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We adopted a chihuahua from the pound almost two months ago. She's the sweetest, most affectionate little creature. The vet guessed she was anywhere from 2-3 years old. The problem is she is urinating everywhere, even in her crate at night. She's taken out to the bathroom before putting her in her crate for the night. We work from home, so she's taken outside to the bathroom every hour and shown constant affection. She knows the word "out" and why she's taken out.
We've also gotten a black light to check the floors to see if there's any dog markings from the previous owners. Nada.
She's also never had babies (the vet told us from her nipples).
I don't understand why she is doing this? Does anyone have any training tips? This is such a shame because she's perfect in every other way!
I'd take her back to the vet because it's certainly something if you're taking her out so much. They can do a urinalysis and other tests. Smart idea using the blacklight!
Does she happen to drink alot of water. Alot meaning more than 1 oz per pound of body weight? (roughly). I don't think it's training to be honest. It may be why she was turned in to the pound and nobody knows she has a medical problem.
Measure out how much water you are putting in her bowl then how much she drinks in a certain amount of time for your vet, a little helpful clue maybe.
You have to clean her with wipes when you change her or they get irritated. Also it's NO SOLUTION but canned food they urinate less because they drink much less but I don't believe in switching food and all that goes with it for a short term medical problem.
I would not pick up the water, though. That is really only masking the issue, annoying as it is . Drinking excessive water (in case she is) can be a clue to disease diagnosis. I''m NOT saying she has a disease, just that masking the drinking might not help and only make the vet's job harder. (and most of those diseases they usually are older anyway). I would just throw a towel in the crate and swap it out for now. It could be a urinary tract infection. Even a bacterial infection there. Example:
And 7 is VERY early,IMO. If she's on dry food it requires alot of water and you have to factor it in. Most people who pick up water do so at the last walk, 10 or 11 PM.
OH if you hold a paper towel under her you can see how much is coming out and if it's brownish or whatever. When you're walking her every hour. If a tiny bit is coming out it' s another clue.
Yes, your vet can help. Good luck! She needs help and I'm sure you'll find it.
Small dogs can be a little harder to house train anyway. You should make sure she doesn't have a medical problem, but it could simply be that she was never trained and is more comfortable going inside. We had a Yorkie that we got when she was very young and we never could get her completely trained. She would go outside now and then but didn't hesitate to go indoors if she felt like it, it was very frustrating.
I tend to think that it might be a urinary tract infection and would have her checked for that. Is she actually squatting or leaking?, a couple of mine leaked and once they were on the right meds, they were fine (they'd be sitting in their dog beds and would get up and there w/b a big wet spot, they had no control and didnt even realize it happened). I think they were older at the time though, prob. youngish seniors, it may not be that at all for your girl but it's just a suggestion but the UTI sounds like it might be that. Is she spayed?, I think the leaking sometimes happens in spayed females (v unspayed) but Im not sure, anyway just a thought.
Sounds like it could be medical since she is peeing the crate. Most older dogs won't do this if they are taken out regularly or she could have anxiety issues.
If she was in the shelter a long time, she may have lost her natural instinct to keep her crate clean. If you have a divider for the crate, make it smaller for now, or see if you can borrow a smaller one. Checking for a UTI is a good idea, but if her urine is clear, she may have forgotten (or never really learned) her housebreaking. Dogs in their natural state don't necessarily empty their bladders all the way. They "save some up" for marking, for one thing. One of my dogs, who's much bigger than a chihuahua took a couple of months to re housetrain after coming from the shelter. I took her out every two hours and she'd still have accidents if not carefully supervised. Checked her for a UTI, but she was fine. A chihuahua has a much smaller bladder, so she could feel the urge to go a little after an hour, until you "reprogram" her. Are you treating her when she goes outside? And hustling her out if she starts sniffing around, or starts to squat? BTW, my shelter dog has not had a single accident in the house for over two years now!
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They do sell teeny ones. 
