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On Thursday I found a chihuahua and took it in. Thursday peed in the house- no big deal- strange surroundings. She also went outside too. Kept her in a crate overnight. Whined most of the night. Took her out 1:30am. At 6:30am took her out too. She had tinkled a bit on blanket. Friday we took her out very often, with treats for when she went and kept repeating "go bathroom". Throughout Friday, she still peed twice and pooped twice in house, despite having been taking out right before, and we stayed out for 15-20 min.
Friday night in crate was better! Saturday morning, No whining until 6:30am, no mess in crate, and she peed and pooped outside right when she woke up.
Saturday I took her to the pound. No one called to the signs I had put up, or responded to the Craig's list ads. I took her to the pound to see if she was micro chipped and to give the owner the opportunity to find her. I put my name at the top of the list to adopt her, if the owner doesn't claim her.
My fear is that she is already 8 months old. I also have read that breed is a little difficult to house train. Is 8 months too old for her to start grasping the idea of going to the bathroom outside and not inside? I'm a teacher so I have 3 weeks to give full time house training/ all day attention, until I start back to work. She would be crated when I'm at work.
No dog is too old to house break. She can learn everything and best time to start is NOW. Socialize and take her with you, but above all be persistent and give her time. There are endless resources on the internet including Youtube on how to train a dog to do her business outside. Don't judge her every time she makes a mistake. With time she will learn.
Good Luck to both of you!
Just like with children, dogs thrive on routine. Get her out of her crate the same time every morning and give her a chance to potty, then feed her and exercise her to poop approximately 30 minutes later. We usually walk out dogs 30 minutes after the two meals a day they have and one last pee at bedtime. We also have some intermediate short walks around noon and when my kids get home from school around 3:30. If you expect her not to pee in the house get her used to the routine she will have once school starts.
And NO she is definitely NOT too old to be house trained. People house train dogs years old. it is mostly a function of how the people train and respond. No spanking, no rubbing nose in it , no yelling. Positive reinforcement works so much better. I hope you get to adopt her.
We got our girl at 7 months and it took two months to housetrain her, but we did it, and in winter, too! She's a lab-shepherd mix, but she shouldn't be much different than a chi. You just have to figure out her signals when she needs to go. Once she realizes outside is where she needs to potty, the communication part becomes real important. We're dealing with that phase right now with our other dog, a 5-month old pup we got at 7 weeks. He's a challenge.
At 8 months, she's just an older puppy and definitely can be housetrained, you have to get her on a schedule (feeding her twice a day) and she'll get it, will thrive on a set routine too (feed her in the AM and again in the PM and you'll get an idea of when she has to go). Sure there may be accidents - it's inevitable - but it won't take her long to figure it out. Would keep her in the same room where you are (we spent a lot of time in the kitchen when ours were puppies (easy cleanup) and they were far less likely to 'go' if they were w/in our eyesight, we'd just scoop them up and take them outside fast (thankfully we had a small tv in the kitchen). We had a fenced-in yard too but would usually keep them on a leash so they knew they were out there to 'go', not to play, they could play later. We also praised them tons when they would 'go' outside and would quickly give them a small tasty treat (not a milkbone, something soft or you could use a small piece of chicken etc, we would cook and freeze them in a small plastic bag so we always had quick access to them), that way they associated 'going' as something great (getting a treat), they were real chowhounds and it didnt take long for them to figure out the connection. At nite, we did crate them in the house and occ. they'd whine around 3 or 4am and I just got up and took them outside fast, sometimes they wanted to play when they came back in but that wasnt an option and it was back to the crate for a few hours but at least if they had to 'go', they definitely didnt have to 'go' in the crate, they liked 'going' outside and being clean (I dont think I had to clean the crate more than once or twice). I think she'll do just fine, at 8 months they learn fast and have more bladder / bowel muscle control that a 2 or 3 month old would have, I wouldnt hesitate for that reason, she'll prob. catch on very fast. Good luck and keep us posted
agree with what everyone has said so far. Not too late.
The one thing you will have to do if figure out her schedule... meaning, some dogs poop twice after eating, some once. Some as soon as they get up, others not for some time. Once you and she get on the same page.... it should work out fine.
Thanks for giving her a good home.
Its Never too late, I helped housebreak a 13 yr old with continence issues...
ust start as if you were trainigng abrand new 8 week old puppy. out evey house, watch for potty signs, ots of praise when she goes whee you want her to, and when you cannot supervise 100% tether or crate, she has to EARN freeacess to the house by proving trustworthiness with the potty habbits.
it wont happen overnight, but as long as your persistent and CONSISTENT she will get it no issues.
You found her. I sure hope you are making an effort to locate the owner. You don't get to keep her just because you found her.
Um, if you learned how to read- sorry I had to write it like that due to your rude comments- You would have read that I put up signs and Craig's lists ads. THEN, I would have hoped that you read that I took her to the pound so that the owner would have a chance to adopt her. So now, your post makes nonsense, and is irrelevant.
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