Ahhh....the day has arrived and you are bringing a new puppy into your home. You are all prepared with the cute toys and the cute beds....but are you prepared for the down side of a new puppy? But of course, you knew when you brought your new puppy home there would inevitably be a few accidents. And to be on the safe side you got them those cute little doggie panties with lace all around. Four months later you are wondering if you made a terrible mistake after you learn you can't keep them in those little panties and they are soiling on everything in the house! In order for you to live comfortably and in harmony....SOMETHING has to be done!

Soiling the house is a common problem that must be corrected immediately, as bad habits are hard to break. Two things you MUST NOT do is stick their noses in it, or hit them. So what do you do?

I've been asked this asked a zillion times. My best advice is not allowing your pet to have free roaming in the house until they are completely trustworthy. If you watch them closely, you will notice they go in just about the same spot each time. It is then you put a piece of paper down on their *favorite* place and slowly move that paper to the door you want them to go out of to potty. This might take a few weeks, so be patient.

If they make a booboo in the house, even if it has been there for a few hours....pick up your chihuahua and the booboo and tell him "Bad dog" and show it to him. Then take them both outside and place the booboo where you want you chihuahua to go potty. Make sure your chihuahua sees the booboo and knows were you are expecting him to go. Tell him...."Here is were you go potty (or what ever word you what to use)". Wait and see if he goes. If he does go, with much happiness in your voice, let him know you are happy and that he is a GOOD DOG! Then give him a treat....something he likes to eat.

Here were we live it gets mighty cold in the winter with the snow and hot in the summer. It has been a blessing to us that our chihuahuas are both paper trained and doggie door trained.

Housebreaking for our puppies begins with their moms as they nestle in the donut bed setting next to paper. The first few weeks mom takes care of them. As the puppies get older they learn to tumble out of the donut and go on the paper. Very rarely will they mess in the donut after they are 4-5 weeks.

At about 7 weeks they start noticing mama racing out the doggie door and will stand there barking at her to come back in the house! In a few weeks a light turns on in their little heads and they learn to go out the doggie door too. I always leave a very small piece of paper for them to potty on in the event it is cold/hot and the doggie door to outside must be closed.
This has worked for us for years. We do not use the fancy pellets on the market today (we worry about them chocking on it)...just good ole recyclable newspaper.

Also you might think about keeping your puppy in the bathroom area for awhile. Make sure it is puppy safe and leave one piece of paper in the corner. Then slowly move the paper to the area that leads outside where you'd like your puppy to go. It takes time and patience to properly train them. Sometimes I feel it is me that is trained when to let them out, not them knowing where to go!

Feces Eating?

You've got to be kidding....not me.....no way! There cannot be anything more disgusting or embarrassing than having a dog who eats poop! While it has not been thoroughly researched why dogs eat their own or other animals’ feces, it is not uncommon. There are a few reasons why some dogs enjoy these gross "treats"?

• A dog that is fed an inexpensive, generic dog food has to eat more of it in order to satisfy his nutrient requirements. Much of this food passes through the system undigested, leaving a stool that looks and smells much like what was originally eaten.

• Dogs that are punished for having an accident in the house may eat their own stool as a way of hiding the evidence and avoiding the punishment.

• A dog that is locked in a kennel or restricted to a small backyard may eat his own feces as a way of relieving boredom.

• A kennel or yard where feces are allowed to pile up may cause a dog to clean up his living space by eating his stools. Keep a dog’s living area clean!

• A result of various medical problems. Primary among them are exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, pancreatitis, intestinal infections and malabsorptive syndromes. If you suspect that your dog may have one of these medical conditions, please call your veterinarian right away.

The way to eliminate this habit is to feed a complete and balanced diet, provide lots of exercise and playtime, keep the kennel or yard clean, avoid restricting him for long periods of time, and take him to your veterinarian for a health check-up. Your veterinarian may also be able to prescribe a chemical additive to his food which will make the stools taste terrible. There are products that can be applied directly to any animal’s stool which will discourage your dog from consuming it.