[absolethe]

I was reading the "walkies" threat in the Chit-Chat forum and was noticing how several people said they only walked their Chis every other day.

Do most of you have paper-trained Chihuahuas?

I'm not having much luck with Puck. He'll use his pee pad sometimes, but not others. He pees on it most of the time. But he's finicky somehow--he'll only pee on it once, and even if it's in a corner he won't pee on it again until I put down a new one....and they're kinda expensive. And he barely poops on it at all, preferring to poop in front of the door or in the middle of the hall way or on the bathroom rug.

I got the Purina litter box...but he has a tendency to eat the litter and refuses to get in it. I think he doesn't like how it shifts around his feet.

He prefers to go outside to poop, and just last week I started walking him every day. On weekdays I walk him immediately when I get home and he goes. I mean to walk him at night, but it's only a few hours and then it's dark...and I'm not an active person. On the weekends I walk him at least twice.

If we had a yard, I might try encouraging outside pottying, but we share a quadplex and there's no fence.

What do you guys recommend?

 

[Pangos_Mum]

I have a few quick questions for you...Is Puck being crate trained at all?
When you take him for his walks how long do you usually take him out for? If he doesn't have a new pee pad down does he go potty somewhere else until he gets a new pee pad?

 

[OzzyAndLilysMom]

I walk ozzy every other day because we have quite a big garden which he is in and out of all day if we are at work i put a puppy pad down just incase but then as soon as I get home i take it up and he pottys in the garden

 

[absolethe]

I have a few quick questions for you...Is Puck being crate trained at all?

Yeah. I had planned on it from day 1, but he pitched such a fit at first that no one but me had enough fortitude to put him in. (My boyfriend would take him out and not put him back in when he left). So finally we compromised and got a crate that's slightly "too big" for him, which he is in whenever we leave except the 2 days a week that I bring him to work. He sleeps with us, though.

Even though it's a little big and I leave him water, he doesn't mess in it unless we take extra long getting home.

When you take him for his walks how long do you usually take him out for?

At least 15 minutes, I'd say. Sometimes longer. He likes it so much that I will walk him and then typically tie him to his stake (25 feet of leash) and let him play around. I have bad asthma and allergies, so I can't do too much walking (running) with him.

He's taken very well to the walks when I get home, he will typically go pee and poop in the first few minutes of the walk unless he's snuck a poop elsewhere. I call him the "stealth pooper." You'd swear he never left the room but when you walk into the bathroom there's a stinky present on the floor.

If he doesn't have a new pee pad down does he go potty somewhere else until he gets a new pee pad?

Yes, though he's not entirely consistent with it even when it is completely clean and out for him. (Again, wishing they costed less or he would use that litter box).

I think he knows what the pad is for, for the most part. At least when it involves peeing on it.

 

[Pangos_Mum]

HAHA "stealth pooper" eh... Well, sounds to me he just hasn't got the hang of it yet. Potty training is a long process for some pups. I remember when I trained my Marley (who is not longer with us) he was a complete monster. He couldn't get the fact that outside was big bathroom just for him. It felt like it took forever, but after some paitence and classes we both got the hang of it.

Have you ever caught "stealth pooper" in action when he is not on the pee pad? If so first thing is to say NO and usually that gets the pups attention to stop, or even if that doesn't seem to work swoop him up as he is and take him over to the pee pad. When you pick a pup up when they are peeing they usually :roll: stop because of the sudden shock. If he refuses to finish his pee on the pad take him out right then and there. I'll have to remember a few other things that I did with Marley and get back to you as soon as I get back from my trip. Until then good luck! :wave:

 

[Mia]

i feel your pain, its a mad battle to try and train keeks i think she kinda getting hang of the newspaper thing and i actualy find the opposite with her that its better to leave it down once shes used it, as then as sees itas her spot, your puck is obviously alot more hygenic than my mucky pup, lol.
now as shes got used to outside im trying to make her go there, but its kinda hit and miss, but i think (touch wood) thats she is improving, more hits than misses.
I u usaly od the "no and scoop her up into the right place"
mia
x

 

[absolethe]

Haha. Well, we do call him a stealh pooper for a reason--but I have caught him a couple of times.

I say, "NO!" (but this he ignores, and simply looks at me with this "I am trying to potty, why are you bugging me" look on his face). So I clap my hands, grab him up and take him to the pad. At which point he will continue to pee, but he won't finish his poop for an hour. I know, a couple of times I said, "we're not leaving this room until you finish" and grabbed a book and shut us both in. Eventually I figure, hey, he must have finished before I grabbed him and we leave the room...but 20 minutes later.....mysterious poop.

If you can remember some of what else you did, I would appreciate it. I've done a lot of reading, but so much if it is based on having a utterly consistent routine. Which I TRY very hard to do with Puck, but doesn't always happen. I guess one thing I know would help would be if I got up at 6:30 and walked him. But I like my sleep *sniffle*

I'm honestly thinking it may become easier, bad habits or no, now that he has to go less often (although he always could hold it all night long, even since he was 7 weeks old).


And I had thought that leaving some of his mess on the pad would clue him in that that's where it went. I think it did help at first, but then he developed this weird finickiness. Seriously, if I put him on the pad and he's peed on it that morning, he looks all offended and carefully picks his paws up and walks off of it. Which is funny coming from a little guy who will pee right on his own paws and stand in the puddle. *sigh* dogs...

 

[cypher]

Hi Yall,Im glad I found this topic as this is my first post here,and exsactly what I was seeking help with.Im nearly in the same boat as you except we dont have a "poop" problem just a "puddle" problem.!st off I have to explain how we came to have Ren,I was driving home one night in some god awful weather and i swerve to miss this lil bundle in the road,I thought it was a hurt curled up cat but when I got out of the car realised it was a small dog.Having never seen a chihuahua in actual life before,I thought he was a puppy(lol) anyhow after much door knocking etc I still hadnt found where he came from or how he came to be huddled on the road in a storm.So I took him home,advertised him in the papers vets etc for a week or two-NOTHING.By this time my 2 year old had become very fond of him,as had I,so we decided to keep him.Upon taking him to the vet we found it was a little hard to determine age,but scince he cocked his leg to pee the vet estimated 6 months.so my problem is that I cannot stop him leaving puddles round the house,he will number 2 outside and never inside unless totally shut in and busting (very rarely) but refuses to piddle anywhere but on linoleum surfaces,same as puck he looks very put out and annoyed when I have tried kitty/puppy litter or dirt box type set ups,he hops out shaking his lil feet,lol.he is not being crate trained as he has a free run of the house and garden,anybody have any suggestions?thanks.Oh and Hi to everyone,this is a nice litle place yall have here! :wave: Kylie

 

[Ms_P]

Hi everyone,
Here are some tips you might want to think about.
First you have to watch them constantly!
They will pick there favorite spots to go and until they are very much getting the idea that the paper or pad is what they are suppose to go on, you cannot change the spot! And even then you have to move it gradually in the direction of the spot you would rather they be going.
Most dogs go through a little routine when they need to go potty, some go after running around like crazy and some go after sniffing every corner they can find, they all have their own. That is one reason you have to watch them constantly so you will learn what your puppys routine is.
When they do go on the paper you have to praise them extensivly, that's another reason you have to watch them. You can give them a treat, but usually just lots of hugs and kisses with GOOD BOY/GIRL is recommended.
Then you must NEVER let them see you pick up the soiled paper. Put them in their crate for a few minutes, or in another room etc. It seems sometimes they get a mixed message when they see you picking it up, kinda like "OH they don't want that there" and it confusses them. Also dogs see eating each others poop as a kind of submission thing. The lower ranking dog will eat the higher ranking dogs poop saying to the higher ranking dog "you are the boss". So when they see you pick it up, to them it's like telling them they are the boss and can make the rules. To them when you pick it up you are eating it.
You don't have to clean it up right away, just as long as it is before the next time they need to go, 1/2 hour or 1 hour, what ever your puppys schedule is. Maybe wait until they are being entertained by someone else in another room or playing with something in another room.
And then some dogs are just harder to train. Just like kids. My first child and dog were the hardest, it seemed like they would never get the idea or that they didn't want to get it LOL.
The second was always easier because they learned by imitating the other child or dog.
But the main thing is you have to really watch them. If you have to leave them alone, make sure they are confined somehow. Either in a crate or in a small blocked off area until they are trained.
And don't EVER tell them "NO" or "Bad" if you didn't SEE them have the accident. Just clean it up and use something to remove the potty scent, but again don't let them see you do it.
I am not an expert, but these are just a few tips I have picked up over the years.
Hope it helps in some way.