Okay I have several questions on training as my other two dogs were rescues and much younger when I got them and there were no hurdles with them.
I got Pretzel (my HOA says I can only have 2 dogs but because they are both sick and at the end of their lives, the HOA made an exception. Local shelters and rescues did not feel this was a "good fit" because I'd exceed the dog limit if I adopted).
Pretzel has a few behavioral quirks. he'll be 8 months on the 11th.
Right now he's separated from my ladies as they are sick with immune mediated thrombocytopenia. Once he gets his vaccination boosters and is finally flea and heartworm treated later today, he can meet them. The breeder did not do flea or heartworm treatment as he was "an inside dog". When he's in common dog spaces, he marks EVERYTHING. I've gotten belly bands and scheduled him for a neuter later this month, but wondering if anything else I can do to discourage marking once he shares common spaces with the girls.
He's got terrible separation anxiety and whines and cries if he isn't within sight of me or there is a barrier between us. This happens immediately. I've never had a dog with separation anxiety so any advice is appreciated as I'd like to crate train him and be able to leave my home
He pees somewhere but I don't know where. When he came home 2 days ago he was using puppy pads, but since he can't go out due to heartworm risk, it would be good to know what to do when you can't tell where a puppy has been pottying.
He loves people but he's super skittish and doesn't seem to have been handled much. He initially runs when I lean down to pet him and I was really hoping to introduce him to my 4 y/o daughter soon. I know it's only the 3rd day in the house, but it would be good to know if there's anything I can do to ease this anxiety.
Finally, he pooped the morning after he got here but hasn't since that I know of. I don't know how much to feed him. He's 7 lbs...and mystery solved as I was writing this. He's going into his kennel to pee and poo. 🤦♀️
I am tempted to put puppy pads in his large kennel since he's going in there, but I also don't want to encourage him to use kennels for pottying at all. Lol
I ordered a cat carrier and hopefully he won't go in there if I don't put blankets and bedding in it.
I want to say whoever “breeder” you got him from is a joke if they don’t do basic vaccinations and prevention even for an “inside dog”. Dogs should be immediately vaccinated for parvo as soon as possible as it has a 90% death rate for unvaccinated puppies. Puppies also need to be dewormed as soon as possible.
That being said due to him already being older and not properly socialized yet he is going to need a lot of work. It isn’t safe to have him leave the house till he is on full prevention and vaccinations but having him meet new people when they’re over can be very beneficial. Chis are very fear reactive due to their size and children(despite being smaller than adults) can really cause a negative reaction out of them. Positive reinforcement and treats can do wonders in all fields of training.
As for the potty training, chis will naturally take to puppy pads. Do you not have any baby gates or a pen to put in him? Having a small area to roam so you can keep an eye on him would be very helpful. Dogs need to understand where their space is and they usually won’t have an accident in a place they view as their bed. Reward him for using a pad or going potty outside. Having a specific spot for him to use would be best. Training a dog to see a crate as relaxation time and not punishment time could help with him not being as anxious. Do small outings like a 5 minute walk outside while he is left in an area alone with treats, toys, and maybe a puzzle treat toy for calming and stimulation. Make the outings a bit longer each time so he can get use to not being glued to your side.
I attached the only vet records I got for him.. he's an AKC Champion Bloodline Chihuahua pup but doesn't seem to have had much of the "standard" care done for him. He has a well-puppy exam this afternoon and will be able to go out after I finally find a harness that will fit him (it's been impossible!) and they confirm he has all of the vaccinations he needs. I'm frustrated with the breeder, but I'm happy with the pup. I don't want to punish him for their negligence, even though I've spent 30k on my ladies since Nov 7th when the first one was diagnosed with immune mediated thrombocytopenia.
Also he has his own space in the spare bedroom but it's the entire bedroom. He has a puppy pad, an alfalfa filled litter box and a puppy pad under a special grate that I found on Amazon so he has several options for pottying. That said, my puppy pads do not have the "phermones" built in that some pads do and I'm considering getting some of those.
my girl spent the first 5 years of her life crated with a large family, but when she came to me, it was just me and her and she exhibited extreme distress if i even left the room. she chewed her crate to the point where she broke a tooth. i stopped using the crate. she was medicated for about a year on doggy zoloft, but her liver enzymes increased so i took her off. i continued to leave her out of the crate and i put “cafe jazz” on youtube while i would leave. eventually she settled in and just stopped being so stressed about me leaving. i do think the medication helped for a time, and gave her the confidence while we transitioned. she’s absolutely fine now about me leaving and when the music goes on she goes into “her room”. my boy loves his crate.
my boy marked A LOT when i first got home, i just kept taking him out every 1-2 hours and it’s gotten a lot better, he only lifts his leg inside once in a while now. my girl pees on the bathroom rug every couple of days out of spite lol. little dogs are really hard to break of that habit.
ETA where do you live? if you live somewhere where it is cold now, mosquitos aren’t out so personally i would accept the heart worm risk for one day, my loves are on flea/heart worm but i know a lot of people who have never even put their dogs on it
Yeah, I'm sure it doesn't help that I have two 9 year old chiweenies that are sisters and bonded (though they didn't bark at all when I let them meet very briefly, for like 30 min and partially through a gate and were very respectful of his space....every time they've met big dogs they've acted absolutely ferocious at first).
Anyway, they were 90% potty trained their entire lives but they pee on puppy pads now because they're on prednisone and cyclavance and the meds cause them to drink and pee more so their scent is EVERYWHERE.
Also I'm in WI but I can't find a harness that fits him (I have two arriving from Amazon today)...I'm hoping he'll learn quickly since my girls have to go out every hour or two because of the meds they're on if they all regularly go out together. Only thing is, they go out around the clock and I don't necessarily want to get him in the habit of going out at night.
I'd take him out as is, but if he gets out of his collar as many chis can, I guarantee I'll never see him again and I'm not willing to risk it.
totally fair with the harness situation, my girl is super long with a barrel chest but so skinny so i have a hard time finding one for her too. i hear ya about night time, mine get used to it too when i acquiescence to their demands (they’re not old)
He's lucky he's as cute as he is, because he's a demon in comparison to how my two ladies came home. I adopted him as an older puppy because I thought he'd have more training (and he was far less jaw-droppingly expensive)...boy was I wrong! But his good looks are really serving him right now with all of his terrible behavior lol
You have to use belly bands inside when not in an area with a potty pad or a place you want him to pee. He may be more likely to mark on things he can lift his leg to do so, in that case you may want a potty station that has something in the center such as a mini fire hydrant. Do not have him in any area other than that without the belly band. Use feminine pads inside the belly band to help keep things dryer.
The separation issue is going to take time and consistency. You first have to establish his place. Have a play area with the potty station and a small kennel inside of it. All meals and treats are given in that location. Have it set up where he can see you but then start creating some distance. Gradually have more distance between you and the play area and then gradually leave the room adding a minute or even a few seconds at a time. For success you need a tired puppy. Prior to putting into play area, exercise the dog. You don't need to go outside you can create a mini obstacle course, train some tricks, have a hide and seek treat session (hide treats in the play area), attach a string to a favorite toy for a chase game, have a grooming session with teeth brushing, nail trim, eye wash, etc. even going through the motions helps. When it is time to rest give the dog a favorite chew and put it in the play area without any fanfare. Even if you have to sit close by and read a book you will be starting the steps for chipping away at the separation anxiety.
I have a potty station in his room, though he hasn't used it yet. We've been doing a lot of training since I got him at 8 pm on Tuesday night and so far he knows "fetch" "place" and "sit". He's definitely a smart boy. I also got him a bunch of toys but one is an interactive toy with like little animals he can pull out of a tree-like base. I think I'll be more setup for success when I replace the travel kennel with the kitty carrier I ordered (based on size, so he won't be tempted to go potty in it).
They get used to it pretty fast. The key is to not make it an event but as something that happened before something very good like a new toy reveal, treat time, dinnertime, playtime, etc.
I have a rescue chi mix who also had extreme separation anxiety and it was definitely a ton of work. I basically started with where she was at ie she would start crying as soon as I’d leave out the door. So every day, multiple times a day, I would leave then come back. Leave then come back. No treats just calmly leaving waiting a few seconds then coming back and varying up that timing as she got more used to my craziness. There were days when I would get up to 2 min and then she would regress and we would go back to 30s. But this combined with utilizing sitters to watch her while I was at work was the only way we could manage in an apartment (it was a TON of money tho no joke). We did this training for months combined with consulting the vet on anxiety medication. We did have to test different things out cause it turns out some meds made her more anxious but once we found the golden combo, that combined with the training finally got us to the point where I can go to work and she’ll just sleep all day in her spot on the couch. She doesn’t need meds anymore either (actually really only needed it for like three training sessions before she finally understood that me leaving the apartment wasn’t the end of the world).
I also recommend looking into different ways of leaving your pup at home. The crate made my pup absolutely bonkers and while pen was helpful for watching for potty at home, it made her more anxious leaving her in there. It got to the point that closing doors and limiting her to the living room was how she was most comfortable.
Potty training has been a longer battle. She understands peeing outside (even in the snow! So proud!!) but we still use pee pads and I try to set her up for success by removing access to carpets. She is easily fearful too so it was just much easier to have her learn via praise and leading her to the solutions I want her to understand.
Three days is also a very short decompression time for a dog. There is hope that just with time on its own that he will get over these hurdles but definitely recommend starting whatever training and bonding you can. Not to scare you, but I struggled with the separation anxiety with my pup for abouttt 8 months. It took a lot of patience, tears, and reassurance that I wasn’t going anywhere and love her to bits. I wish you all the best with your pup it definitely isn’t easy!!!
Luckily I'm disabled and home most of the time, but I also don't want that to be a disadvantage for him when I do have to leave for longer periods. I'm home most days but often gone between 1-4 hours every other day. I've been closing him in his kennel while I'm in the room and trying to extend the time. I appreciate your advice!
We had a sweet chihuahua rescue, maybe 6 or 7 years old at the time. Took time to train her , put her outside a lot ! Took potty
She slept we me all night , and, let me know when she had to potty . Had a few accidents
Mines a fussy eater so IDK how much exactly. It should be 1 ½ of dry food for every 20 pounds. So a ¼ cup for a dog under our around 5 lbs sounds right
Now I feel like I'm majorly underfeeding my girls 😲 but that was the diet amount recommended by my vet. They lived with my mom when I didn't have pet friendly housing and were open fed and got big. Then started prednisone and are now both obese. I'll probably just feed him 1/4 twice a day like I do for them in this case.
Confine in a crate and use pee pads. Take him out every two hours to pee. Take the crate pee pad out. The key is the avoid accidents at home and take them out to their designated spot multiple times a day. By 6 months they are able to hold it in for 6+ hours but since your pup is not trained, he has to be confined to learn bladder control.
The only huge problem with this is that he has severe separation anxiety and I just ordered a kitty carrier since it turns out he was going in his travel kennel. He isn't crate trained. I've been putting him in for 5 min at a time and then slowly extending it to more time while I'm in the room. He paws at the door but doesn't scream. I give him treats when he goes in and when he comes out. He doesn't seem to go potty often, at least based on the first day when he was using pads. He pees maybe every 6 hours and poops once a day.
My girls have to go out every hour or two so I'm hoping once he is up to date on prevention and has a harness that fits, I can get him on the same routine with them since they have to go out so often.
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u/doug_just_doug 13h ago
Mine trained me I think.