Chorkie refusing to house train...:/

[norarose88]

I have a Chorkie who's about 1 yr. 5 mo. old. She's never been able to house train. I've tried and tried to get her to go on the tinkle pads but she just won't do it (it's really about 75% of the time she'll go on it but that's if we're lucky). I've heard that it is very hard to train chihuahua dogs in this particular area but if I can't get it done soon, I can't keep her. I've had her since she was 5 wks. old and it's going to really, REALLY hurt if I have to rehome her but I can't keep ruining carpets with her. She gets to going somewhere and she won't stop. We've had to keep her out of the bedroom unless she's crated at night. For a couple months she's been going pretty steady on the pad in the kitchen with few accidents only in the bedroom. Suddenly (and I mean just as of last night) she's started going in the living room. No particular spot, just where ever. Now my friend did just move out yesterday but she's only been here a couple months.

With a very shifty schedule, the only stead one she's going to have is the one with my boyfriend and that's only about twice in the evening. Other than that, it's a variable outdoor schedule, hence the pads. We're fine WITH the pads as long as she uses them and generally keeps it ON them. I've NEVER had this issue with any other dog, I just don't understand. I love her like a child but I cannot let this keep happening.


Thanks!

[nezza]

When was the last time she was seen by a vet? You need to make sure there is nothing medical going on with her...like a urinary infection, for instance. EVERY dog is trainable. So, you have to start ruling out other factors. What is her routine? Every young dog should be walked soon after napping, eating and playing. What is your current routine?

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Vanessa, all of your points were excellent ones!

To the OP, "norarose88"...you brought this puppy home at 5 weeks! That was your FIRST mistake! You have confused the dog by trying to indoor/outdoor train it. It is a DOG, not a CAT!!! The puppy should have been taught to go outside only. Sacrifices have to be made, and this dog deserves that YOU make them. This dog is trainable once you learn how. It will require devotion and consistency. It will mean that you must sacrifice your needs and wants, some sleep and some down time to adequately train this dog.

No puppy should be separated from its Mother prior to 8 weeks! Why did that happen?

Imagine telling your puppy it's ok to go indoors, but only "here" and "not here". Do you think your dog has the capacity to understand that? Of course not! You need to clean your carpets with an enzymatic cleaner to erase all traces of scent left behind, or you will NEVER succeed.

I am attaching the link to our "Housetraining 101" thread. READ IT IN ITS ENTIRETY!!!! You will have to start from scratch, and the best place is by throwing away those puppy pads. To rehome this dog because of YOUR FAILURES is unfair and if that is the route you take, you should never have another dog again as you aren't prepared to do the work. Sorry if that's harsh, but it makes me very sad indeed to think of this confused puppy.

One of our members has a lovely rescued Chi/JRT cross. He was "thrown away" because his owner felt he couldn't be housetrained by age 3. The previous owner went to such extreme measures that this dog was afraid to even drink! It only took about 2 weeks to train him, although he had the odd accident, each of which was a "mistake" on the part of his new Mum, which she acknowledged! He is now a perfectly trained dog, living a wonderful life with a loving Mum. Your dog deserves the same.

Here is the link:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=6565

After you read the ENTIRE thread, by all means, post your questions in here. It is the least you can do for this dog you claim to love so much.

[nezza]

Vanessa, all of your points were excellent ones!

To the OP, "norarose88"...you brought this puppy home at 5 weeks! That was your FIRST mistake! You have confused the dog by trying to indoor/outdoor train it. It is a DOG, not a CAT!!! The puppy should have been taught to go outside only. Sacrifices have to be made, and this dog deserves that YOU make them. This dog is trainable once you learn how. It will require devotion and consistency. It will mean that you must sacrifice your needs and wants, some sleep and some down time to adequately train this dog.

No puppy should be separated from its Mother prior to 8 weeks! Why did that happen?

Thank you, Deb. And i echo your statement here.

[kian]

I was going to mention our Jose! It's true the former owner thought he couldn't be trained and look what happened, with the right methods he was trained!!!

Do read the link provided, I started that thread to help with housetraining and please ask your questions there. Also, do tether your dog to you so you can catch her. YES have the vet check her!

For futher reference....never, ever bring a puppy home until it is at least 8-10 weeks. I deal with issues everyweek with puppies brought home so early. Separation Anxiety, dog fear and aggression, fear aggression, biting, scared of everyone and the list goes on. I do hope your puppy doesn't have any of this, as this can make housetraining harder. Remember....if your yard is noisey and lots of distractions, it can scare your puppy so going inside feels safer.

[swanruadha]

Did we lose this poster?

I came to add my two cents to SEE YOUR VET about any sudden change in behavior. I have to go into our jumping up thread and upodate, but.. we were still following toiet training on automatic, but focused on his terrorist attacks. And so it came as a shock, that barring some minor marking behaviour, he's actually housetrained.

But last Thursday he started drinkng more (never a good sign), peeing in the house more than markiung, and the clincher--he peed in his crate. He has NEVER peed in his crate. ('Course in early days you never give them a reason to have to pee in the crate). So first Friday morning I was calling the vet and Tanner and his pee went off to the vet. He has a bladder infection.

My point is (and you thought I forgot I HAD a point, didn't you ?!) The flip side of receiving all that unconditional love, is that you have to watch foir sudden changes and do something. They can't make their own vet appts., they can't point at a body part and say this hurts.

[pawsforthought]

I think you guys scared them off Hopefully they didn't throw away their dog because of their own failure