I got my long hair chihuahua male, Steve Z, from the humane society last year - he was 2. He was/is absolutely the opposite of house trained - when I first got him he refused to go outside and would only pee on tile. I started leaving him out during the day (I'm home all day and we live on 15 acres) and he'd go on my concrete steps by the house - obviously not normal behavior. I feel like I've managed him fairly well but was wondering if anyone had any advice/tips. I honestly feel like if we didn't have the property so he could be out then he would be just about impossible for someone wanting a cute chi to keep so I'm glad I got him. He definitely has some behavioral abnormalities as he is a biter (and I thought oh he's a chi no big deal - he bites hard!!) he doesn't bite out of meanness or fear its just a behavior he learned - the biting is just one of his weird habits. Any way my main concern is that I crate him at night in attempt to potty train but he pees and poos in his crate and will even lay in it. I don't know how to correct this since most dogs won't do that except under extreme circumstances. If I leave him loose in the house all night he usually pees several times and poos - big mess! So I think a lot of it is issues he had in his previous life but I was wondering if anyone has experienced this and knows the best way to deal with it? I've basically just been coping for the past year. Side note he is a large chi, about 10 lbs, so you would think he'd have a better capacity to hold it!

__________________
Jessica