One of the most common problems Chihuahua owners struggle with is getting their dog potty trained. While most dog breeds get the idea at just a few months of age, it can take a chihuahua over a year to master these concepts.
Fortunately, many of the reasons why they are difficult to potty train is due to not understanding their differences as a breed. This article explains how chihuahuas are different from other breeds regarding potty training, how they are the same, and how you can use that information to get your dog potty trained.
How Chihuahuas are Different
Potty training a chihuahua is not the same as potty training a Jack Russell or a Boston Terrier. Chihuahuas are the smallest dog breed, which means they also have the smallest bladders. This, coupled with how they perceive their den, make standard potty training pretty useless for chihuahuas.
While most dogs are big enough to realize that the whole house is their den, chihuahuas are so small that even a single room could be divided up into sleeping, eating, and soiling spots. This is one of the key reasons why potty training them is so difficult.
Owners often inadvertently make this harder for their pet, by giving them the full run of the house. With no way outdoors without human help and a vast selection of indoor spaces, it’s no wonder so many chihuahuas make mistakes.
In order to successfully potty train, you need to reverse this situation. It has to be easy to go potty in an appropriate spot, and hard to go potty in the wrong spot—at least at first.
How Chihuahuas Are The Same
Although chihuahuas are different because they are small, the good news is they are still dogs. They still have the same instincts as other dogs, these are just scaled down. You can use the following instincts, which are the same in all dogs, to help you in your training:
A Denning Instinct
Although it is micro-sized, chihuahuas still do have a denning instinct. The area simply has to be very small for them to understand, “This is my den.” Dogs do not soil their dens, so starting them off with just the space for a den, or a den and a potty area, can start the process.
Be prepared to give your pup lots of enrichment, especially if they’re used to being able to run (and pee) everywhere.
Scenting to Potty
Chihuahuas use their nose to determine where to go potty. They use the pheromones in dog urine to determine where to go. This is part of why your dog keeps choosing that one corner to go in over and over.
You can use this instinct as a communication tool between you and your pet. Use sprays containing the pheromone (or heck, peed on items like scraps of used potty pad) to encourage your pet to go where you want them to. Use enzymatic cleaners to erase the smell in places you don’t.
Critical Communication
Because we can’t speak dog, and dogs can’t speak English, communication has to happen through doing. Your dog needs to be trained not only where to go potty, but that every single room in the house is not acceptable to pee on, including behind and on top of furniture, and what signal you want for needing to potty.
Dogs don’t generalize, so even if your dog is great at signaling an urgent need to go outside to bark at the squirrel, that doesn’t mean they know the same signal will work for going potty.
Before you begin potty training (or now if you’re currently potty training) your first step should be to write out formally what you want to achieve.
For example, do you want your dog to go outside exclusively, and to ring a bell to go out? Do you want your dog to go in a litterbox? Are pee-pads fine as long as they don’t miss?
How you potty train will be shaped by what you want, but you need to know what that is before you can train for it.
Kennels and X-Pens will be a huge part of your training regardless of what you pick, because in order for them to clearly understand “Only outside/pee pads/litter box is acceptable to pee on” you’ll have to make it very hard for them to do anything else at first.
Homework Assignment:
I want my dog to go: Outside. [ ] On pads. [ ] In a litter box. [ ]
If my dog needs let out to go potty, I want them to signal by: Barking. [ ] Ringing a bell. [ ] Scratching the door. [ ]
I plan to shrink my dog’s world by: Leashing them to myself. [ ] Using a kennel. [ ] Using X-pens. [ ] Using a baby gate. [ ]
Take a moment to think about which of these you want to check off. (It’s okay to check more than one, and to copy off this section to a piece of paper to physically check them off if you want to.)
As this guide grows, you’ll be able to follow links to the appropriate sections to start training. In the mean time, check back next week for a full list of products we recommend for helping, how they help, and why they help.
Similar Posts:
- Our Top Recommended Potty Training Products
- Ultimate Guide to Potty Training Your Chihuahua
- Free Chihuahua Potty Training Schedule
- Why You Should Potty Train Your Chihuahua
- 4 Reasons to Kennel Train Your Chihuahua
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