Stupid Dog!!!

55klovek · June 2010

My chihuahua Bean is about the smartest chihuahua in the world up until now. She pees and poops all over the house growls at our other dogs and is just a handful. The dog can speak 5 languages and does agility but my parents are ready to giver her back to the pound. She will not learn about going outside or anything like that. We have tried wee-wee pads and crating her but she just sneaks around and messes everywhere. I mean she used to go outside but occasionally messed up but it wasn't so bad. We give her everything her heart desires (clothes, beds a doggy stroller). I really dont want to give her away. Also she wears a muzzle on walks and can not be petted by children HELP

RoyalRaccoon · June 2010

The problem with toy breeds is babying. Dogs that have been babied are very hard to break of their bad habits, so getting your chi housebroken could take some time, and a LOT of effort on your part. I'm no expert, but this is what I've learned from owning lots of little dogs. Of course, not all of this will work on all dogs. It's important to try different things if one just isn't working, but don't get upset if it doesn't work instantly. Give solutions a week or two. Progress can be slow, but what is important is positive change(no matter how small). 1. Crate You should get her a crate that's appropriate for her size, and never encourage her to go potty in her crate. I bought a crate twice the recommended size for my pomeranian so he could potty at night if he needed to. Big mistake. He wasn't learning anything from that, other than "it's okay to go potty in the house." Since the crate was expensive, I wasn't going to just toss it away. Instead I bought a big round bed that basically took up the entire crate. He knows he doesn't want to potty in his bed, so now he goes all night without accidents. 2. Routine You need a routine. Feed her at the same time everyday and keep track of when she needs to potty. If she needs to potty 30-60 minutes after every meal, then now you roughly know when to take her to her potty spot. If an accident occurs off schedule it could be that something has changed to shift the schedule, such as an upset stomach or something. Trying to get her body on a routine is never perfect, but it can be a big help when coupled with everything else. 3. Confinement Don't let her just run wild. She needs confinement in order to learn. Keep her in areas where you can watch her while she is in the house, and use baby gates or a play pen to prevent her from running off to another room to potty while you're not looking. If you can't watch her then put her in her crate, or put her outside. 4. Stop the excessive pampering Don't leave food down all day, don't let her do whatever she wants, avoid giving too many treats, never give her table scraps while you are eating, don't let her have her toys 24/7, don't pick her up and taker her everywhere(make her walk), and so on. It's a lot of work, and it's hard not to treat her like a baby, but it's important to start eliminating the things encouraging her diva personality if you don't like the way she is behaving. Of course, this doesn't mean you can't pamper her, it just means you have to know when to do it. If she goes to the bathroom in the right place give her some attention!

As for the children thing. Most chihuahuas don't like children. I personally would never-ever give a little kid a chihuahua. Never-ever! They easily get overwhelmed by everything children do. Chihuahuas are biters. Some dogs will just back away or growl, but all chihuahuas I've been around WILL bite when scared or threatened. Chihuahuas are also very territorial over people and objects. Similar to Pomeranians, they tend to bond extremely close to one person(or sometimes their family), and then anyone who dares touch their territory will thoroughly be "told" not to do it again. What's the best solution? Keep them away from children. If kids come over, put the dog in its crate(preferably in a quite room away from the kids). If young kids live with you, then you may have to keep them separated until the kids are old enough to stay clam and be very gentle. On walks, pay attention and avoid children. If there is no avoiding them(say you are both on the sidewalk), then pick her until you pass the kids. If kids start to come towards you like they might want to pet her, pick her up and don't let them. Allowing them to try to pet her will most likely just ruin walks for her, when walks should actually be a valuable reward. I'd just keep muzzling her on walks. I know plenty of people that muzzle their dogs just as a precaution, even if the dog shows no signs of aggression. A properly fitted muzzle is not cruel. It is simply a tool to help protect your dog, other dogs, and other people.

Good luck with your chi! Don't give up on her yet!

Garnet · June 2010

I agree with PrinceSushi! I have a 4 year old AKC Chihuahua named Heaven Lee Angel and she barks constantly when someone shows up or goes by on the road outside. Like even once we answer the door she will continue to bark at the person there. Yes, we taught her to bark every time the front door opened so that when my niece and nephew were over they wouldn't be able to slip outside without us knowing about it.. but now Heaven barks when ANYONE goes outside and we can't get her out of it.. Also we have yet to be able to potty train her.. for the most part we have her trained to go on a puppy pad.. other than that she isn't really house broken.. we are STILL working on that one.. Heaven is a handful, but with a little time and patience you can teach any dog to behave

55klovek · June 2010

Yeah we have a small crate and a puppy pen and she do sent run wild all day and for a couple months she went outside then we got another dog and she started peeing in the house

55klovek · June 2010

We also cant leave her outside alone because big birds circle the neighbor hood and pick up pets happend to our neighbor and coyotes eat the pets also our neighbors cat got free and we found te pieces in our cul de sac

RoyalRaccoon · June 2010

Maybe her problems are related to the other dog? Maybe it's a dominance thing. I'm not sure. Why not get a chain link kennel for outside? You can get them and garden/home improvement stores and pet stores. You can also buy tops for them to provide shade and protection from birds. I have a kennel for my dogs just in case we need to have the gates open or guests in the backyard for long periods of time. Like this: <img src="http://www.midwestpetproducts.com/files/1950949/uploaded/64-644_kennel_FULL.jpg"; alt="http://www.midwestpetproducts.com/files/1950949/uploaded/64-644_kennel_FULL.jpg"; class="bb-image" />

HollyWood · June 2010

not sure if this was said but, bout crating if you are leaving for a long period of time during the day, dogs can't be kept in a crate for 5+ hours. As PrinceSushi said (and the picture) those are great, those chain kennels work wonders when we had our daschund puppy.. we just put some water and some food and threw in some toys and she loved it, they are also great if you are working outside.

RoyalRaccoon · June 2010

Holleywood wrote:

not sure if this was said but, bout crating if you are leaving for a long period of time during the day, dogs can't be kept in a crate for 5+ hours.

I'd argue that. I've had plenty of dogs that can overnight(probably a good 6-9 hours) with no problems what so ever. Many people also work 8 hour jobs which forces them to crate their dogs during the day, which I have also done without problems, though I prefer to put them in a play pen If going to regularly(school/work) be gone that long. Getting a crate that allows the dog to get up, stretch, and turn around if necessary is important, but you don't want it so big that it encourages them to relieve themselves in their crates. One of my poms currently overnights about 6-8 hours, and he would probably just keep sleeping if I didn't wake him up in the morning. As long as your dog is getting good exercise during the day, then sleeping all the way through the night(or remaining crated for more than 5 hours) shouldn't be a problem. However, keeping them crated all day and night isn't going to allow them to exercise to remain healthy. Just imagine a human laying in bed all day long for weeks, only getting up to go to the bathroom. Exercise and play time are a must for mental and physical health. Penning in a tiled room(a laundry room/bathroom/etc) or buying an outdoor kennel is a better option if you can do it. Also, I'd never routinely keep a dog crated for more than a total of 10-12 hours in a 24 hour day(not all at one time!), but that's just my opinion. Everyone has different opinions on long term crating, but it really just depends on your dog. A puppy would be a different story, but Bean doesn't sound like a puppy(correct me if I am wrong).

HollyWood · June 2010

just what I heard on animal planet xD but I agree with what you said, as long as the crate is big enough but not too big

RoyalRaccoon · June 2010

Holleywood wrote:

just what I heard on animal planet xD but I agree with what you said, as long as the crate is big enough but not too big

I imagine they said 5 hours because it's probably on the safer side. Your dog could get bored or stiff if left longer, though many dogs seem to do fine. I know my little pom would not be too happy to be woken up after 5 hours. I think he loves his crate too much. I swear, he's all floppy and sluggish when he wakes up. However, he doesn't like being in his crate during the day so he goes outside a lot now. I think it should always be judged on a dog-to-dog basis. Health, temperature, age, breed, size, etc. All of those factors can play into how long a dog can be in a crate. Some dogs can barely go 30 minutes, other can go far longer.

dudey465 · June 2010

this is what i would do: i have done it with 2 of the cavaliers put the leash on the dog, and tie the leash to you so it is attached to the dog and to you, and do what you would normally do around the house such as chores etc and everytime she looks like she is going to go to the toilet in he house give a light tug on the leash and take her outside until she has gone to the toilet and bring her back in and repeat this process until you go to bed at night

it took me about 1 week with the cavaliers and why i was at school my parents did it for me

hopes this helps

55klovek · June 2010

My parents said no to the chain link cage they don't like them and neither does our neighbor hood commity. She gets crated while were out no more than 2 hours and outside the min summer temp is 100 degrees and the max of 115 its to hot outside =(

55klovek · June 2010

We have bought puppy pads for her but she dosent use them and if we get them now our golden retriever will shred them. I asked to get her dog diapers but my mom was like eww no way

RoyalRaccoon · June 2010

I've never heard of a whole community that disliked keeping pet dogs is a kennel. That's very weird IMO. Anyways, if a kennel is out of your options, you could try an outdoor playpen like this: <img src="http://www.comparestoreprices.co.uk/images/sa/savic-all-seasons-dog-park-play-pen-by-savic.jpg"; alt="http://www.comparestoreprices.co.uk/images/sa/savic-all-seasons-dog-park-play-pen-by-savic.jpg"; class="bb-image" /> They are much cheaper(probably $20 or less), easily collapsible, and can be stored about anywhere when not in use. You wouldn't even need a large one for a chihuahua. A rabbit sized one would probably work just fine. You could use it indoors as well. If that's not an option then you'll just have to continue with training techniques. I've used both puppy pads and dog diapers. Puppy pads can be used to train a dog were they are allowed to potty, but they aren't going to just magically work on their own. Other than making it easier for owners to clean up, they aren't that much different than newspaper. Dog diapers are more for incontinent dogs. They will do absolutely nothing in terms of training. They can be very expensive, and nasty to deal with. Just like a human baby, you will have to check multiple times a day and keep them clean so they don't get infections. This article has good suggestions on using puppy pads: <a href="http://www.dailypuppy.com/articles/how-to-use-puppy-potty-training-pads/8d36af2a-841c-2679-1dea-b3afb4c9ea42"; target="_blank" class="bb-url">http://www.dailypuppy.com/articles/how-to-use-puppy-potty-training-pads/8d36af2a-841c-2679-1dea-b3afb4c9ea42</a> ; Have you ever considered hiring a trainer to give you some tips? Not everyone can afford to have a trainer come all the time, but it's very helpful to have one come out once, just to show you how to get results on your own.

55klovek · June 2010

We have a puppy pen like that but its to hot to put out side and we put our golden in it. The committee dosent like people to have junk in the backyard so thats no and puppy pads are expensive and our other dog would just shred them. We had a trainer just not for her she was for our golden we wanted to get a washable diaper because when we walk in the door she pees all over the floor cause she gets excited my parents said no

RoyalRaccoon · June 2010

55klovek wrote:

We have a puppy pen like that but its to hot to put out side and we put our golden in it. The committee dosent like people to have junk in the backyard so thats no and puppy pads are expensive and our other dog would just shred them. We had a trainer just not for her she was for our golden we wanted to get a washable diaper because when we walk in the door she pees all over the floor cause she gets excited my parents said no

I'd hate to live in a place where your backyard got inspected. It's like invasion of privacy...well to me it is. My backyard is my personal space. Anyways, the peeing when excited thing has to do with submission. Basically she is so submissive to you that it's almost fear. The peeing is done to show you that she understands you are the dominant person, and that she doesn't want to get hurt/punished. DON'T yell at her, or scold her when she does it because it will make it worse. What you need to do is enter your house/room very calmly and ignore Bean. Don't look at her, don't say "hi" to her, etc. Once she has calmed down, calmly say her name to get her to go to you, and then praise her for not peeing. This will take effort from your whole family. If just one family member is enforcing the behavior by going "Hi Bean!! Come here girl!!" when you get home, then she's unlikely to stop. While you work on keeping the environment clam, you should also try to identify why her confidence is so low. Do you yell at her a lot? My Pomeranian named Prince submissively peed for a short time, many years ago. Whenever he did something "bad" I did the whole "Prince! Bad boy! Bad boy!" thing, and then I "threw" him in the backyard. I was yelling at him too much, and for the wrong things. For starters don't yell at your dog, because it's just going to make them fearful. Scold them when they do bad things by firmly saying "No."Second, don't scold your dog for something they already did. You need to catch them actively doing it in order to punish them, or they aren't going to understand why you are punishing them. For example, if you find a puddle and no dog over the top of it, then don't scold the dog. Third, preventing a problem is easier than fixing a problem. My dog Prince is a shredder, so if I leave a sock or stuffed toy on the floor it's more my fault than his when it gets destroyed. Remembering to pick my things up is a lot easier, and more productive, than scolding him. Luckily, submissive peeing tends to be pretty easy to fix as long as everyone around the dog is working together.

I don't know what else to tell you since a lot of the suggestion have been shot down. I'd highly suggest hiring a new trainer to assess your home, and Bean so that you can find the perfect, personalized solutions to your problem.

55klovek · June 2010

Thanks today we got home and went to get her from her cage said nothing and she peeed in the cage

RoyalRaccoon · June 2010

55klovek wrote:

Thanks today we got home and went to get her from her cage said nothing and she peeed in the cage

I wouldn't encourage her to pee in the cage either, but just keep working on it. Over time she will hopefully learn not to pee at all when you get home.

55klovek · June 2010

Thanks so Much

Howdy, Stranger!

Stupid Dog!!!

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