Can anyone help with some unconventional way to get a 2 lb chihuahua to stop peeing and shitting all over my house? I've tried what the vets say, I've tried what the pet stores say, I've looked online... next option is rehoming her and hoping a stranger has more luck with her than I did. She has been peeing and pooping on the floor since I got her last August. It's gotten worse instead of better. I've had several dogs and never had this problem. She also has a clean bill of health so that's not the issue.
>>2108518
How old?
You've done you're reading, so you know it could be damn near anything.
First thing to do is wipe every inch of the floor and steam clean the carpets with an enzymatic cleaner, otherwise he will think it's fine because it smells like it already. You read this, I'm use.
Now what you didn't read:
Second is to use negative reinforcement. Vets and hippies say the only way to is to shower them with treats when they go outside - and that's good, but unless you can pick the dog up mid-stream (which makes a terrible mess, btw), they won't understand that going inside is bad. And using that redirection means you have to be Johnny-on-the-spot all day and be ready to grab him. If you're in a recliner? Too late. Don't bother. You'll never get to him mid-stream.
See, that's a problem with that method. They say if you don't catch it within 5 seconds, to just walk away because hope is lost. I call bullshit. I've housebroken 3 dogs, and all of them could make a connection between the spot they peed on and them getting scolded hours after the fact.
Know what I mean? If a dog only knows that going outside is good, it's not stopping him from going inside if he's stubborn or just doesn't want a treat.
I usually make a bunch of ruckus (yelling "DID YOU DO THIS?! x5) while holding the dog NEXT to the puddle (not in it, huge difference) and generally roughhousing him, but not in a way that hurts.
So now they now outside is good, AND inside is bad. Not just undesirable, but fucking bad. BAD DOG!
If you're dog is already housebroken and just being an asshole, it should only take about 5 times before he knocks that shit off.
>>2108596
This guy knows what's up.
There's also to be something said for rubbing their nose in it if you catch them in the act and scold them.
Dogs don't like shit in their face any more than people do so i've used this to train no less than 5 dogs.
Mostly though I don't have to resort to that unless they are being openly defiant.
Did you rescue this dog or get it as a puppy? What sort of training and socialization have you done with her so far? So you have a routine or irregular schedule? Is it just you handling the dog or are there other people? Its hard to recommend any specific technique without any other background on the situation.
Most difficult dog I've housebroken was a miniature dachshund who are notorious for being stubborn. The key for her was crate training and making a routine that I stuck with, and it still probably took almost a year to be fully housebroken.
>>2108596
I've never had a dog who couldn't be housebroken using the "hippie" method, and I've fostered easily close to 100+ rescue dogs. if you wanna go the ole grandpa "hurr shove his nose in it" method you can, but at least be honest with yourself and admit that you're just taking the easy way out since it gives you immediate but potentially problematic results
OP, you need to give a bit more information. where did the dog come from, how old is the dog, what method are you using, how long is the dog home alone, how consistent are you, etc etc. if it's an inbred puppy from a BYB then you're going to have one hell of a time, but it still can be done. and please don't tell me you ever tried potty pads
I've always wondered, if you impregnate a chihuahua with sperm from a great dane will the pregnancy kill her?
She lived in a kitchen for the first 2 years of her life with potty pads. I rescued her from the home. She used potty pads in her kitchen. I was told she was 2y/o so she would be about 4y/o now. I live in ND so it gets really cold in the winter and she refuses to go outside if it's below about 50F. She would actually climb me and cling to my shoulder and scream like a dying rabbit (she was wearing appropriate winter clothing for a dog of her size in the temp). So I have a potty pad in the office that she goes on about 50/50. If she doesn't pee or poop on it she does so near it. I agree that she still knows she did something bad even if I catch her hours later and I discipline her by placing her nose next to (but not in) whatever she did and say in a loud, angry voice "DID YOU DO THIS?! x 3 then another round of "BAD DOG YOU DON'T PEE THERE!" I feel certain she knows its bad while she's doing it as well because shortly after (can tell cause poo/pee is still warm when I have to clean it :( ) she will come running out to me and try to cuddle with me and be SUPER lovey and try to get me to throw her toy. That's how I can tell. Then I go look and there it is. I put her outside after she does this and say "YOU PEE HERE" in a loud, stern voice. I've been trying to get her to use the pads less since I've gotten her with little success. I'm also not sure what to do with her when it's -40F and there's a blizzard.
Also, the schedule we are on is fairly regular and frequent.
>>2108711
Yes
>>2108658
>problematic results
>telling a dog that inside is YOUR poo-territory and outside is HIS through physical intimidation
Dogs EXPECT physical intimidation. It's how they work within their own societies. Where you poo, as a dog, is a sign of where you are on the doggy hierarchy. If the human is the dominant "dog" that scorns the Chihuahua for pooping inside, the Chihuahua's only going to poop inside in emergencies, in secret, or in times where it feels it might with the dominance power struggle.
Putting the dog in its place is how you get happy dogs. Dogs don't like power struggles. They like to know where they are on the dominance ladder and when you make that clear, it leads to a less-stressful situation for the dog as a whole. They'll be happy as the Beta or Gamma in the "pack", as long as they feel it's a secure life for them.
The big problem is -- dogs don't know what the fuck you're talking about when you walk up and say "NO POOPING INSIDE! POOP OUTSIDE!" and that's going to just stress them out. Holding their nose to it so it's all they can smell when you say "NO! BAD! OUTSIDE!" and then put them outside -- is going to help them connect the dots a little easier. It may not work the first or second time, because some dogs are dumber than others, but when the dog draws the connection, it'll be happy to spend its "go-time" outside rather than on your carpet.
This sort of thing needs to go along with all the other, proper "dominance training" stuff that we don't think of that dogs do -- like you eating BEFORE the dog eats.
Now, there are exceptions -- like breeds that piss themselves whenever anyone comes in the door. That has nothing to do with dominance and just has to do with bad genetics. You're stuck with that. Get a laminate floor.
>>2108742
Oh -- and putting their poop outside or on the pad, when they've pooped next to it or away from it, helps them figure out where you want them to go. I had one dog that was potty-trained in a single day when we moved all his poop onto the pads, but he was an exceptionally smart puppy.
>>2108737
Again I would have to recommend crate training. There are plenty of resources online about it. Do not give her free reign to soil your home. Get a crate that is not too small but doesn't allow the animal to eliminate in it without having to essentially lay in the waste. It will take time and effort on your part, frequent trips outside and lots of love and praise when she does her business in the desired area.
I am not a fan of the potty pads but they can work in some situations, yours especially since you have a toy dog in a harsh environment. Same deal, if she eliminates on the pad give treats/praise/play, then back into the crate and do it again later. If not back into the crate no treats and try again. You should be doing this about every hour or so, if your dog is covered in waste constantly you are doing it wrong.
In my experience a dog like a German shepherd can take a little rougher training and correction and be okay, however a dog like a chihuahua does not respond very well to negative reinforcement. Just something to keep in mind. Good luck to you and your pupper
>>2108596
Don't use negative reinforcement for house training ever. It can be used correctly with other things like walking and such, but not house training. It causes dogs to hide their mess, or only mess when people are not around, or become aggressive when they need to shit. And it takes fucking months to undo some of that damage. The hippie method should work fine if the dog is taken out enough and there are no underlying factors. But if you fuck this dog up even worse, it is a death sentence.
To help us help you, what did you try OP?
>>2108737
The potty pad is teaching her that it's a-ok to shit and piss inside. Stop letting her be a little shit and make her walk outdoors. It's a toy dog but it's not an actual toy, it can handle half a minute of fucking rain and snow
I'm gona try putting the poop outside and if that doesn't work I'll try just putting it on her pee pad and see if she will do it when temperature isn't an issue. Thanks all!
>>2108824
have you lived in ND?
>>2108737
She doesn't know it's bad, she just sees you tense and angry and expects to get yelled at, m80. If instead of looking angry when you look for her mess you'd look happy, she'd be yipping in joy, regardless of whether she left a mess or not.
And when you shove her nose in it, all she understands is that she should eat it, gg.
>>2108658
>I've fostered easily close to 100+ rescue dogs.
Stopped reading there. Every one of these advice threads, some asshole shows up saying they've owned 500 dogs and works as a Animal Anesthesia Specialist, Animal Behavior Specialist, Animal Dentistry Specialist, Animal Emergency and Critical Care Specialist, Animal Internal Medicine Specialist, Animal Microbiology, Animal Pharmacology, Animal Preventive Medicine Specialist, Animal Sports Medicine and Rehabilition Specialists.... all at the same time while walking both to and from work up hill, in the snow, in northern Alaska.
>>2108742
>It may not work the first or second time,
I have gotten amazing results with this method. As long as the dog is old enough to understand, they figure it out in less than 5 scoldings.
Right now I am watching my 18 week old chase my 1 year old in circles around the living room. He hasn't had an "accident" indoors since he was 11 weeks old, and that was from over-excitement because someone left the babygate open to the bedroom wing of the house and it was all new and kid toys all over the floor.
He sleeps in the kitchen/living room area (carpet, at that). We leave him there when we leave the house. We stopped using his crate, but the leave the door open in case he watns it.
11 weeks. Reliably housebroken. Do you know what the average age for a dog to be reliably housebroken is? 6 to 8 months.
And all it took was 5 harmless scoldings about going inside.
>>2109206
>What the fuck did you just fucking say about me, you little bitch? I'll have you know I graduated top of my class in vet school, and I've been involved in numerous dog rescues, and I have over 300 confirmed rehabilitated pitbulls. I am trained in gorilla welfare and I'm the top pet specialist in the entire country. You are nothing to me but just another Cesar Millan fan. I will report the fuck out of you to PETA with precision the likes of which has never been seen before on this Earth, mark my fucking words. You think you can get away with saying that shit to me over the Internet? Think again, fucker. As we speak I am contacting my secret network of breeders and shelters across the USA and your IP is being traced right now so you better prepare for not being able to adopt a dog ever again, maggot.
>>2109209
It took my pupper a week to be housebroken with the "hippie" method. Total accidents inside: 2. One of which was when she heard thunder for apparently the first time.
>>2109189
>She doesn't know it's bad, she just sees you tense and angry and expects to get yelled at,
When a dog pees inside, and you approach, and the dog goes to a hide in a corner, that means the dog knows exactly what's going on and the connection is solid and accidents from that point on are strictly bad behavior because the understanding is there. Usually this happens after the 3rd time it's scolded. It isn't a fucking rubik's cube. Even a dog can understand the pattern of "1.) pee on floor 2.) get yelled at" after the 3rd time. Give them some credit. Some treating them like cats or something.
>>2109211
>It took my pupper a week to be housebroken with the "hippie" method.
You are so full of shit. It's not even possible on a psychological level. The only way that's possible is if it was over 6 months old when you got it. The entire idea of positive reinforcement training requires that the dog respect you as the boss and want to please you. A potential treat in 1 hour isn't going to influence a dog to hold it in. And an 8 week old puppy does not have respect for anyone but it's mother. It will, however, respond to being scolded and intimidated.
>>2109214
Yet within a week she was whining at the door to be let out. And yes, she did that every hour~two hours.
>The entire idea of positive reinforcement training requires that the dog respect you as the boss and want to please you.
Top kek.
>And an 8 week old puppy does not have respect for anyone but it's mother. It will, however, respond to being scolded and intimidated.
Topper kek.
>>2108737
well it's a tough situation, since she's pretty much already trained to go inside, it's going to take a LOT of time to undo. the things the friendly local retards are telling you to do aren't going to work in this situation, you're just making her fearful/bad for performing a learned behavior and won't understand what you want. dogs learn best anyway by showing them the desired behavior, not just punishing them with no redirection
>ND
it's damn close to summer now though, is this still an issue? if not you can try to positive reinforcement method, but as another anon suggested, it would take so long you might just want to do potty pads with the environment you live in. I wouldn't do it, but it's up to you to decide if the pros and cons are worth it honestly.
>hurr shove her nose in it
it's not going to work. what other methods have you tried?
>>2108742
>Dogs EXPECT physical intimidation
>This sort of thing needs to go along with all the other, proper "dominance training" stuff that we don't think of that dogs do
Cesar Milan pls take your outdated and flawed research and go. anyone educated on animal behavior knows how retarded you sound
>It's how they work within their own societies
dogs do not have their own societies. maybe you're thinking of wolves m8
>>2109189
>She doesn't know it's bad, she just sees you tense and angry and expects to get yelled at, m80
pretty much this.
I hear all the time people being like "well my dog KNOWS that he's not supposed to get into the garbage cause he hides when I find it, but he still does it when I'm not home!"
like yeah because he's connected your angry body language to being yelled at, not the actual thing he did m8
>And when you shove her nose in it, all she understands is that she should eat it, gg
kek. my dad tried doing that to the dog we had growing up. she ended up trying to lick up the piss half the time, even now she sometimes eats dog shit. took months for her to figure out potty training
>>2108742
>hurr durr muh dominance
Yeah, hierarchies have been scientifically disproved to exist in dogs.
>>2109206
>people can't have more experience than me REEEEE
believe it or not anon, some people who frequent this board, about animals, also have careers related to animals. crazy, I know
>>2109209
>11 weeks. Reliably housebroken
>implying that's impressive
at 11 weeks my own dog was sitting by the door and cries to go outside using the "hippie" method. now he's 6 months and trained to ring a string of bells on the door if he needs to go, also using the "hippie" method. it's very successful if you understand their behavior and are consistent
>one year old
do you shove his nose in his diapers too?
>>2109212
>that means the dog knows exactly what's going on and the connection is solid and accidents from that point on are strictly bad behavior because the understanding is there.
more like the dog sees her angry body language which they have been conditioned to associate with being yelled at. do you even know how animal leaning and behavior works?
>>2109214
>boats having potty trained dog at 11 weeks
>NO THATS NOT POSSIBLE UNDER 6 MONTHS REEEE
:^)
>It will, however, respond to being scolded and intimidated
you're gonna have one messed up kid
>>2109246
>like yeah because he's connected your angry body language to being yelled at, not the actual thing he did m8.
Read a funny study on this.
Four groups of people and their dogs. Everyone was told to order their dog not to eat a treat dropped on the floor, and leave the room. Some dogs obeyed, some didn't. For each group, half of the owners were told the dog had obeyed, and the other half that the dog had eaten the treat. Dogs whose owners were told they had eaten the treat acted guilty even if the treat was untouched. And dogs whose owners were told they hadn't eaten the treat just greeted their owners as normal, even if they had really eaten it, and didn't "act guilty".
And also, yelling at the dogs/punishing them when you catch them going inside only makes dogs scared of letting go wherever in your presence, including outside. So they'll just hold it for as long as you're both outside, and just let go whenever they just can't hold it anymore, even if it's inside.
What you're supposed to do is carry them outside, and praise them when they finish there (but really, what you should be doing is walking them out every hour or so until you figure out how often they need to go, and take them out as often as needed). Same when they're only starting to squat.
>>2109255
>What you're supposed to do is carry them outside, and praise them when they finish there (but really, what you should be doing is walking them out every hour or so until you figure out how often they need to go, and take them out as often as needed). Same when they're only starting to squat.
that's what I typically do with dogs. I got my pup at 8 weeks old, and he was potty trained at 11 weeks using this method. even at 10 weeks he would try his best to get to the door and whine to go out. it helped that he didn't get much opertunity to go inside, I took him out at least once an hour and twice during the night, crate training helps too
>>2108841
I've lived in Alberta with a 4 lb male chihuahua mix. Granted he didn't go outside for long, he still went outside. Thankfully he didn't require much in terms of exercise and stimulation though. There is a point you have to consider if the area you live in has an OK climate for the dog you want to own, and if you don't think that's your case, why the fuck did you get that dog in the first place?
>>2109206
I euthanized more dogs than that anon has trained. And guess what? I have trained even more too
>>2108711
I don't understand why they don't make it an option for you to 'mate' your big male dog with your little female dog; take eggs and batter, put it in a big dog womb and wala!
God I fucking hate potty pads.
When you envision the word "housebreaking" - it's literally "breaking" the habit of going to the bathroom in the house.
Training a dog to shit inside on a square of tissue paper is not housebreaking.
