Potty Training a Chihuahua

What to Know Beforehand Potty Training a Chihuahua should be relatively easy if your Chihuahua understands the rules. Confusion about what the dog is or isn't allowed to do causes problems. The owners responsibility is to take control and let the dog know what it is supposed to do or not do. Chihuahuas learn best through repetition and consistency; these are the keys. You must have consistent expectations to get conisistent result s. Chihuahuas are picky about where they go potty. They will not typically go potty where they sleep. Chihuahuas, as well as other dogs, also like to go potty in the same general area. It is common for dogs who are being potty trained to consistently have accidents in the same area inside because they recognize the smell. As a result, it is important to have a consistent potty area for your chihuahua during training.

It is also important to clean up the accidents that happen inside with a chemical cleaner to get the smell out of the carpet. It is very important to realize the best results in potty training will come from rewarding good behavior, NOT punishing bad behavior. Be sure to have a treat and give plenty of praise when your chihuahua successfully goes potty in the correct place. Never punish a dog by physically hitting or hurting them.

How to Get Started

Remember when we said that Chihuahuas don't typically go potty where they sleep? This is where it is best to get started. You should keep your chihuahua confined to a small sleeping area during bedtime, and then first thing in the morning take it out where it is allowed to goto the bathroom. Leave the dog there until it goes potty, and then when finished be sure to praise the dog and reward it with a treat. Remember to do this consistently, as this is one of the keys.

Routine

The other key to potty training is routine. Make sure you use the same potty area so the dog knows this is the area to go potty. Don't get frustrated along the way if the dog makes mistakes, it is a learning process for it. It is important not to be too harsh on a dog when first starting potty training, as this will encourage the dog to wait until you aren't looking and try to hide the mess. If you catch the dog IN THE ACT, voice reprimand should be given. If you don't catch the mistake until later, it is better off to ignore it as the dog will be confused.

A chihuahua will normally want to please its master. Your tone and emotion in your voice is important in the training of a dog. The chihuahua can tell from the tone of your voice if it has done something wrong or if it has done something right. It is a good idea to use a word to signal the chihuahua to go potty. This will help it be like other commands the chihuahua has learned, or is learning. Normally something like "potty" or "out" is sufficient. Just remember to be consistent.

A chihuahua puppy can normally hold it about as many hours as it is old in months. This means if it is two months old, it can normally go for two hours without going potty. The best way to potty train a chihuahua puppy would be to be there with it all the time. This is not always possible, so when you are away it is best to keep the chihuahua in its sleeping crate or kennel so it won't go potty. If you are gone for an amount of time that it won't be able to hold it, don't punish them if they have an accident. If you are conistently in these situations, it might be best to paper train or pad train your dog. The same techniques talke about in this article should be employed. This is not normally recommended unless absolutely necessary because it trains the dog to go potty indoors, which can be hard to break in the future.

Tips
If it is potty time and you take your chihuahua out and it doesn't go, what should you do? If you know the chihuahua will need to go soon it is best to take them back inside and put them in their kennel or sleeping area for fifteen minutes, and then take them back outside. They should not be inclined to potty in that area inside, so they will hold it until you take them back outside. This should be employed over and over again until they finally go outside.

When potty training a chihuahua it is also important that the dog has bonded with you and has a desire to please you. This will help in the training process because the dog will have more of a desire for your approval.

Always keep in mind that chihuahuas are small dogs and this means they have small bladders. Don't expect them to be able to hold it forever because than you are just setting them up for failure. You want your chihuahua to be able to succeed, so make your sure you do your part by making it possible.

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