ever got rid of. Totally house broke, but if company came over, he would look straight at me and lift his leg on the satin sofa, knowing I wanted to kill him and probably would have if I had not found some to take him, who adored him for years.



I've been meaning to ask you, where is the potty patch? It's not outside? I'm just trying to visualize where that is, if it's not outside, lol.


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## ericwd9 (Jun 13, 2014)

fjm said:


> I think that there are a number of reasons why house training a small dog can seem more difficult than a large one, most of them human-based! When you are toilet training a bigger puppy everything is writ large - it is easier to see the body language signals, the start of squatting is obvious, the puppy is easier to keep an eye on or to leash to you, and the puddles and poops are so big that you have a constant reason to really concentrate. Very small pups are so close to the ground already that many people miss the squat altogether; they can vanish under furniture and find a peaceful spot to toilet there; the tiny puddles make less mess, so there is less of an incentive to avoid them happening - and every "accident" delays complete training of course. Add in that they do seem to take longer to achieve full bladder control, and you can see why it can seem harder! As you say, being consistent with frequent and regular trips outside and letting big brother help with the training should get you there.


How could this be said better? This is one of the best posts on this subject I have seen to date. Thankyou!!
Eric


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## Mysticrealm (Jan 31, 2016)

fjm said:


> I think that there are a number of reasons why house training a small dog can seem more difficult than a large one, most of them human-based! When you are toilet training a bigger puppy everything is writ large - it is easier to see the body language signals, the start of squatting is obvious, the puppy is easier to keep an eye on or to leash to you, and the puddles and poops are so big that you have a constant reason to really concentrate. Very small pups are so close to the ground already that many people miss the squat altogether; they can vanish under furniture and find a peaceful spot to toilet there; the tiny puddles make less mess, so there is less of an incentive to avoid them happening - and every "accident" delays complete training of course. Add in that they do seem to take longer to achieve full bladder control, and you can see why it can seem harder! As you say, being consistent with frequent and regular trips outside and letting big brother help with the training should get you there.


When I first got my pom puppy he was under 2 pounds (at 14weeks old) and I literally had to squat down and bend over to try to see if he was squatting or standing!! I honestly almost missed praising him for going when I first got him. The first time he went outside the only reason I knew is because there was a tiny 'hole' in the snow under him when he moved!!


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Mysticrealm said:


> When I first got my pom puppy he was under 2 pounds (at 14weeks old) and I literally had to squat down and bend over to try to see if he was squatting or standing!! I honestly almost missed praising him for going when I first got him. The first time he went outside the only reason I knew is because there was a tiny 'hole' in the snow under him when he moved!!



That is a very good point - with girls it is easy to tell, but boys - many of them will just give the tiniest little stretch, getting maybe one inch lower to the ground - it is really difficult to tell when they are peeing- especially a fluffy boy!


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## TrixieTreasure (May 24, 2015)

hopetocurl said:


> I have a small toy poodle and she practically housebroke herself. I mean, I started crate training and taking her outside from the very first day. She was practically housebroken at 4 months old. Now, I was vigilant with my crate training and always had my eye on her if she was out. Looked for her cues.. and she picked right up.


Now that's the way to do it!!


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## glorybeecosta (Nov 11, 2014)

TrixieTreasure said:


> I've been meaning to ask you, where is the potty patch? It's not outside? I'm just trying to visualize where that is, if it's not outside, lol.


I keep the potty patch in my master bathroom, it is artificial grass that sits ontray with wholes and then it sits on a solid plastic tray and then I put the cheap potty pads between the rack and the actual solid tray, easy to clean and no chance of spilling.


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## BarbaraInJersey (Oct 10, 2020)

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