Puppy Training

[Biscuitsmom31]

I have two 7 week old Chihuahua puppies, Hannah and CJ. (absolutely adorable) I have never had to housebreak dogs before and keeping them in a crate seems so cruel. I have them in one together. They are brother and sister and love to be together. The first couple of days they did really well. When I took them outside they would get down to business right away.

Well, now that we've had this huge ice storm they refuse to go outside. I take them out and the run strait to the door and whine and cry. They have been going in the crate. Despite my efforts to watch them constantly when they are out of the crate, they have managed to go twice on the floor while being "watched" by DH or our babysitter.

As I said, I've never done this before and It's very important to me to succeed. How do I pull this off? I've heard from some people that they are too young to train and in the same breath they say don't let them start bad habits early. So, what are you supposed to do?

 

[poohandwendy]

I haven't crate trained (my dog was 2 when I got him and already trained, wanted nothing to do with a crate) The dog I had before that, I WISH I would have known about crate training, it would have been a blessing during his puppy stage, LOL.

But I looked up some info for you. Check out the link below. It may be that they are too young to start crate training, the crate may be too large, etc. I am sure others with experience will have some suggestions, just wanted to say good luck with your little furbabies! And post a picture when you can!

http://www.inch.com/~dogs/cratetraining.html

 

[The Mystery Machine]

No free roam until they are potty trained. You have them on a leash or in the crate.
Leashing the dog at all times not only is great for potty training but it also has many other benefits!

The dogs will see you as their leader, they have to follow you. You can correct right away. Also not allowing them all over the house is important to teach your puppy it is YOUR house and not their's.
Now even though all of this sounds "mean" to a human...dogs actually prefer you to be in charge. It makes them feel safe, secure, and happy to know you are watching out for them.

 

[kristen821]

My dogs were crate trained. One of the dogs came from animal welfare so he was used to it anyway. He really didn't need to be trained since he already pretty much was. My other dog we got from dh's aunt and he was crate trained. I felt the same way as you and didn't want to but ended up with out a choice. I was told by the vet this was the best way. Put the dogs in a crate and when you go outside put them on a leash and pace in circles. Since the dog normally walks in cirlces before they go they will eventually realize what you want them to do. When they go give them a treat. It shouldn't take to long. My dogs love thier cage. They each have thier own, but prefer to be together and in the smaller one(they are wierd but we love them anyways.) I find them in the cage all the time when they don't need to be in there. Good luck!

 

[NMAmy]

I have another dog who loves her crate. It's a bit small for her now but when I got a bigger one, she wouldn't use it and kept looking around for the smaller one. She doesn't really need to be crated anymore so we just keep this one around for her to use and we don't close the door. She tends to go in there when no one else is around--for example, when I go take a shower and DH has already left for work, I'll find her in her crate when I come back downstairs. She feels secure in there.

With the potty training--praise, praise, praise. Pick a word to signify that they need to go to the bathroom. I chose "Go Potty Now" which drives DH crazy but it works. Hey, he could have done the training and chosen his own word, right? I have a golden retriever who doesn't like to go outside when the weather's bad--go figure. I make her go out on the leash, tell her to go potty now, she does and then races back to the door. She knows once she goes, she can come back in immediately if she wants to.

 

[golfgal]

Our dog LOVES her crate too. Think of it as a DEN and not a crate and you will see why a lot of dogs love them, it is their own protected spot where they feel safe. I suggest using one. Our dog doesn't stay in her crate at night anymore but will often just sleep in there with the door open. She also ALWAYS runs into the crate when we leave to go someplace. She loves her crate.

 

[doxdogy]

Seven weeks old is to young to get the hang of potty training in a matter of days. They should not leave their mother until at least eight weeks old, ten to twelve weeks old is the best age to leave their mother. A crate is not cruel to a puppy/dog, they will view the crate as their den. Since they are so young use puppy training pads for them to potty on in the house. As they get older and you see them to start to potty in the house, pick them up take them outside and tell them to go potty. When they do potty outside lavish them with praise. You really can't blame them for not wanting to go out in the cold. Chihuahuas do not have much of a coat and they are probably freezing, that is why they are whining. Do they have dog sweaters for the cold? House training takes time and patience.

 

[MichelleVW]

2 of my 3 are crate trained and they LOVE their crates. I always find the youngest in hers at night when it's time to go to "bed".

House breaking is a pain and you have to watch them 24/7. They do need a small crate though if you don't want them to mess in their crate. If it's too big they will mess in one end and sleep in the other end.

 

[Aimeedyan]

7 weeks is too young to be away from their mother and litter, which is part of the problem.

They should be crated seperately eventually, though because they shouldn't even be away from their litter at this point I would leave them together for now.

Do you have a sweater or coat for them? Even a large sock that is cut to fit them will help. They are too small and don't have enough hair to be outside in that cold and need protection. Try doing that and going out with them with treats to potty. Treat and cheer when they potty.

If they are pottying in the crate, the crate is too big. It should be large enough just for them to curl up and sleep, really.

When in the house and not in the crate, leash them to you. A dog has to earn trust and freedom in the house. This will save your carpet and your sanity, too.

Expect potty training to take weeks - and weeks. Esp since they were taken from their mom too young. It's a long road but it'll work out in the end!

(I enjoyed the book 'puppies for dummies' if you can snag a copy)

 

[java]

First off tiny dogs =tiny bladders so they have to go more often than a regular size dog... But as for the crate training issues.. with the ice our dog wouldn't go in snow. What we did was dig through an area on the lawn for him. He would walk to his "spot" and go. I would just take them over to the driveway or someplace else outside where there is no ice. Good luck.

 

[Biscuitsmom31]

Their mother only had two puppies so I have the whole litter. I realize they weren't supposed to be weaned yet but their mother's owner said she had already weaned them and refused to have anything to do with them.

I'll find a smaller crate for now and some leashes. I just wish I could trust the others (DH and babysitter) when I'm not here. They don't seem to get that watch them every second means every second.

 

[Pop Daddy]

just when your about to give up, they get it, and besides there way to young to get it

 

[golfgal]

A couple other things, when you take them from the crate to go outside, carry them so the sensation they feel on their feet is of the ground and not your carpet or whatever, sort of a signal that this is where I go. Also, I know when our dog was a puppy last winter, she would pee 2 or 3 times while outside so if you are taking them out, letting them pee once and bringing them in they may not be done. We figured that our after a couple days and for her she would sniff around the yard and once she was done going would stop sniffing and come to us or just run around and play. She still does this today.

 

[golfgal]

Also, when you put them on the ground use the command 'go potty' or whatever you want, just keep it the same. They will associate those words with going potty. Keep saying it every 30 seconds or so until they start going. When they start going say 'good potty' or whatever using the same word you choose so they learn what 'go potty' means.

 

[Luv'sTink]

From my understanding Chihuahua can be very hard to potty train period. I dont know why or where I heard it actually they say all very small dogs can be hard to potty train.

Maybe start with pee pads?

 

[eeyore25]

Hi there,

We went through this 5 years ago. We have two Chihuahua's, they are brother and sister. We decided that we didn't want to have to crate train them or train them to use the outdoors. Dh and I work too far away from home to leave them all day without going potty. So we trained them to use a litterbox. When we first got them, (12 weeks old) we built a 4x4 "crate" if you will, made from wood. In that "crate" it had their litter box, toys, blanket and water. They were put in that when we went to work. That way they could not have free rain of anything while we were gone. When we were home, they had only the kitchen. As they got older and more potty trained they got more access to the house. We would open things up slowly to them. When ever they started go potty on the floor, I picked them up and took them to the box. When they went to the box on their own, DH and I did everything except carwills to praise them. They got treats and just overall praise. Eventually we had to stop giving them treats, but 5 years later we are still giving praise when they go potty in the box. They still don't have free rain of the house. They are only alllowed to be in the family room. They don't go upstairs unless we take them up there and they don't like the basement, so they chose not to go down there.

Our dogs get cold in the house, so I image that they will freeze outside. That is why they are whining when they go out. It's cold! Not only that, but they are a little too young to be away from their pupply mom....

If you have any questions on litterbox training, let me know. I would do it again in a heartbeat. I love not having to get up in the middle of the night or when it's below zero (as it is this weekend) to take the dogs out. They just go whenever they want. It really is great!!! Just PM me if you would like more information.

Good luck...

Jamie