Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all! Here is my problem. I have a 1 1/2 year old male chihuahua. I got him at eight weeks old from a breeder and crate trained him and started to house train him to go outside. He was doing pretty good with only going outside, but still had occasional accidents inside the house.

Well, when he was about nine months old, we moved into a new house and in the process of packing and moving and unpacking, we were less than diligent when he went inside the house. We got off track with our training and now he is going where ever he wants inside. I would like to train him to use puppy pads as it is not safe for him to outside currently because of our neighbors dogs.

I have set up a spot for the pads and have moved a rug that he has peed on next to them so he would get the idea. Whenever I catch him going someplace else, I tell him NO and pick him up and take him to the pads. He just becomes unresponsive and very fearful and at the first opportunity bolts from the pads. I keep my voice very upbeat and tell him to go potty and physically praise him so he will not be so scared, but nothing seems to work. He just shuts down whenever I put him on the pads.

What can I do. I just want him to go to the bathroom in one spot and not 20. Any tips or products that I can use. Please help, I am out of ideas.

Chances are that by now he has left scent in spots in the house--even if you can't smell it, he can. This provides a powerful signal to his instincts to use that spot again. You need to remove all these scents. A bacterial odor eliminator product such as Nature's Miracle will do this.

Then, try anointing any spot he uses with undiluted clear vinegar immediately, while the spot is still wet. Don't fuss at him, just put the scent there. It has a powerful effect.

You will need to keep him confined to a reduced area where he can get to the pads quickly and can't get into various corners of little-used rooms to relieve himself. I am not a fan of pads, and feel that dogs do better using the outdoors. But if that's not safe, even with you going out with him every time, then of course use the pads.

I have details on housetraining every which way in the articles in the Canine Behavior Series, link below with my signature. Article titles are alphabetized, and the ones you want begin with the word "housetraining." A small male dog is the most difficult category to housetrain. Also, I did not see mention of him being neutered. DEFINITELY do that. It needs to be done by a year of age, but any age helps.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47