Home Help me help my Chihuahua

[Italiahaircolor]

4 years ago I adopted a Chihuahua from a local rescue organization. Chupacabra (Chups, if you will) came into my life with a few problems, but the warmest heart in world.

By the time he reached me Chups had spent the first 2 years of life in no less than 3 homes...and didn''t understand any English commands whatsoever since all of his privious owners had been Spanish speaking. He has sever seperation anxiety (understandably) and was prone (as it was explained to me) to having accidents in the house without warning. For these reasons, Chups was considered "hard to place" and had had no luck finding a forever home. Of course nothing detered me...and I promptly adopted him.

We''ve had a wonderful 4 years. Like I said, he''s extremely loving--and loyal. He is a true lap dog, and burrows at night under our blankets. He is most content at your side, snuggled down beside you. He is very sensitive...and the few times I''ve had to yell at him--he gets this look like I''ve broken his heart into a million pieces.

Although I''ve managed to work thru his seperation anxiety, I''ve never been fully able to break him from having accidents in the house. I''ve placed down pee-pads, litterboxes, hired a dog walker mid-day, we''ve gone to training, and I''ve even resorted to caging him whenever we''re not home. We''ve spoken with his vet, other Chihuahua owners, and I feel like I''ve tapped every resource I can think of to break this gross little habit of his. Nothing...and I mean nothing...has fully worked. Being fair, I''ll admit he doesn''t have *many* accidents...maybe 2 a week, at most...but still....

Now that we''ve gutted our town home and replaced all the flooring my husband is completely paniced that Chups is going to trash the new carpet...which, I understand--and share his fear. So I am wondering if anyone has any tips or tricks I could use to break this once and for all? Right now, out of deseperation, he''s spending a lot of time in the cage---and I get sick thinking about it, because I know he''s sad in there--and I dont want him to be sad.

So please...help me help Chups....so he can regain his post snuggled beside me while I cruise PS!

 

[neatfreak]

You need to start with square 1, just like a new puppy. Bring him out all the time, treat him for going outside, make a big deal out of it when he does, and watch him like a hawk. If he starts to sniff or do things that imply he is going to pee inside, immediately bring him right outside and praise away.

I think you might have confused him with the litterboxes, peepads, etc. You want to teach him that outside is where to go and that he gets major love and praise for going outside.

It's as much about training you and your DH as it is about training the dog...

 

[justjulia]

Okay, I am going to be the bearer of not so good news.
We have 4 chihuahuas. They are 4 to 6 years old. They could NEVER be housebroken. Our other dogs were. To this day, they make little puddles whereever. It makes me crazy but we love them anyway. A friend of mine told me that they are of the most difficult if not impossible breed to housebreak. She was right. (We got ours b/c we fell in love with hers.)
We have hardwoods and cannot keep any rugs. It''s not the way I''d like it to be, but it''s the way it is. I hope you find some peace somehow. Perhaps you will be luckier than us.
Is he neutered? We are about to neuter our 2 males, hoping this will help. We have a dog door installed, which works great a lot of the time, but they still have their accidents.
Good luck!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 9/26/2008 7:12:00 PM
Author: neatfreak
You need to start with square 1, just like a new puppy. Bring him out all the time, treat him for going outside, make a big deal out of it when he does, and watch him like a hawk. If he starts to sniff or do things that imply he is going to pee inside, immediately bring him right outside and praise away.

I think you might have confused him with the litterboxes, peepads, etc. You want to teach him that outside is where to go and that he gets major love and praise for going outside.

It''s as much about training you and your DH as it is about training the dog...

This is probably the most likely solution! Our little dogs took a long time to train, but it is possible. If he was never actually house trained, then you really do need to start at scratch.

 

[bee*]

Date: 9/26/2008 10:28:04 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie

Date: 9/26/2008 7:12:00 PM

Author: neatfreak

You need to start with square 1, just like a new puppy. Bring him out all the time, treat him for going outside, make a big deal out of it when he does, and watch him like a hawk. If he starts to sniff or do things that imply he is going to pee inside, immediately bring him right outside and praise away.


I think you might have confused him with the litterboxes, peepads, etc. You want to teach him that outside is where to go and that he gets major love and praise for going outside.


It''s as much about training you and your DH as it is about training the dog...

This is probably the most likely solution! Our little dogs took a long time to train, but it is possible. If he was never actually house trained, then you really do need to start at scratch.

I was going to say the same. You really need to go back to square one with him. It will most likely take a while, especially as he is older, but treat him as if he''s a pup learning for the first time.

 

[Sabine]

I agree with the pp that you should try to retrain him from step one, but if for some reason that doesn''t work, I wanted to say that maybe crating him when you''re gone isn''t as bad as you think.

I also adopted a dog from a rescue that had a few issues. She definitely has separation anxiety and does not like to be left alone. She has NEVER had an accident when we are at home, but when we left, she would. We''ve been crating her for a few years now when we leave, and did a bunch of research on it, but she never responded like we thought she should. She does seem to hate the crate, she won''t go in it herself (we have to put her in it), she doesn''t seem to think of it as "her" place because she''d rather be with us. But last year I did some experiments because we were thinking of trying to not have to crate her. So I would leave her for little amounts of time out of the crate and video tape her as I left. And then I would video tape her in the crate as I left. And even though she didn''t want to be in the crate, if she was, as soon as I left, she would lay down and go to sleep. When I left her out, she would walk around whining for the ENTIRE time I was gone. She would wander all around the place and seemed really upset the whole time. I came to the conclusion that even though she didn''t LOVE the crate, when we put her in it, she at least knew what it meant (that we were gone, but we''d be back) and it didn''t really stress her out. When we just left her out, she didn''t know what was going on, it did stress her out, and I''m pretty sure that is why she would sometimes have accidents. I don''t feel nearly as bad about crating her now.

 

[Izzy03]

I don't think that his "pee-pee" issues are based only on his rough past to be honest with you. I have rescued many dogs in past, worked with them to correct their behavioral issues, and placed them in appropriate homes, and sometimes it really is just the dog's personality.

I also have a rescued chihuahua (Geoffrey) and he is the sweetest little muffin ever! He has his issues, but we love him. When I got him he was not potty trained and now he has NO accidents.

I have another dog, also rescued with a ton of issues, not potty trained and she is now perfect. I can (and frequently do) leave her alone for 10 hours and she holds it.

Now we come down to my third dog. I got him as a puppy, and for years he was my only dog. He is now 8 years old and still pees in the house. He knows better, but he doesn't care. If we are home, he usually won't do it because he knows he will be spanked, but sometimes he sneaks away just long enough to mark a wall somewhere (thank god the house has very little carpet). There is no way we would ever leave him to roam the house if we are not home, so we made a cozy little pad in the laundry room for him.

We hate that we have to lock him up when we leave but he can't be trusted. I really recommend keeping your baby confined when you are not able to watch him. If the cage is too much to deal with (I couldn't lock mine in it for 8 hours) then try the bathroom where you can put a little bed and some toys in. It is sad, yes, but so is having your brand new carpet destroyed. Besides, he probably spends most of his time sleeping when you are not home.

Good luck! Chihuahuas rock!

 

[Italiahaircolor]

Thank you ladies for all your great suggestion...even tho some will be harder for me than others...I''m going to try all of them! Thanks again!

 

[Miscka]

Hi Italia

I also have a Chihuahua, and I love him to death. They are so personable and fun! I am so sorry to hear you are having this problem.

My Chi is 6 months old and about 90-95% housetrained. We do not use pads or anything, I couldn''t handle the smell/mess. It is a lot more work to take him out all the time, but worth it IMHO. I do believe that it is hard with Chis, mine HATES when it is wet outside or anything like that. It can take forever to convince him to go. But I do think it is possible, so don''t give up hope on your pretty new floors!

AmberGretchen was sweet enough to give me this link I strongly encourage you to check it out.

I hope I do not step on any toes here, but I am a FIRM believer in crate training. I know he isn''t used to it, and you might feel bad. Don''t! My baby sleeps 90% of the day anyway, and as soon as he goes in the crate he curls up with his blanket and a toy. I read a TON of books on training before I got him, and all the experts recommend crate training. You just have to realize that the cruelty thing is more about how you think he would feel than how he really feels. I would never do anything to hurt my pup, and I am much happier knowing that he is safe and secure and accident-free while I am gone. Make sure that the crate is not too big or small (see the link above for size guidelines) and that someone can come mid-day to let him out. I don''t let mine be in there more than around 4 hours at a time, and on the weekends I try to let him be out with me as much as possible. Also, he sleeps with me and not in the crate, but that is more about me being a sucker than anything else.

Anyway, check out that link, and check Amazon for some books. The monks of new skete wrote a few that are highly regarded. I also like Chihuahuas for Dummies. Are you using a pet-specific cleaner when he has accidents? I really like Nature''s Miracle.

Good luck!! I really hope you are able to work this out. Good for you for being so patient with him and giving him a loving home! Also...I wouldn''t turn down some pics of his cute chi face!! I love this breed.

 

[Lorelei]

Thritto starting from scratch, the poor little chap could still be confused as to what is expected of him. Also is he neutered?

 

[Italiahaircolor]

Yes, he is.

Date: 9/30/2008 10:13:31 AM
Author: Lorelei
Thritto starting from scratch, the poor little chap could still be confused as to what is expected of him. Also is he neutered?

Thanks again ladies...I''ve started all over...so far so good!