Reward-based training requires you to be on the spot when the desired behavior happens, which means you need to be home to take the dog to the toilet spot regularly. Find a treat that your Chihuahua loves and adores, and will work hard to earn. Try a range of foods from commercial treats to chicken, cheese cubes, sausages, or hot dogs. If your dog has health issues always check in with your veterinarian first to make sure there is no health reason why it shouldn’t have a certain food.
If the puppy toilets, make a super big fuss of him or her and give a treat.
For a puppy, take him or her out every 20 minutes when its awake. If the dog toilets, then be enthusiastic and give it a treat. If it doesn’t toilet, bring him or her back inside and try again 20 minutes later, but keep an extra vigilant eye on it in the meantime. You want to spot if he or she attempts to squat indoors so you can scoop it up and take it outside. [4] X Research source The Happy Puppy Handbook. Pippa Mattinson. Ebury Press Crates are a great boon when house training because it acts as the dog’s den and instinct makes it less likely to soil its den. However, do not crate for hours at a time. Remember the crate should be a dog’s safe place not a prison, so alternate crating with play and time on the leash. For an adult Chi, take him or her out hourly. Set an alarm to remind you each hour.
Do not leave the dog unattended at the toilet spot or you will miss the magic moment and lose the chance to reward it.
Activate a dog-training clicker while the dog is going to the bathroom. This makes a click-clack noise that gets associated with getting a reward. By making a click-clack whilst the dog is toileting, it marks the exact moment of the behavior you are committing to reward. Now say your cue word “Toilet. " Each time the dog goes to the toilet, click-clack and “Toilet. " Over time the dog will associate the cue word “Toilet” with the action of peeing or pooping and know it has done a good thing. The final step is to take the dog to the toilet spot and just say the cue word “toilet. " The dog now knows you want him or her to defecate and will attempt to do so in order to earn a reward. If the dog doesn’t try, then you have gone a step too far and will need to go back to waiting for him or her to go to the bathroom, click-clack, and say the cue word. Try the advanced stage again a few days later. This is especially handy when it’s pouring with rain or freezing out.
Merely scoop the Chihuahua up and without speaking to it take it out to the toilet spot. The dog’s bladder will be full so it should urinate. As soon as its finished bring it back in, pop it into its crate or bed, and settle back down to sleep yourself. All of this should be done without interacting so that he or she understands it’s strictly toilet time and not play.
It can help to keep the Chihuahua on a leash in the house, so that it can’t wander off to a quiet corner and indulge itself in a spot of illicit peeing. When it’s not possible to be with the dog, put it into its crate. However, you need to be sure to observe the 20 minute toilet break rule for pups and 1 hour for adults. [8] X Research source The Happy Puppy Handbook. Pippa Mattinson. Ebury Press Your goal with potty training is teaching your dog how to ask to go outside. That way, you can confidently take them anywhere without an accident. [9] X Expert Source Beverly UlbrichDog Behaviorist & Trainer Expert Interview. 30 January 2020.
Instead, bite your tongue and wait for the Chihuahua to wander off. Then clean up thoroughly using an enzymatic cleaner. The enzymatic cleaner gets rid of all traces of urine or poo so there is no scent mark for him or her to return to. Do not use household cleaners containing bleach or ammonia, since these are components of urine and can amplify the scent and draw the dog back to that spot. If Chi has already established an inappropriate place to toilet then clean it up with enzymatic cleaner and put its food and water bowls there. Dogs do not foul where they eat, so this will help to break that habit.
If the dog goes potty where it’s supposed to, remember to reward it with treats. This will help to reinforce the desired behavior. Don’t change the potty place every week or else the dog will be confused. If the puppy goes in the wrong place, be gentle, don’t be angry because it happens.
