Just needing some advice from all you dog lovers. We recently got a young (13 week) long haired chihuahua. We've had plenty of outside dogs, but this is our first house pup. We're retired and am really enjoying his company. He was trained to pee pads when we got him and is doing really well with urinating on them, but the serious business needs some work. Just wonder if you had any advice for us. He's a minature, so he's very small that's why we are using the pads as opposed to outside. Just wondering if outside would be better? Any and all suggestions would be welcome! Can't wait to take our little Buddy camping!!

Potty training is as much owner training as dog training. The key is get him outside often. Offer a small reward once in a while if he does his business. Lots of praise also works. Once he gets the idea and learns to tell you what he wants itis all most over. Probably the worst thing you can do is train a pet to pee inside. That will quickly become a habbit that will be very hard to break

Can you imagine how confusing it is for a dog to be encouraged to pee inside and poop outside? Put the pee pads outside in the spot you want him to do everything at. Little dog, little bladder. Frequency, consistency, praise and common sense.

Think my post was confusing...we aren't training him to pee inside and poop outside. He was already pee pad trained, and we have just continued that. Put him on pads after eating, on schedule etc. I was just wondering if we needed to move all training outside or if it was acceptable to continue with the pads. He's had some poop accidents, only one pee accident. We've had him for 2 days. May be excitement of new surroundings? Thanks!

Anytime he does a #2 somewhere other than the pad I'd pick it up and place it on the pad. Give him a chance to see and sniff it. Repeat as necessary. He'll likely get the idea fairly soon that #2 goes there. You might also try putting down two pads side by side, so he has one for pee and one for poop and see how that goes.FWIW -- I got a Shih Tzu puppy a couple of years ago, the first small dog I've ever had. At first I planned on training him to go outside, because that's what I've always done with my previous dogs and fosters (all medium/large dogs), and I'd never had any trouble house training any of them. But I soon discovered that small dogs really are a different matter. Within a few days of bringing him home I went out and bought some pee pads. He caught on within a couple of days. But he also went outside every time my bigger dog went. Soon he was consistently pooping on the pad but doing some pees on the pad and some outside. But he had absolutely no confusion about it--he totally understood that pees were allowed outside or on the pad. Gradually he got to the point that he almost always pees outside, but he still prefers to poop on a pad.

Feed at regular times. What isn't eaten in 15 minutes, pick up until the next feeding time. If you free feed - (leave food sit down for him all the time) that will make housebreaking more difficult. If you feed at set times, you will see a pattern as to how long after he eats, he needs to poop. That will help you to get him outside at the appropriate times.

Help with house training.. | Good Sam Community

Code2High
Explorer
Apr 16, 2014
To shift to a litter box....

Establish a regular place where the pee pad goes. Get a litter box, put a used potty pad in the bottom, place in the usual place. Be sure it's been used so the smell will be a trigger, and in the usual place. Put doglet in at the usual potty time. After a few times, add some straw....there is something about it they cannot resist. Once comfortable going on straw, remove pee pad. Then put litter under the straw and then phase out the straw and you'll have a litter-loving dog in no time.

If you wanted to have a covered box, use the bottom part for the first bit of training, get the behavior well established, then add the top.

Make location changes slowly, a couple of feet per day, if needed.

In my sun room I have a splash pool or two, depending on what's going on, with wood shavings covered in straw. All of them use the potty pool when they are shut inside or if we aren't going out in the weather at night. The small ones will come inside from the yard to use them. Rainy night? No problem! Middle of the night potty run when the 'yotes are howling? No worries! Gotta love it.
dogdiva
Explorer
Apr 19, 2014
a lot of good ideas so far/////I would take the pad outside at first When you go out take the dog on a leash when he does his business, positive reinforcement is a must,lots of praise.... THEN take the leash off and let him investigate the outside Repeat repeat repeat, until he knows that going outside is not to investigate BUT to do his business.....BE consistant with positive reinforcement......Bite your tongue if he has an accident in the house, don't reward him with verbal acknowledgement(very hard for us to do) just ignore, pick it up and take him out on a LEASH....It took me 3 days of dedication to the dog, to house train.....Be consistant, be positive and NEVER NEVER rub his nose in it......
Keep us posted as to how your new baby is doing

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