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Not going potty #2 after 3 days

20 11:37:48

Question
I recently adopted an 18 month old male yorkie
He came from a family, travelled from Texas to California with me and is now in a new home with us and a 16 yr old Sr. terrier. I have had him at the vet when earlier in the week he had not gone potty for 2 days.  The vet said it was stress.  He went once and now it is 3 days later and he has not gone again.  Is there anything I should do or consider the stress of all the changes in his tiny life in the last week.
Interested in your help
Thanks
Cindy

Answer
Cindy,

What you are describing is probably separation anxiety which is very common with Yorkies.  Yorkshire Terriers are very loyal dogs and usually attach themselves to one particular person.  If you "adopted"  him from someone else then he is probably experiencing separation anxiety.  When puppies are first separated from their parents and siblings they experience separation anxiety.  It usually only lasts a few days but if a dog is older (like yours) then it can take much longer.

My usual advise here would be to take him to the vet and make sure there is no medical reason for his not going potty.  Since you have already done this I have to assume that what he is suffering from is separation anxiety.  There is nothing you can do about the separation anxiety except try to minimize the severity of it until the dog gets used to you.  Your dog sounds like it has a severe case which is not surprising because it not only was separated from the people it loved but it was also separated from the home that it knew.

The first thing you need to determine is how drastic the changes have been.  Did he used to sleep with someone? Did he have a crate or cage that he slept in? Was the house he lived in small or large?  Was it quiet or noisy?  Are you feeding him the same food?  Is he being left alone more or less than with his previous family?  Were there other dogs that he lived with?  I think you get what I am trying to say.  The more things that have changed the more severe the anxiety.

What you need to do now is limit the changes that he has experienced until he can handle them better.  Start off with a few things and then gradually introduce the other changes as time goes on in order to minimize the anxiety.  An example of this would be if he came from a household where it was quiet all the time and then came to your house where is was noisy (children playing, lots of activity).  You would need to make a place for him to be able to go if he wants to have quiet and feel safe.  Also, you can get a piece of clothing or something that has the previous owners smell on it and place it in his bed.  That way when he goes to sleep he will feel safe and comforted by the smell.  As the smell wears off of the clothing and he gets used to you then his anxiety will lessen and eventually disappear.

Of course there is the universal treatment for any anxiety and that is love.  Give him plenty of love and he will eventually transfer his attachment to the previous owners to you.

So, minimize the changes if you can until he is better equipped emotionally to handle them.

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