Trouble housebreaking male Chihuahua mix, any advice?

I have been reading through older post looking for help. Here is the thing, We have two chihuahua mixes, a female and a male. The female is trained and knows were to go. I've had my male mix for 5 months now, (he is 6 months) at first it was really hard to train him, but within a couple weeks, he was using his potty pads and not having any accidents. Recently, he has been peeing on my sisters bed, even though he knows were his spot is. He will even look at you while he pee's on the couch, and runs away afraid like he knows he did something bad. I read that if you rub there nose in it and say "bad boy" then it will teach them, well, I have tried that and no use, he still does. He isnt a bad dog, he doesnt beg, cry and rip anything. I am afraid that if I cant teach him I will have to give him away ( my parents are tired of finding pee on their bed and the couch.) If anyone has any sort of advice it would be very helpful, thankyou.

 

That is definately not the right thing to do. Doing this will teach him nothing except maybe to fear you. Is the dog neutered? If not, do you have plans to neuter him? My guess is that he is "marking". Neutering often stops or at least greatly reduces this behavior. In the meantime you can get him a belly band which will prevent him from marking things in the house.

 

I agree with nern Since he's 6 months now, he's old enough to be neutered. I would also try crate training. I've heard this is very effective. Also, keep a super close eye on him at all times. Good luck!

 

I have a seven month old chihuahua and I litter box trained him (w/ newspaper, no litter). I also used a crate. Crate training is a really good way of housebreaking a puppy, but you've got to be strict about it. When you cannot watch him like a hawk make sure he is in his crate. I also agree with the others, he's old enough to be neutered (if he is not already) and that will help with him marking. I had Ace neutered last month and he still squats to pee, so no spraying!

 

One more thing

I knew i forgot to mention something. He is neutered, I did it early on so that he wouldnt start marking. Also, when he does pee, he starts to pee and then walk away while he is still urinating. I have been thinking about talking to the vet, but i am not sure if they can help me with the problems i am having. Thank you.

 

Usually if a dog is having problems pottying in the house a vet will be able to rule out illness in the dog, that may be causing him to go in the house. He may have a bladder infection or something that is causing him to go wherever.

Are you crate training? It's easier to house break a puppy using a crate. If you're not able to catch every single accident you're putting youself back at square one. When he is not in his crate watch his every move. As soon as you take him out of the crate, bring him to his potty area and say "GO POTTY" so he learns to go when you tell him to go. My chihuahua is 7 months old and trained to go potty in a box in the bathroom. My bf and I crate trained him. Every time we let him out of the crate we blocked off all of the room so the only room he could go into until he pottied was the bathroom. We would say "get in there" and make him go into the bathroom. Then we'd say GO POTTY. And when he went, treat and lots and lots of praise. Now we don't keep him in the crate nearly as much, but when we get up in the morning (he sleeps in bed with us) we say GET IN THERE and he runs into the bathroom to go.

Good luck, you can teach your puppy to go in his area every time but you have to be extremely persistent and strict. Don't leave him unattended if he hasn't gone in awhile and do not rub his nose in it. You'll only scare him and it will not help any. When you catch him going in an 'illegal' area, say NO (loud) and clap your hands together, scare him. Then pick him up and carry him to the area you want him to go in. Say good boy, go potty.

Good Luck!!!

 

Also Need Help House Breaking my Dog.

I just bought a chihuahua the other day and its a 5 month old male. He has been neutered and everything. We are having a problem house breaking him. We got a littler box and bought dog litter and everything. The breeder said he was paper trained so we put papers around it and some papers in the box as well. I put him in there and tell him to go potty and make him sit there for a litlte while after he eats. Well he will sit there for 10 minutes and do nothing. Once he gets out he either pees in his bed or he pees in the middle of the floor. I have heard about this crate training but I am not sure if I completly understand what that is. Do you just keep the dog in the crate at all times except when playing with it? So it has to pee there and it knows it is suppose to pee there? I eventually wan it so it can run around the house and we dont have to worry about it. With crate training is that still possible? If I do do the crate method then do I put the littler box and its bed in there? Isnt that bad for it to sleep where it pees at? Would appretaite any help or advice someone can give me. Thanks!

 

This is a good schedule to go by for crate training. Someone gave it to me. At first your dog will fight to get out, but they learn to like their little crate. The crate must onlt be big enough for them to stand and turn in. Not play or have enough space to divide it into a sleep area and pee-poop area. Since I bought a smaller crate, my poodle has not done any business in her crate. She even is starting to go in their on her own for a rest.
Good luck.

SCHEDULE from www.thepetprofessor.com

7:00 a.m. - Get puppy out of crate or sleeping area, and immediately take him outside to potty area on leash.

7:15 a.m. a Feed and offer water.

7:30 a.m. a Take puppy back out to potty area. Use a command, like eHurry up!e to encourage the dog to eliminate. A successful potty deserves great praise! Take for a walk or have a structured play session.

8:00 a.m. a Put puppy in crate or confined area for nap.

Going to Work?

If you have to go to work, like the rest of the world, you have two options. A very young puppy (8 to 12 weeks) should be crated for periods no longer than four hours during the day. You should come home during the day, to provide your puppy/dog with a break, otherwise you must have hire a service or have neighbor come in during the day to provide the proper care. As dogs mature, they can be left for longer periods of time, especially if they have earned freedom from the crate.

Staying Home?

If you don't have to go to work, then continue the schedule

10:00 a.m. Get puppy out of crate or sleeping area and immediately take him outside to potty area on leash.

10:15 a.m. Walk the puppy and play for short period of time.

10:30 a.m. Allow puppy to entertain itself with safe toys in a safe puppy-proof area.

Noon - Feed puppy second meal

12:15 p.m. Take puppy to potty area on leash.

12:30 p.m. Have short play session and stimulate mentally with a short obedience session of sit and down.

1:00 p.m. Put puppy back in crate for afternoon nap.

3:00 p.m. Let puppy/dog out of crate or sleeping area and immediately take outside to potty area on leash.

4:00 p.m. Allow puppy to socialize with kids coming home from school. (If you have no children coming home, find someone with children or other adults to expose the puppy/dog to members of the world!

5:00 p.m. Feed last meal of the day and offer water.

5:15 p.m. Take puppy to potty area on leash.

5:30 p.m. Crate or confine puppy while the family prepares for and eats their dinner.

6:30 p.m. Allow the puppy/dog to socialize with all members of the family, play quietly by itself, or go for a short walk.

8:00 p.m. Offer a last drink of water for the night

10:00 p.m. Take the puppy outside for one last pit stop. Crate or confine puppy for the night only after you have seen it go poop and pee.

Article supplied by:

©Nancy King


you will NEED to know that he's in a safe place not off pottying somewhere - contrary to what you might think right now (I totally understand your excitement!) - you won't be able to watch him ALL the time. here are a couple of other good links.

http://www.perfectpaws.com/index.html

http://www.canismajor.com/dog/hsetrain.html#Hbp