Help! Training a Chihuahua!?

Question

My Chihuahua is about 2 months old. I'm trying to house train her. Every single day she makes a mess on the floor/carpets and i'm constantly washing them. I take her outside almost every hour i'm home. When i'm not home, she's in a cage so she will learn that as soon as she is out of the cage she needs to go outside.
Sometimes when i take her out, she needs to go, but she will just sit there. There will be some days that i'll take her out all the time and she will never go. Then, at the end of the day i find a mess somewhere.
Every time she does go outside I praise her and give her treats. She knows she doesn't get a treat if she doesn't go.
What am I doing wrong?? Please help!! Tired of the constant clean up.

Answer 1

8 Steps to House training a Puppy

1 - The first thing to remember about house

training a puppy is they can not hold

themselves long. Rule of thumb is 1 hour

for each month old. Therefore a 3 month

old pup should be able to control himself/

herself for 3 hours.



2 - The second thing to remember is you

take the pup out, on a leash, to be walked.

Not send the pup out. You have to be there

when pooch does the deed so you can

praise the pup, right then. Let the pup know

it is a job well done. Throw a real praise party!

There are key times a pup needs to be taken

out. When pooch wakes up from any sleep

time & at bed time. After eating and/or

drinking. After playing, exercise stimulates

the "need to go."



3 - Plus there are the odd times when a

pups gotta do what a pups gotta do. You

have to learn the pups behavior when

looking for the spot to go. Pups should

not have the run of the house till pooch

is trained. You should keep the pup in

the room with you so you can keep an

eye on pooch. When you see the search,

get 'em outside. If you catch the pup

making a pile or puddle, just say "NO!",

pick pooch up and get 'em outside. Use

an enzyme cleaner (Natures Miracle or

Simple Solutions)(pet store) to clean up.

Do not let the pup see you cleaning up,

it gives them the idea that is your job.

Outside is okay, just not inside. If you

find a puddle or pile after the fact, clean

it up with an enzyme cleaner (pet food

store) get a newspaper and hit....

yourself in the head and say "I should

have been paying more attention." Do

not try to punish a pup after the fact.

They will NOT get it.



4 - You have to be diligent & consistent.

I can not stress that enough so let me

repeat. You have to be diligent & consistent.

If you do your job the pup will catch on

pretty quick.



5 - You need to keep pooch contained

at night. Either crate or put the pup in a

bathroom. But remember the 1 hour rule.

You should get up and take 'em out at night.



6 - You can also teach the pup to go on

command by picking the word you will

use for each function, when the pup is

about to go repeat the word till the pup

starts going then tell 'em what a good

boy/girl they are.



7 - You can also teach them to ring a

bell when they need to go by mounting

one low on the door frame and ring it

with the pups foot when you go out.



8 - Last thing, never, ever rub your

pups nose in their waste. Besides

being nasty it only tells the pup you

want pooch to ingest the waste. Also,

never, ever hit a dog. That will only

tell the dog you are not to be trusted.

So, these are the 8 Steps to

House training a Puppy Good luck!

Answer 2

Small dogs can be stubborn when it comes to house training. Use a pet deodorizer when cleaning up a mess. Don't yell or scold her because some dogs see this as good attention and will do the behavior again and others may get scared and pee and poop in another area of the house where you cant find the mess. When she goes potty while on a walk give her a favorite treat and pretend it's the best thing she did in her whole life. Don't rub her nose in her mess as this can also have a negative effect on potty training. Don't say anything and clean up her mess like it was juice spilled on the kitchen tile. When you catch her about to go pottie (sniffing the ground like she is trying to find something) or when you catch her in the actual act of going pottie take her outside immediately. Praise her when she goes by giving her a good play session (this will also help her go potty more quickly if she all of a sudden she decides to not go outside. You need to stay outside with her until she goes pottie no matter how long it may take.



Put her on a strict feeding schedual and put ice in her water bowl (to help lessen the accidents) ice is great for when she needs to be in the cage or for when you can't watch her water intake. Putting her on a strict feeding schedual will help you predict when she will have to go pottie. Puppies like to go pottie right after play time, after waking up from the night or a nap, and right after eating. Be sure she isn't eating too fast because as fast as food goes in is as fast as it will come out.

Answer 3

what is difficult is to take a young dog away from all it knows and then try to get it to do what you want. I know and you know but dont assign human thoughts to your dog patience is the big thing here also do you have a freind or neighbor with a small dog nearby who you can either go visit or have them visit you with thier pet and give yours the idea to take the poop and pee outside? As the pet gets older it will begin to understand right now its a baby and has not a clue. please give it time and show it what you want hang in there have patience little dogs sometimes are difficult to get the idea across but once they get it you will be ok. good luck hang in there.

Answer 4

Your fault for not watching the pup, and letting it run freely around the house. No reputable breeder releases these small breeds, to their new homes, before they are a minimum of 10-12 weeks old, so you've, unfortunately supported some scumbag backyard greeder, and purchases a poorly bred pup.

Answer 5

good luck. i find small dogs are the hardest to house break. try changing your attitude when she goes inside the house. get very upset change your posture, tone, and ignore her for several hours following. make sure to speak sternly and point and say bad dog. that's how i was able to train my dog, eventually he got the picture that whenever he goes inside i get mad and he gets shunned. when he goes outside he gets a good boy and a pat on the head. don't do the treat thing because then you'll be carrying around treats for the rest of her life.

Answer 6

Chihuahuas are a bit stubborn and she hasn't caught on yet but she will if you are consistant, priase well and treat with high value treats. Make a big deal of her pottying outside when she does go. Raise the pitch of your voice a bit, smile and talk excitedly. They have such tiny bladders!!

Answer 7

I have one, an just remember, be strict. Just because it is little, doesn't mean that you can't get mad at it. Just don't hit it!! Get mad, and it might look scared, but don't praise it, and also make sure you work on their attitude. Plenty can be very vicious. After a couple of years, they start getting cuddly though.