Thanks for the comments. I seem to be having great sucess. I am using newspaper
but might try the puppy pads. My 5 yr male Chi never like the puppy pad and
preferred the newspaper. On day one new pup peed on the floor. I wiped it with
tissue paper and put that wipe on the newspaper. I didn't yell at the mistake,
but took her to the wipe on the newspaper and praised her good girl. She is now
peeing on the paper only in the room she has free run of (bedroom and bath area
with gate). She'll poop mostly on paper but different paper. Doesn't go both
together on same spot. Maybe the wee wee pads would work better. She's a bundle
of energy. Hopefully will give the male some exercise he need to lose a pound
or two as of the vet this morning. He's still not comfortable with her.
Anne <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: A chihuahua puppy can and should
free feed until they're at least 6 months or a year old, unless they start
putting on a lot of fat. Chihuahua puppies very easily become hypoglycemic and
should be fed at *least* 3-4 times a day, preferably more, or, as I said, free
fed. Chihuahua puppies simply do not have the stomach room to eat enough food
to sustain their metabolisms for more than a few hours. So yes, I would free
feed your chihuahua, and I would feed it very, very high quality puppy food,
such as Innova, which packs the most possible nutrition into the least
quantity, until your puppy is at least 6 months, preferably a year, old. Which
leads me to part 2.
I agree with some of the other comments that your puppy isn't going to be
housebroken by you letting her run unrestrained around the house and poop/pee
everywhere. If you'll check the Files section of the group's home page, I have
a .txt file there called "paper training" or some such -- check that out. When
you're not 100% supervising her, your baby needs to be in a confined area with
a pee pad, such as a small bathroom with a baby gate across the door, or a
collapsible playpen. She can gradually be given more freedom, i.e. "graduate"
to the kitchen or another non-carpeted room) as she consistently uses the pee
pad (if that's what you're using). Pee pads have many advantages over
newspaper. For one thing, the plastic backing will keep urine from soaking
through to your carpet. More importantly, though, doggy pee pads come with a
scent on them that will attract the dog to eliminate there. I buy mine on eBay
by the 200-count box, that's the cheapest source I've
found. The important thing, however, is (a) Praise and reward lavishly for
success, and praise for even an attempt at success (i.e., the first time she
actually goes to the pee pad and sniffs it/stands on it). (B) Do NOT yell at
or otherwise punish the chi for a mistake. Just quietly say, "No, that's not
where you go," pick her up gently and put her on her pee pad, then pet and
praise her while she's on the pad, whether she goes further or not, and clean
up the floor VERY thoroughly so she won't have a scent to go back to.
You've put her in a situation where she literally does not know what you want
and will not understand at ALL what you're upset about. Even if you actually
catch her in the act, she'll believe you're yelling at her for peeing, not for
peeing THERE.
If you'd like more specific help, just let me know. You're welcome to
contact me offlist.
Thanks,
Anne
Thank to all who respond.
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