Welcome to you and to Trooper. I am going to comment on some of your concerns. The chewing, yes puppies chew, some are more mouthy than others and take longer to go through the stage but as a rule they do outgrow it. Be sure to give him lots of toys he can chew on and even pieces of a bully stick. If you want to limit the areas of the house where Trooper can go, I suggest that you get an x pen, you can put him in it when you can not keep an eye on him and it will eliminate the wondering all over the house and even chewing on objects that he shouldn't chew on. The pen will become a safe area for him and a comfortable place to be, you can put his bed in it and let him sleep there at night. Now, for potty training. Your puppy will need to potty often, You can watch him carefully and learn his body language of when he has to go. In addition to those times, you should always put him outside after he eats, after a nap, and when he first gets up in the morning. I trained my little guy at 8 weeks to use a litter box, lined with newspaper. To get him started, I sopped up a little of his urine onto the newspaper, the next time he had to go, he walked to the box, sniffed it and used it. Soon, he also pooped in it. The box is great to have when the weather is bad or when you're going to be gone for a few hours. Good luck with your little guy. Would love to see some photos. I am Gloria and I live in central Texas with my 2 yr old long coat, named Emiliano. Gloria In a message dated 7/2/2011 9:58:47 A.M. Central Daylight Time, [email protected] writes:
Hi Everyone, My family and I are the owners (or are being owned) by a 10 week old Chihuahua named Trooper. We are first time Chi owners but not first time dog owners, we have had Maltese, Shih Tzu, and Poodles. Trooper is super smart - we've owned him only two weeks and he already knows "Sit", "Outside", "No", and "Drop It." He is way smarter than either of my poodles at that age. Trooper is SO great with my 11year old son. They play together all the time and LOVE it! Trooper waits for my son to wake up in the morning so they can get some play time in. Trooper has never growled or bit (puppy play nips yes, but not angry biting) not even when he's tired and my son picks him up. Trooper has shown no possessive tendencies or aggression. He hasn't even barked yet. He loves his crate which we make nice and comfy for him. He's very affectionate and boy is HE CUTE!!! My favorite thing is when me and Trooper are sitting in th e Lay Z Boy and he is curled up on my chest with his head tucked near my neck. He's so snuggly:) But, I've noticed that, despite him being really smart, he is pretty willful. For instance, he KNOWS not to go down the hall in to my son's bedroom since it's off limits, but he will sneak in there when we aren't looking. I know he's only 10 weeks old, but he KNOWS no going in the bedrooms. Same with messing with our older poodle...he keeps pestering her despite her and our protests. He also CHEWS everything in sight. I've never seen a dog chew like that. I'm concerned he's going to hurt himself. I keep an eye on him constantly, and when I'm not watching him, I put him in the crate. Is this just a puppy stage or am I going to have to deal with this for the next 15 years? Also, is there a "trick" to housebreaking a chi? He is so smart but the potty training issue has been a bit of a bear. I appreciate any help you guys can offer me!!!
