Can small dogs ever be fully house trained? Answers at Dogster Answers.

Tue, Sep 18th 2012, 05:45 GMT

Koby is completely correct in his techniques! All 3 of my mini dachshunds are house trained, the smallest weighs about 7 lbs and the largest is about 10 lbs. I got all of them as rescues and they were between the ages of 6 months and 5 years, none were house trained when I got them but now they are so I know from experience that it is possible to train an adult small dog to be house trained. Potty pads are not a good idea if you want the dog to go outside...they reenforce going in the house which is the opposite of what you want so I am glad you took them away. Also, crating while you are out of the house is a good thing not only for house training but it ensures the dog will not get into anything which will injure her or get out if something happens. Good luck and be consistent with her and she will pick it up.

ANSWERED BY

Maggie
1 dog found this answer to be helpful.

Tue, Sep 18th 2012, 00:36 GMT

I agree with Koby's response. I believe it is important to understand how most dogs think. Unless there is illness or some serious problems, dogs will not generally go where they live. A crate provides them with a safe living space where they will not pee. Once you've followed Koby's suggestions expand your doggy's living space, perhaps the crate in a blocked off kitchen and feed her in the kitchen area, keep up with Koby's suggestions and continue to expand until she gets the idea that the entire home is her safe living area and she will ask to go out. Make certain she learns to totally eliminate herself, which means you need to spend time with her outside. One pee does not mean she's finished, you should be walking her awhile before returning to your home and going off to work.

ANSWERED BY

Maggie
1 dog found this answer to be helpful.

Mon, Sep 17th 2012, 20:57 GMT

It is possible. We potty trained my nieces's Chihuahua while they went on vacation for three weeks. They said couldn't be done. How many times do you take her out? Once trained, it should be 4-6 times a day. Do you have a crate? Put her in a crate and take her out every 1/2 hour until she goes. If she goes, then she just earned about an hour of freedom. If she doesn't go, then she goes back in the crate. Take her out in about another 1/2 hour. Repeat the process. You should also limit her access to the entire house. She needs to earn it. This takes a lot of patience, time and commitment. But if you stick with it, in most cases it works. After a while, she will give you a cue that she has to go out. It may be very subtle like a whine, standing near the door, or even just staring at you. Good Luck with her.

ANSWERED BY

Koby
1 dog found this answer to be helpful.

Mon, Sep 17th 2012, 15:54 GMT

It is indeed a bit harder to house train small breed. I want to ask a question, do you carry her in you arm sometimes when taking her to a designated spot to eliminate? If you do, then please stop doing that. Make her walk from the same door to the same designated place everyday. I know it will take sometime but she will learn it.

ANSWERED BY Member 1107927 3 dog found this answer to be helpful.