Any progress is good progress. Congratulations!!!! Is the bedtime crate in the same room as you at night where you would hear her when she needs out? Jax will quietly whimper in his crate when he needs to get out so if he wasn't in my room I wouldn't be able to hear him. If the crate is in another room maybe use a baby monitor so that you will hear her.
I would continue with the no towels in the crate until she is no longer messing in there. I know it's got to be hard but as long as it's warm where she is she should be fine. I have just today taken Jax out of his little tiny crate and set up the large crate next to my bed. I put a big pet bed in that covers the bottom of the crate and threw his sleeping bag and a blanket in there to keep him warm. We will see tonight if this works for him. He still gets up between 4-5am and needs to go outside. He is 4 1/2 months old. At that time I let him come back to bed with me until about 6:30. Not sure if he wakes up to pee or if it's more to go back to bed with me. :<) When working with the trainer and the assistance dogs we were told there is a 3 second rule to treat or praise a dog for the good behavior. After that they have moved on. Maybe when you find the mess on the pad you should take her there and put her on the pad let her sniff the poo and then reward. Not sure if this will just confuse her more though. You might set a treat on the pad when she isn't around and that would encourage her to go in there. After a couple of times finding a treat there she might go back looking for a treat more often and hopefully think that while she is there to use the pad. I have used that trick to get Jax used to his crate. (hiding a treat inside) Jax is such a chow hound that he will do just about anything if I have a treat in my hand so that has made it easier to get him to go potty outside on command. We still have an accident once in a while but it is usually my fault because I miss seeing him going to the door. I've never used pee pads and just trained them to go outside. I live in the NW so we don't get a lot of snow and even when we did have 16" my other Chi just followed the labs tracks and went under a tree where the snow wasn't very deep. When it's raining I do find that the accidents increase with Jax. I have an umbrella outside and I take him out under the cedar tree where it's protected until he does his business or he sometimes uses the covered patio. (my husband hates that) Keep up the good work! Kay ________________________________ From: skyforme1970 <skyforme1...@yahoo.com> To: Chihuahuas@yahoogroups.com Sent: Thursday, December 6, 2012 8:01 AM Subject: [Chihuahuas] Re: At my wits end.....UPDATE Hi! Ok, some encouraging news on little Stevie's progress... First, thanks very much to ALL of you who took time out of your day to help us. Stevie has been using her pottybox on her own. Last night she went #2 in there on her own will. We did not know until I went into the laundry room and saw it there in the pottybox. Same thing with the night before! YAY! She still has a very guilty look on her after doing it so this tells me she is still not sure it's ok. (can't blame her since she's been scolded for soiling in the house before). We all praised her lavishly for this, but she still looked unsure if she was in trouble or not. I've been diligent about taking her outside right before bedtime to try and empty her out as much as possible. Then, I've been locking her in her kennel bed with NO towels or anything. I hate doing this, but I am trying to encourage her to try and hold it thru the night with the thought of how there is nothing in there to absorb it. The last two nights she has gone pee while in her kennel bed and nothing to soak it up. I would put a blanket in her kennel and leave the door open so she is free to use her pottybox, but I think this might be sending a mixed message because by her body language I don't feel it is solidified in her mind the difference between "bed" and "where to go potty" yet. So, good progress - but am I doing the right thing? If so, how long should I keep putting her in bed with no towels? If I leave her kennel toweless, but with the door open, she will try and sleep in her pottybox on the pee pad (as she had done in the past when I was trying different things.) REALLY happy she is using the pottybox on her own (she's only used it one time with one of us standing there telling her "go potty" so I have not been able to give her treats as soon as she does it - but LOTS of praise afterwards once discovered.) She has not gone anywhere else in the house, to my knowledge, which is great. I am open to hearing anyone's advice. She SEEMS to be about half way there, but not quite, and I sure don't want to mess it up now as I am sure I've made plenty of mistakes with her already. Thanks again! Kelly --- In Chihuahuas@yahoogroups.com, "skyforme1970" <skyforme1970@...> wrote: > > Hi, > > I have a nearly 2 year old spayed female chihuahua mix. She is only about 5 > lbs and very sweet. She came toddling up our driveway one rainy afternoon > when she was only about 3 months old. No one claimed her so we took her in > knowing nothing about chihuahuas. From what I heard from the neighbors, she > was a litter mate escapee and the people who had her never let her or the > other pups in the house, so they all stayed outside in the backyard. > > No matter what I do, I cannot seem to house train her. We had to lock her in > her kennel at night so she would not tear the house up as we slept. As a > result, she had gotten used to peeing and sometimes pooping in her bed since > (I assume) she could not hold it all night. This is without fail every single > day. She will pee anywhere she sleeps (her round cloth bed, her kennel bed > and the kid's beanbags). She also has no issue with peeing on tile or rugs or > carpet RIGHT in front of us all while innocently looking us in the eye. It's > like she has NO concept whatsoever that this displeases us greatly even tho > she has been scolded for it more times than I can count. > > It does not matter if we take her outside for potty right before bed or > withhold food and water after 3 pm. She has no problem letting us know when > her water or food bowl has gone dry or to alert us for her other wants and > needs. Just the potty thing. I kept thinking she'd grow out of it, but she > has not at nearly 2 years old. (born in Feb 2011) > > As a result, since she is so tiny (and smart, I think) I got the bright idea > to try and litter box train her. I've tried using kitty litter, then a pee > pad, then even cutting iceplant from outside and putting it into the box for > her to pee on since that is what she usually does on it when we take her out > for a potty break. > > I call the litter box her "pottybox" thinking it was best to give it a name > she might identify it with. She has used it a grand total of twice in the > last 6 weeks of trying to train her. When she has an accident, I take the > soiled towels and put them in her pottybox so she knows/smells/sees what it > is there for. I also tell her "go potty" like I do when she is outside. > > Recently we moved her to the laundry room at night and use a baby gate so she > can still see out into the house. I now leave her kennel bed open so she has > free access to the pottybox, but she still prefers to sleep in her own waste. > > She has no issue with jumping into the potty box, and will do so just by us > telling her to, but she will just sit down and look at me like "what do you > want me to do?" > > She is ruining our house and I've never been closer to giving up after two > years of this constant messing with no end in sight. I cannot keep her > outside as we live in rural area and she would not last an hour out there so > a house dog she must be. > > I am not a quitter, especially when it comes to animals, but this (and her > constant "glee peeing" even when seeing the SAME people over and over but > that is another story) is turning in to a real deal breaker. I have never had > such a high maintenance, and frankly such a PITA dog in my life, but we love > her very much. > > I'm sure this has come up a million times, but if anyone has some suggestions > that might help, I'd appreciate it. We are very low on money so buying yet > more "training aids" is not possible right now. Plus, I feel that I have > spent enough on all this and she has what she needs, except the message I am > trying to get across to her. Breaks my heart to think of giving her up, but > if we can't resolve this, I will have to re-home her to someone who > understands the breed better than I do. Thanks for any help you can give us > for this sweet little girl. >
