Help with house training..

[parrothead48]

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!!

[dogdiva]

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

[Code2High]

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.

[bt6845]

Wee wee pads were a no no when I first started fostering. Didn't want that in my house. After about 5 foster chihuahuas found it was easier on me to break down and use wee wee pads. I have no throw rugs anywhere in my house, doggies used them to so I picked them all up. I own 5 chis now, mainly long hair, 4 lbs to 9 lbs. The larger chi foster, 16 lbs, goes outside to pottie but the pad is always there if needed Little ones 7 lbs and under I become concerned with owls, hawks, fox...etc, snatching them up outside so I am always with them when they are outside. Even a stray dog can do damage. A litter box may be a good idea for potti training. At least they would be able to see the differnce between a litter box and throw rug.
14 foster chis go have been through this house and another 5 fosters we fell in love with and adopted. As bad as potato chips....can't have just one. LOL! Also have a collie that thinks she's a chi.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

I agree with regular feeding times (he'll need to go out about 15 minutes after eating); big praise for pooping outside; and watch for sudden sniffing around the perimeter or corners of a room - most "tidy" dogs won't poo right in the middle, but will seek a "quiet" place to go.

I have to admit to scooping up a pup in mid-squat; rushing them outside to finish, and then praising them for "potty outside"!!

[Code2High]

I would train to a litter box (cheaper in the long run than pads and more distinguishable from other places for the dog) and encourage him to both pee and poop in the box, but also to go outside on leash.

This way he can be left home alone without issues, and you won't have to take him out in inclement weather.... but on a travel day you can walk him during a rest stop and he will know just what to do.

[doxiemom11]

Smaller dogs can be harder to train, but with your attention to taking him out often and lots of love and praise when he does do something, it will happen. Do be aware that it may take a few months before he has enough bladder size/control to wait several hours in between times. They do not train in a couple of weeks. I would pick up the poo and place it where you want him to go outside, then take him to that area when you go out. Smelling stuff in that area will help him want to go. After he has done his business in the area you want a few times, then start doing the pickup afterwards in that area.

Another option -- many with tiny dogs also train to a litter box. This is more popular I think in the north where it gets so cold and snow is so deep that the smallest ones have a hard time outside.

[xteacher]

I would encourage the pup to go outside. I'm not a pee-pad fan. Limit the pup's access to the house to only the room you're in for the time being, so you know what's going on with him at all times. Tether him to you with a long leash, if necessary, so you don't lose track of where he is. Small puppies need to go often, and they often don't realize that they need to go until they need to GO! Take outside after waking up from the night or nap, after eating, after playing. Set a timer if necessary, for every 30 minutes so you don't forget to take him outside. The idea is to avoid accidents at all cost. When he pees/poos outside, have a party - praise and treat. The treat should be a special one, just for peeing/pooing outside; he shouldn't get it any other time. Some dogs will kill for minuscule sized pieces of hotdog or cheese (less than the size of your baby fingernail) - just find your pup's favorite. Extend the amount of time between outside visits to an hour as the pup shows success (no accidents). Use the same door to go outside each time, so the pup doesn't get confused on where he should go to let you know he needs to go outside.

[raindove]

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.

[Pawz4me]

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.

[parrothead48]

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!

[Go_Dogs]

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.

[donn0128]

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