[Josephina1982]

Hi I've had to turn to a Chihuahua forum as I am close to tearing my hair out & i don't know what else to try.

I have 2 Chi's, Roo who is a 2 yr old male & Lola who is a girl turning one in March. They are both very well behaved, lovely dogs who you can't fault until night time.

I put them out at around 23.00 & we are up at 6.30 latest in the morning. This morning i came down to 4 wee's & 2 poo's.
I have tried everything, feeding them earlier, taking up their water earlier, leaving them outside for longer before bed time, telling them off & now they know they have done wrong as they both hide.

I used to leave newspaper down but was told not to as this was a way of saying "it's ok to go to the toilet indoors". They are both toilet trained during the day, no accidents at all. They seem to have become worse during the night though....Roo never used to have accidents & now he wee's up the table. It drives me mad!

I dread coming down in the morning.

Please, please, please can anyone help me!?

 

[michele]

Is Roo neutered ? and is Lola spayed ? What food are you feeding ?

 

[Josephina1982]

Roo has been neutered but Lola is still yet to be spayed.

They have Bakers for small dogs. I don't over feed them, infact some times i feel i don't feed them enough but i recently had them weighed & was informed they were both the perfect weight.

Lola is better than Roo....she doesn't mess as much as him. I know its always him as he does it up the table. He never used to have accidents EVER. I tried having them both upstairs with me but he would wake me up every night to be let out (sometimes twice). There's only so much broken sleep someone can take.

 

[Jerry'sMom]

they are old enough to be in crates for the overnight hours; then let outside to toilet
when you get up in the morning. just be sure the crates are only large enough for them
to stand up or turn around. good luck! and please keep us posted

 

[Barneys_Mom99]

Hi,

I agree on the crate recommendation. They should be sleeping at night, so they don't need much room to move around. Are they tired at bedtime? Have they gotten lots of attention and playtime in the evening? Do you go outside with them and know if they did their business before bedtime - and praise them all over when they do it outside?

I'm glad you came here for advise - the people on this forum are very experienced with dogs. Let us know what you change to make it better.

 

[michele]

Roo has been neutered but Lola is still yet to be spayed.

They have Bakers for small dogs. I don't over feed them, infact some times i feel i don't feed them enough but i recently had them weighed & was informed they were both the perfect weight.

Lola is better than Roo....she doesn't mess as much as him. I know its always him as he does it up the table. He never used to have accidents EVER. I tried having them both upstairs with me but he would wake me up every night to be let out (sometimes twice). There's only so much broken sleep someone can take.

I would say he's marking,as lola isn't spayed yet.If one starts the other can smell it and thinks it's the right place to go.As for the food that isn't a good food you're feeding,lots of nasties in it,Accana,Ziwi Peak,Arden grange they are good foods.I know it must be so frustrating for you.

 

[LeStatKelly]

Are you in the UK?
If so then ziwi is very expensive and difficult to get hold of in shops.
I don't think accana is ever here although arden grange is at [email protected]

I'd agree that the male is marking and the female is following suit so I'd have her neutered asap unless you plan to breed from her. Letting them out for longer won't make a difference if this is the case.
If you don't want to neuter her then it's either crate or put up with it.

 

[carrieandcricket]

I agree. My aunt used to breed poodles, and they would do the same. But really if you don't want to crate them, putting paper down for overnight won't hurt. That's what we do with Cricket when we have to leave her home. It's easier to clean and she can still run around. They have tiny bladders, so they have to go more often. I wake up at night with Cricket once, sometimes twice. I don't mind, but she sleeps with me. Just make sure you pick the paper up during the day. And take them out during the day. Chis are smart little critters they understand. Cricket does.

 

[Kaila]

You can also try a belly band with a feminine pad in it for the male. It will prevent him from marking things and having the female mark over it. But I definitely agree with the crate recommendation. If they're not with you, they're in their crates!

 

[LeStatKelly]

I don't know anyone in the UK who uses bellybands or female pads, in fact I'd not heard of them until I came on this forum, it seems a bit OTT to me to be putting things like that on our dogs...much the same as heat pants for bitches. Either putting down a puppy training pad or crating seems the best idea!

We used to use puppy pads but the other small dogs we had started to use them so we took them up again. LeStat is quite good now but as my jrt is in season he's had an accident or two lately I'm sure that will stop once she's out of season.

We also keep a little spray bottle of disinfectant and a rag nearby just in case.

 

[Kaila]

Make sure that you're using enzyme pet cleaner (not just a regular household disinfectant, vinegar, or bleach). Enzymatic pet cleaners break apart the ammonia molecules so that a dog's sensitive nose can no longer detect the urine and s/he won't return to pee there again.

Also, I only suggest belly bands as a way of managing the marking behavior in males until everyone is at the point you want them to be. If you have a male that keeps marking in the house and not because he actually has to pee, it can throw off the training of all of your other animals. Someone might suddenly break away from their house training to mark over the other dog's scent. It's much easier (in my opinion) to train everyone AND manage the behavior by keeping any urine from hitting the inside of your house.

I won't try to convince you, but belly bands are really easy to use (just in case you need encouragement to try it). They're a lot easier than female diapers because they just velcro around the waist. Here's a picture of Teddy asleep with his belly band on:

It looks a little loose because I didn't put a disposable sanitary pad in it (the same kind intended for human women). I use belly bands when I'm at houses that have a lot of other dogs, which encourages Teddy to mark. At home he doesn't need it at all because he's house trained.. but the instinct to mark over another dog is strong with this one!

I got mine here (both shops are run by the same person):
Male Dog Diapers Belly Bands Wraps CUSTOM by PoundPuppies on Etsy
Custom Belly Bands, Dog Diaper Belly Bands by Breed items in Male Dog Diapers Belly Bands Wraps store on eBay!