I have an 11 week F Chi who's reverting in her potty...

<< Back to: rec.pets.dogs: Chihuahuas Breed-FAQ

Answer by chimama
Submitted on 3/12/2004
Rating:	Rate this answer:
Before 6 months, no puppy is reliable, you've been lucky. I do have litter trained dogs, but if you want to use the wee wee pads that's fine. My alpha Gremlin won't use her litter tray if my beta Nixie has peed in it (we're having dominance wars) or if there are more than two pee pee clumps. She will go to the tray, put in one paw, take it back out and look at me piteously as if to say "You want me to go in there? It's Dirty!". Once I remove the offensive clumps and smooth the surface, she happily hops in and does her business. My beta doesn't seem to care if I never change the litter in her tray. Perhaps your chi is going to be one of the fussy ones. I have two trays since I got Gremlin first and Nixie a year later. So I had to have a litter tray available for Gremlin in the larger part of the house and another for Nixie while she was being trained (she stayed in the tile floor bathroom while I was gone and at night). I must agree with Carrie that following around putting puppies on the paper is the way to go. Praise when he goes where you want to, but if you have to move puppy, say "Bad puppy go on the floor", move puppy, then say "Good Puppy go on the paper". Never hit or yell, they don't make the connection between pee on the floor and a mad human. Do make sure that you clean up any messes and use a product especially for pet odors (Febreeze won't do it). If they can smell that they've gone there before it's much harder to keep them from doing it again. I disagree with giving cat food as a treat. True, it won't hurt them, but cat food isn't formulated for dogs, it's very very high protein. A chi's stomach is so tiny, they need to get maximum nutrition out of everything they eat, so I suggest specially tasty tidbits such as small pieces of a pupperoni stick or etc. The Petco near me has a buffet where you can get bulk treats, both mine love the vanilla pretzels and the animal crackers. Just remember, a little treat is as good as a big one.

FAQS.ORG makes no guarantees as to the accuracy of the posts. Each post is the personal opinion of the poster. These posts are not intended to substitute for medical, tax, legal, investment, accounting, or other professional advice. FAQS.ORG does not endorse any opinion or any product or service mentioned mentioned in these posts.

<< Back to: rec.pets.dogs: Chihuahuas Breed-FAQ

[ Home | FAQ-Related Q&As | General Q&As | Answered Questions ]

Question by Jaime
Submitted on 3/10/2004
Related FAQ: rec.pets.dogs: Chihuahuas Breed-FAQ
Rating: Not yet rated	Rate this question:
I have an 11 week F Chi who's reverting in her potty training ways. She was doing great always peeing on the puppy training pads. She gets on the pads to #2, but most of the time, aims her butt over them so it gets on the floor? Lately, she's been peeing on the floor too, sometimes near her pads sometimes not even close. Why is this happening? Any ideas that don't suggest litter training or taking her outside will be appreciated. Thanks!

Answer by Carrie
Submitted on 3/10/2004
Rating: Not yet rated	Rate this answer:
My 4 month old female was doing the same thing. I think I was giving her too much credit too soon. I started following her to the paper every time I thought she was ready to go and moving her little body to the center of the paper to do her business. I then give her a piece of cat food as a treat (she loves it) If she starts going before I get a chance to put her in the center and it hits the floor I move her to the middle again and she doesn't get a treat. It's a little messy and I find myself following her into the kitchen a lot, but I swear she has it figured out. They are too smart!

Your name or nickname:
If you'd like to create a new account or access your existing account, put in your password here:
Your answer: