What is the best way to potty pad train a teacup chihuahua
By hes2371rn
@hes2371rn (4)
United States
March 25, 2009 4:12pm CST
We just got Graham a 9 week teacup chihuahua. At times he can do sooo well by going on the pad, but as soon as you turn your back on the floor he goes. Does anyone have any good advise as to how to get him to go on the pad?
3 responses
@Aries33 (13)
• United States
26 Mar 09
We trained our little Chi to use a doggy litterbox like a cat. She hated it at first - i think she thought it was a time out box or something. But with lots of praise and some treats she started to get the hang of it. We would walk her over to it ever few hours and taught her to go "pee" on command. Chi's are very smart and catch on quickly as long as you use the same words and gestures consistanly. Now one of our cats has decided she likes the dog litterbox better than a cat one!
@tosha86 (133)
• United States
27 Mar 09
I myself have never had luck with the pads. I have actually never known anyone to have luck with them. The only thing I know of that seems to work very well and fast with a dog that small is... When you wake before you do anything else let him outside... when you come inside go ahead and put down food and water, when he is done eating talk to the pup for a min or two to keep him occupied and then take him out again to see if he needs to go again because young pups 7 weeks or so seem to use the restroom right after they eat and drink. When you come back in and if he didn't use the potty put the pup in a very small cage or pet taxi. Leave the pup in there for 20-30 minutes and then take it out and he should go potty this time. Pick up the food and water until you decide the pup needs more and do it all over. Do this until about 3 hours before dark and then don't allow him to have anymore so that it can have those few hours before bed to get it all out. Then put the pup in the same tiny cage while you sleep and start all over. Make sure you talk to the pup and give it praise when needed so it knows its doing right by you. By putting the pup on a schedule/routine it will quickly learn the difference between right and wrong. This isn't as hard as it sounds I promise! lol. This is how I have done my bull dogs and teacup pomeranians. I started this training between 7-9 weeks and by the beginning of week two I noticed that they had had no accidents in days. By approx 15 weeks they can fully control their blatter but once they are in routine and learn these things they will also learn to eat more at one time so they will not have to wait. Therefore they will go outside less and you can begin leaving the pup sleep with you at night if you want because he will have learned not to potty in the house ir where he sleeps. I could keep going but I hope this helps.
@Seraphine (385)
• Finland
29 Mar 09
Do you want your pup to always use the pads or is the plan to eventually teach him to eliminate outside? Because if you want him to go outside, then you will do best if you skip the pads completely. It will only confuse the dog and will prolong house-training by several months. You would really have to house-train him all over again if you ever want to stop using the pads.
Anyway you really need to supervise and reward when he eliminates on the pad. Give a special treat that he only gets when he eliminates in the right place. At that age however, he doesn't have full bladder control so if he ever feels the need to go he will go wherever he stands at that moment. Also his bladder is tiny, he needs to go often. It's up to you to make sure he is where you want him to go when he needs to. When I potty-trained my pup I took him outside every 30 minutes to begin with (I had a timer on so I wouldn't forget) as long as he was awake. Also took him out every time he had a drink, meal, woke up from a nap, in the middle of playing, etc.. basically after every activity he ever did. It was hard work to supervise him every single moment but it paid off, he was completely potty-trained in just a few weeks.
@CrushThisCharade (159)
• United States
25 Mar 09
Congratulations on the new puppy! Housebreaking is tough, especially with those types of dogs, but it will be worth it in the end. :) First of all, you should heavily reward the puppy with praise each time he goes on the mat. Don't think you're overdoing it! The dog will eat up the attention, haha. When accidents happen, point to the mess and sternly say "NO" several times. Clean it up and ignore the puppy for about 10-15 minutes. In the end, dogs just want to please you, so the ignoring treatment should be an effective punishment. Even if you're tempted, do NOT hit the dog!!
You should expect about 2-3 months at least before the dog is fully housebroken. Remember that accidents may happen that may not be the dogs fault (i.e. puppies sometimes pee when they get really excited). Be patient, and remember to keep rewarding the dog when he goes on the mat. Good luck!
