Thanks, I have not tried the treat method yet. I am a bit afraid of this as her stomach is so sensitive. I mean even a tiny morsel seems to set her off in fits of the runs. Right now, I am thinking of putting her in lockdown for a few days in the laundry room with JUST the potty box and no bed there to pee in - the troble with that is, she will try to sleep in the pottybox. I do not know how to get her to distinguish "bed" and "toilet". The other night I tried this and she screamed at me for not putting towels in her bed. Maybe some "tough love" is in order. Take away some comforts until she gets the message? I just don't know... Kelly
--- In [email protected], twopenns@... wrote: > > > As a baby, I trained Emiliano to use a litter box, lined with newspaper onto > which I had sopped on some of his pee. He used it almost immediately. Then > if I was going to be at home for the day, I started taking him outside, when > he got up, after he ate, and before he went to bed and a few times inbetween. > I would tell him to go potty, stayed and watched him until he did, then > praised him and brought him inside and gave him one of his favorite treats. > Some people told me he was going to be confused using the litter box and > going outside as well but he never was. To this day, he uses the box if I am > going to be gone all day and goes outside when I am at home. At four years of > age, he can hold off having to go for most of the day, often I come home to > find the box has not been used but he runs outside immediately when I get > home and does his business. > > Gloria > > > -----Original Message----- > From: skyforme1970 <skyforme1970@...> > To: Chihuahuas <[email protected]> > Sent: Wed, Nov 28, 2012 5:06 am > Subject: [Chihuahuas] At my wits end..... > > > > > Hi, > > I have a nearly 2 year old spayed female chihuahua mix. She is only about 5 > lbs and very sweet. She came toddling up our driveway one rainy afternoon > when she was only about 3 months old. No one claimed her so we took her in > knowing nothing about chihuahuas. From what I heard from the neighbors, she > was a litter mate escapee and the people who had her never let her or the > other pups in the house, so they all stayed outside in the backyard. > > No matter what I do, I cannot seem to house train her. We had to lock her in > her kennel at night so she would not tear the house up as we slept. As a > result, she had gotten used to peeing and sometimes pooping in her bed since > (I assume) she could not hold it all night. This is without fail every single > day. She will pee anywhere she sleeps (her round cloth bed, her kennel bed > and the kid's beanbags). She also has no issue with peeing on tile or rugs or > carpet RIGHT in front of us all while innocently looking us in the eye. It's > like she has NO concept whatsoever that this displeases us greatly even tho > she has been scolded for it more times than I can count. > > It does not matter if we take her outside for potty right before bed or > withhold food and water after 3 pm. She has no problem letting us know when > her water or food bowl has gone dry or to alert us for her other wants and > needs. Just the potty thing. I kept thinking she'd grow out of it, but she > has not at nearly 2 years old. (born in Feb 2011) > > As a result, since she is so tiny (and smart, I think) I got the bright idea > to try and litter box train her. I've tried using kitty litter, then a pee > pad, then even cutting iceplant from outside and putting it into the box for > her to pee on since that is what she usually does on it when we take her out > for a potty break. > > I call the litter box her "pottybox" thinking it was best to give it a name > she might identify it with. She has used it a grand total of twice in the > last 6 weeks of trying to train her. When she has an accident, I take the > soiled towels and put them in her pottybox so she knows/smells/sees what it > is there for. I also tell her "go potty" like I do when she is outside. > > Recently we moved her to the laundry room at night and use a baby gate so she > can still see out into the house. I now leave her kennel bed open so she has > free access to the pottybox, but she still prefers to sleep in her own waste. > > She has no issue with jumping into the potty box, and will do so just by us > telling her to, but she will just sit down and look at me like "what do you > want me to do?" > > She is ruining our house and I've never been closer to giving up after two > years of this constant messing with no end in sight. I cannot keep her > outside as we live in rural area and she would not last an hour out there so > a house dog she must be. > > I am not a quitter, especially when it comes to animals, but this (and her > constant "glee peeing" even when seeing the SAME people over and over but > that is another story) is turning in to a real deal breaker. I have never had > such a high maintenance, and frankly such a PITA dog in my life, but we love > her very much. > > I'm sure this has come up a million times, but if anyone has some suggestions > that might help, I'd appreciate it. We are very low on money so buying yet > more "training aids" is not possible right now. Plus, I feel that I have > spent enough on all this and she has what she needs, except the message I am > trying to get across to her. Breaks my heart to think of giving her up, but > if we can't resolve this, I will have to re-home her to someone who > understands the breed better than I do. Thanks for any help you can give us > for this sweet little girl. > ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Chihuahuas/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Chihuahuas/join (Yahoo! 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