Training your Chihuahua
House training a puppy requires time, vigilance, patience and commitment. The more consistent you are the faster your puppy will learn. A puppy is considered house trained when it has not had an accident for two to three months.
Paper Training
A puppy under 6 months of age cannot be expected to control his bladder for long periods of time. When your puppy must be left alone for any amount of time and when you can not pay 100% attention to him, put him in his play pen which is set up with a sleeping space, a playing space, water and a potty area. If you clean up an accident in the house, take the dirty paper towels and put them in the potty area to help your puppy recognize the area as the place where he is supposed to potty.
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Establish a Routine
Your puppy will do best if you remember he will probably need to eliminate after waking up from a nap, playing and eating. Putting your puppy on a regular feeding schedule will make it more likely that he’ll eliminate at regular times. This makes house training easier for both of you.
Supervise
Don’t give your puppy an opportunity to soil in the house. Your Chihuahua puppy can’t tell he has to go potty until he has to go ‘right now’. If the paper is too far away he won’t be able to hold it long enough to get there so he should be watched closely for signs that he needs to eliminate like sniffing around or circling. When you see these signs, immediately take him to his bathroom spot. If he eliminates, praise him lavishly and reward him with a treat.
Oops!
Expect your puppy to have accidents in the house – it’s a normal part of house training. When you catch him in the act do something to interrupt him like make a noise or just pick him up. Immediately take him to his bathroom spot, praise him and give him a treat if he finishes there.
Never punish your puppy for eliminating in the house. If you don’t see it happening do nothing but clean it up. Rubbing your puppy’s nose in it and yelling will only make him afraid of you and to go potty in front of you. And of course you should NEVER hit your puppy! Your hands are instruments – use them to show love not to punish. Raising your voice slightly is usually enough to let the puppy know it did something that displeased you. Yorkies live to please their owners and it shouldn’t take long for your puppy to figure out that using the potty makes you VERY HAPPY!!!
The most important thing is to properly clean up the mistake because puppies will continue soiling areas that smell like urine or feces. It’s also extremely important that you use supervision and confinement to minimize the number of accidents. If you allow your puppy to eliminate frequently in the house, he’ll get confused about where he’s supposed to go which will prolong the house training process.
Proper Cleaning of Accidents
Carpeting and Upholstery: Using paper towels blot up as much of the liquid as possible – the more urine you can remove the easier it will be to neutralize the odor. Re-wet the area with cold water and blot again removing as much moisture as possible. The last step is to use a pet odor neutralizer following the instructions on the label.
Floors: Blot up the liquid with paper towels. Wipe the area with cold water then dry it. Use a pet odor neutralizer following the instructions on the label.
Bedding and other machine washable items: Add a box of baking soda or pet odor neutralizer (read the label for instructions) to your regular detergent to neutralize odors. Hang items to dry.
TIP: Heat will lock in stains and odor so do not use hot water to clean mistakes or the put washable items in the dryer.
Teach Your Yorkie Puppy to Walk on a Leash
There are many things to teach a new puppy but one of the first should be walking with a leash. Walking on a leash not only teaches a dog proper manners when out in public, but also helps establish your role as the leader which is essential when teaching a puppy the rules of the house. The added benefit of the walk is socialization; this is how your puppy will become familiar with the world beyond your home, other dogs and people so get your puppy used to wearing their harness and walking on a leash even before they are ready to go outdoors.
Puppy Walking Supplies
- Harness – light weight – keep the size of your puppy in mind when choosing.
- A non-retractable leash (no longer than 6′).
- Your puppy’s favorite treats to use as rewards.
At first you want to get your puppy used to putting the harness on and taking it off. Remember to give your dog lots of praise and treats. Gradually keep the harness on for longer time periods to just walk around the house wearing it. Once he/she is comfortable with the harness (some pups take only a day or two others take longer), add the leash and repeat. Let them walk around with it attached to the harness while indoors. The next step is for you to hold the end of the leash and ‘go for a walk’ around the house. Now you’re ready to explore the great outdoors!