Hello! We have a 6 month old femalee Chihuahua. She is very stubborn about going outside to go potty. We have her going to puppy daycare with my kids to my moms everyday since she is so small and can't hold her bladder. She is kept in her kennel there and she will cry to go out to go potty. And now that winter has finally hit MN these past couple of weeks she has just been a stinker about going out side to go pee or poo -- and thinks it is ok to go in our family room or where she gets the feeling to go. This has been going on since we first got her, but more frequently now.
I have heard of people a neighbor (I don't know where she lives, just chatted while walking by the house ) who walks her small doggies litter train their smaller dogs. I am interested and I have googled it but would like to hear first hand what worked for you, any suggestions, tips, etc.
I read online to keep them crated with a litter pan (I got doggie littler - but she would rather chew on it and lay in it) Puppy pads she chews up and makes a bigger mess. I have heard pros and cons for actual cat littler. Currently I put some poo into her "box" and left her in there all day on Friday with food and water. She FINALLY went late in the evening after lots of whining from her. We praised her with lots of praise, treats and love. Then she got to have some free time and play time with us. Then it was bed time and she went to bed. She hasn't since used it -- we had her out yesterday and on Saturday to play and took her out to go potty be fore she got to play and stretch and we watched her -- I feel bad keeping her kenneled all day and night and I don't think she cares that she pees on her blanket... she just sits in the litter. We have used the phrase "go potty in your box" and sit her in there... Am I doing it wrong or just need to be more persistant and such a softy and it will work?
Thanks in advance!
Please let me add this too, we have always had dogs and no problems with potty training since I was little. Even my mom who had our other older dog trained within 3 days and also she had trained 3 puppies from a litter we had to go potty outside with out any problems and they were tiny poodles all at the same time within about a weeks time. She has tried other options with Piper for us as she has her during the day. Also Piper has been doing this since we got her and doesn't want to potty train but does go potty outside when we let her out. Just doesnt' ask or let us know when she has to go.... I am looking for something convienent for her and us not having to take her out every 10 -20 minutes. I want her to able to let us know when she has to go which she does when in the kennel at my moms. She also does have a puffer coat and a sweater and even little boots -- She is worse than potty training a kiddo ;)
seriously, the more she's outside...the more she'll "own" the space & will eventually go potty. Throw a coat/sweater on her & leave her outside.
It's so sad to hear of a dog kenneled/crated & being rewarded with "free" time or play time with the family. :(
You can get dog boots to go with the coat too. Little dogs have tender tootsies too. But I agree with getting her outside. I have never heard of kennel training a dog and leaving them in there with the poo. It defeats the whole purpose of kennel training. Most dogs do not want to lie where they poo and will hold it until you get them out of the kennel.
If you want to kennel train properly you can not have any absorbent material in there with her or it will soak up everything. I suspect this is why the kennel training isn't working. Perhaps read up on Kennel training to be sure you're doing everything you should so your dog doesn't learn bad habits.
See: http://www.inch.com/~dogs/cratetraining.html
If all else fails, there are indoor "greens" you can buy so your pet can go to the potty indoors during the winter months and not get out of the habit of going on the grass when it's warmer. I don't know anyone who uses these, but I have read they work fairly well for those who live in apartments or settings where walking a dog is out of the question.
http://www.amazon.com/PetZoom-Park-Indoor-Potty-25-5/dp/B...
My only suggestion is to research crate training. The point is that they rest inside the crate and you take them out (as in outside) at regular intervals to go potty. A dog doesn't want to pee/poop where it sleeps so having her go inside the crate isn't what you should be aiming for. Let her spend a couple of hours in the crate and as soon as you get her out of it, take her outside to pee/poop. Lots of praise when she goes outside. We just adopted a small mixed breed dog and she was pretty house broken when we got her. She had a few accidents on my dining room rug until we got her on a good schedule of taking her out every few hours. She now has full run of our downstairs and hasn't had any accidents in the last week or so. Good luck.
Most dogs will not pee or poop in their crate. They're different from cats that way. You are not doing her any favors by trying to get her to make a mess in her kennel. If you keep her in there for hours on end, of course she isn't going to potty in there. (Dogs are social animals. She should be playing with your family most of the day, and sleeping in her kennel if you're gone.) If you start her on any sort of pee pads or fake grass, you're going to create a problem for yourself because she won't go outside then -- ever.
I have a chihuahua. She is almost 20 years old. She doesn't have any problem holding it. The theory that they have a smaller bladder so they can't hold it is wrong. They have a smaller bladder but they also make less pee. My old doggie can hold it for hours and hours if she has to. She sleeps on my bed at night and holds it for at least 8 hours.
If she's cold, you need to get her a sweater and take her outside and stand there with her -- or better yet take her for a walk -- until she goes. Put some of the poop outside where you want her to go. My dog doesn't go very far from the back door these days. She has one spot she goes on outside.
You have to be consistent with this type of training. She has to be taught to go potty outside, even if it's cold and even if you're freezing standing there too. That's the crappy part about getting a puppy in the winter.
I am a dog groomer and a pet parent of a 9 month old, 7 pound Havanese.
I have never litter trained a dog. I would NOT suggest cat littler though, especially if she was chewing on the doggy litter. Cat litter clumps too much and if she swallows enough of it it can block her insides and make her sick or possibly even risk surgery.
I know with potty pads it is a little easier because there is something in them that attracts them to it.
Like you said you have done, if she goes potty in a different area put it where you want her to go. I'm not saying stink up your house with it or anything but that way she smells it in that spot and will think its okay to go there. You might have to do that for a few days, obviously not leave old stuff there but just stay consistent with it. If you see her start to go somewhere else, lift her up and put her where you want her to potty.
As far as trying to get her to let you know she has to go out. Have you tried the bell trick? Hang some type of bell on the door, low enough for her to reach. Everytime you take her out to go potty, ring the bell. She should soon realize that the sound of the bell means she gets to go out and she will ring it on her own. She is smart and will play you if you let her, you just have to stay strong and not let her win.
Good luck!
We tried doing the doggy liter box for a puppy we had & it really didn't work out too well(our puppy would eat it). Puppies will chew up anything, but if you stay consistant w/things, you will usually win! Usually says the woman who's husband refused to let their shih tzu sleep w/them hahaha! Take a guess where Toby is now!!!! I agree w/the posts that mention about how a dog will not go to the bathroom where they eat or drink.
The dog should be given a designated area to go to the bathroom, even if a pad is put down for her to go to the bathroom when taken out of the crate. Our dog has gotten used to the cold, the rain, the snow - I think most of the problem was with me. He loves it, I just didn't want to mess up the beautiful job his groomer did, but it's so much better for them to get some exercise. My MIL has a chiahauha and he loves going outside. When it's too cold he lets them know, but it's great for them to get a little excercise. Good luck!
from my experience this breed is the hardest to potty train because their bladders are so small.i got a male from a puppy mill 2 1/2 yrs old about 5 months ago.he was used as the main breeder.he weighed 1.5 pounds and in horrible shape when i got him.vet suggested to put him to sleep.i refused..thank god because hes learned how to be just a dog.these dogs lived in a trailer with no power,water,access to outside,it was pathetic.he does great outside now but has no bladder control from being overbread.42 litters in his lil life span.so i bought him a velcro diaper n put xtra diaper padding in it.works great.they make them for females also.
up to date i rescued a total of 25 puppies from this man since last may.got them vetted,fixed n new homes.i decided to keep him.hes such a sweetheart.try the diaper they make them xtra small...hes up to 6 pounds now an just happy.be patient-kenneling doesnt work like that.good luck
we had a dog once that didnt' want to go out in the cold to go, we bought him a coat.
I would put newspaper around for her, and everyday move closer to the door, and as you move it outside slowly to the grass area, she will soon go outside to go potty. we have dogs and we use newspaper to potty train them so they don't go on our wood florring and the carpet. and it work really well. there's something in the ink they use that makes them go on the paper. good luck!!!
Dee
