Thank you. Very interesting and excellent advice Jules xx
--- In [email protected], Peggy & The Girls <phrpg5@...> wrote: > > Ann, > A common mistake that a lot of people make in trying to housebreak a small > dog is to put everything in the crate.....food, water, bed, toys and wee > pads or newspaper. A dog in the wild would make his den, and eat, and sleep > in it. They would never poop and pee in the den. They go a distant from the > den because they like a clean den and going a distant from the den keeps the > smell away from predators so they can't be found. We humans wouldn't want a > toilet bowl next to our bed, and dogs are the same way. > > By putting papers in the same area that a dog sleeps we are going against > the dogs natural instinct and it is very confusing for them. Unless your > dogs area is a good 6or 7 feet long, you are never going to succeed in > having a perfectly housebroken dog without any accidents, unless they are > sick. A dog should be able to hold it in for 8+ hours a day if it has to. > That is basically the same length of time at night when they sleep. That's > not to say that I feel it is okay to make a dog hold it in that long all day > but if a dog is perfectly housebroken, it will hold it for that long if an > emergency ever arose and you couldn't get home on time. When I had an > emergency and the ambulance came, poor Princess had to hold it in for almost > 10 hours before my sister could go to my house and take care of her. I was > so worried about her, but she did it and I have had other dogs through the > years that have done the same thing. That is a real housebroken dog. Not a > dog that is most of the time housebroken, but has so called accidents. > Accident dogs are not housebroken dogs, they will do again and again again > through the years. > > It sounds like since they were kept mostly in the bathroom with bed, food, > and papers, they had no choice but to go on the papers. That is not the same > as being housebroken when they have freedom. They are confused, and it > sounds like you will need to start from scratch and housebreak them the same > way you would as if they were puppies. > > You must have a perfect schedule to start. Dogs must be kept in the crate > all the time with only their bed, toys and water. Feeding must be on a > schedule, no free feeding, and feed only in the crate. Select a permanent > area that you want to use for doing their business. My personal choice is > the bathroom. Buy a large tray, and put the paper on that, it will save a > lot of extra cleaning on the floor, and the dogs will identify with the tray > as their place. If you can't use the bathroom as there place, then block in > a small area where the papers are, but far from the crate area. > > Considering they are two years old, if they should pee anywhere in the house > after they have already gone on the papers, then they are just marking > territory and the scent is not out of the carpet or place where they have > peed before. That scent has to be removed, or it will repeatedly draw them > to that spot. The dog should be shown the spot and reprimanded and then put > on the paper and told in a calm voice that the paper is good, wait a few > minutes and then put him back into the crate for awhile. Personally, I don't > believe the old myth that a dog forgets and doesn't understand at a later > time that it did wrong. They have the brains to remember basic word commands > and actions that go with them, then they also have the brains to understand > and remember a reprimand and action that goes with that too. > > The whole idea of housebreaking is to keep a good schedule during the > training period, that includes feeding time and leash walking to the paper > time, and free time, and crate time. A 2yr old should only have to pee 4x a > day, and poop 1-2x per day. They should be leashed and walked to the paper > in the morning 2x, once when waking and then after breakfast, then once in > the afternoon, then after dinner and before you go to bed. If the dog does > his business at any one of those times then he is allowed to be free, as > long as you can watch them, If not, then crate them. If they don't do their > business when you leash walk them to the paper then back to the crate and > try 15 minutes later, and repeat doing that until they go when you want them > to go. > > Using a leash to walk them during the training period to the paper, is the > same principle as if you were walking them outdoors, plus you will be able > to catch them if they should suddenly stop and try going on the floor. Once > they are housebroken, you won't need the leash. A lot of dogs will tell you > when they have to go on the paper, much in the same way a dog tells you when > it wants to go outside to do his business, and then you just have to have > him follow you to the papers. A gate in the doorway, can save you time from > standing there and waiting, once they are housebroken. Others learn just to > walk to the papers on their own. Gigi does both, sometimes she comes to me > and I know she has to go, so I will have her follow me to the bathroom where > her tray is and close the gate. Other times she just walks in there on her > own, but when she does that she always comes back to me all excited like ' > see mommy, I am a good girl!'' and wanting a treat. You need to get clued > into their body language when they 'talk' to you. Never use their names when > training a dog, unless it is for the 'come' command. Be in control of your > voice and only use one word to associate it to a action. When I trained Gigi > to go on the pad, I used the word 'paper' and 'good girl'. When I trained > Princess to go outside, I used the word 'out' and 'good girl' It helps to > speed thing up by giving a treat when they do their business. Once > housebroken you can always stop the treats if you want to. > > If you stick to a good schedule and keep them in a crate at night and when > ever you can't watch them, and the only time that they are allowed out of > the crate is after they do their business then they should be trained within > 2-4 weeks for dogs their ages. Once completly trained then they won't need > to be crated. Princess is free all the time, she is never crated. Gigi was > perfectly housebroken until she started having seizures, it did something to > her brain and she forgets sometimes. So when I go out she has to be crated. > Most nights she is free as long as she pees before I go to bed. If she doesn > t pee before I go to bed then she is crated. It's not her fault and you can > see that she has some minor brain damage from the seizures that she had. > Neither of them have ever gone into the garbage or chewed things that they > aren't suppose too. They were trained for all of the that during the first > couple of months that I got them, so in my book there is no reason to ever > have to crate any dog, regardless of their size unless the owner never > trained them correctly to begin with. > > > > > > > > > > > -------Original Message------- > > From: annmarshall4429 > Date: 3/31/2012 5:45:31 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: [Chihuahuas] Really Need Potty Advice! > > > Situation: I adopted two Chi's about two weeks ago, each is 2 years old. One > male, one female. Neutered, spayed. They are not siblings but very bonded. > Their wonderful rescue mom was very good to them, but she had a lot of dogs > to care for. They were either in a group of Chi's outside or they were in > the extra bathroom. In the bathroom were their beds and newspapers. She says > and I believe her, that they are paper-trained. > > They currently have the run of the house, although they tend to stay mostly > in the extra bedroom, where their little 36x36 inch nighttime enclosure is. > The enclosure is only big enough for their bed (they sleep together), a > water dish and papers. > > They do not use the papers, choosing to use the bedroom carpet. I have tried > putting their pee on the papers to encourage them, etc, but nothing works. I > know that each time they use the carpet it is a reinforcing experience to > them. They do go outside in the morning to pee, and I try to take them > outside as often as I can. They will nap in their enclosure, wake up, and as > soon as they are let out (whenever that may be) pee on the carpet. Also, the > female is a poopeater. All advice would be appreciated! Ann > ------------------------------------ Yahoo! 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