The characters:
Daddy is 4 years old. His lady is one year old. Two offsprings, males seven months old.
The problem:
The owner, also my landlord, share a common patio area. Despite having access to 1/4 acre of garden, dirt, trees, the dogs choose to excrete in the patio. The smell makes it impossible to enjoy the patio. The landlord doesn’t make use of the patio. Hence probably doesn’t see it as an issue.
I would like to train the dogs to use the dirt area. Small heads= small brains. Can they be trained? How would go about it?
Yes, they can be trained. My mother in law used to breed chihuahuas and they were calm, well behaved, and totally housebroken.
The problem is that they are not your dogs. Would the landlord be OK with you training them?
Second problem - you need to be around a lot, basically there when they piss/defecate, to train effectively.
Potential additional problem - the landlord might prefer the dogs to remain on the porch due to local predators. Coyotes, feral dogs, and the larger raptors will all be happy to eat small dogs. The landlord might prefer a befouled porch to having his pets eaten. Or maybe the dogs prefer the porch because of predator threats.
A possible choice is to train the dogs to piss/defecate on a pad for that purpose - you can purchase them in pet departments in the store. The chief advantage is that it makes clean up a heck of a lot easier. You train the dogs to go on the pad, then after they use it you roll it up, trash it, and deploy a clean pad. They dogs can stay on the porch, but the porch is a much better environment for all.
Some years ago I got a puppy in the middle of winter. (Not a chihuaha, that’s not important.) Inevitably came the night when he needed to go out at 2am and it was like 4 degrees. So okay, just this once, puppy, you can pee on the patio. Just this once!
What followed was three months of me training him not to pee on the patio. He may have gotten the idea sooner, but I kept it up for that long. This entailed always going out with him on a leash, encouraging him to do his thing, and treating him when he did it in the right place. No treat for wrong place but also no punishment.
Chihuahuas are not dumb, but they are often spoiled. IMO they are not trained because their owners think, because they are so small, that it doesn’t matter. They can be dragged around, they can be picked up and moved. The problem I see with this is that it does take a certain amount of commitment to train dogs, and they are not your dogs.
Are you supposed to have enjoyment of your patio for what you pay in rent? If so, you might suggest that your landlord clean it up so it’s usable.
Okay, whoops, it just occurred to me that some dog owners are about as receptive to the idea that their dogs are poorly trained as parents are to the idea that their children are poorly trained, so…
One of the things you do when you raise guide dog puppies is to train them to do their business on command. This is done, starting from a young age, by taking them on leash to where they should go and giving them the “do your business” command. A lot of it is reinforcement after they go, so they associate the command with the activity - and the location.
We went on a ferry excursion with the raisers club, and it was pretty fun to see a dozen dogs all relieving at the same time, before getting on the boat.
My concern for you is that it might be too late already. Does the dog stay outside, or is it an inside dog except when relieving? If the latter it might be really tough. Much easier when you can take the dog out when you want to.
Yes, they can be trained (ours is). I agree with the idea of a designated area (even a dirt box like a cat might use, if there’s some reason they can’t use the yard).
Harmonia Moon are you looking for suggestions on how to house break a dog? Things like, schedule, when to give them a treat, when they need to go out, all of that stuff?
This, basically. Though I have a suspicion that chihuahuas are indeed pretty dumb - not too stupid to train with effort, but I could see it being a lengthy process taking a fair bit of dedication.
I say this only because we had two Cavalier King Charles spaniels, a breed related to chihuahuas (you can really see it by looking into their eyes). Anyway, those dogs were very dumb, at least compared to the poodles and terriers I grew up with. They did get housetrained, and I eventually even taught them a few tricks, but it took A LOT of work.
My chihuahua’s brain is probably the size of a walnut but he is far from dumb. He is totally housetrained and is spoiled terribly. We resent the insinuation that they are not smart or trainable.
:dubious: If the landlord was the one who wanted a clean porch and a tenant was the one with a tiny dog he’d prefer not to be falcon chow – the more common situation – the dog-owner’s preference wouldn’t be worth tuppence.
Barbara Woodhouse, the famous dog trainer, could train dogs with no problem. She often could not train the owners or train the owners to train their dogs. She had a TV program and it was hilarious to watch her tell a human (for example) how to hold a leash, and they simply could not follow the directions. However, the dogs followed all instructions perfectly by the second time.
I believe I can train these pea brain mutts. But I am a little concerned about class size. There are four of them.
I am sure the landlord wouldn’t mind. Folks here don’t train dogs. They either live on a two meter chain, or are simply house pets. When I demonstrate how my dog understands three languages, people are amazed.
But, I am not sure if I want to donate the time to train them. I have spoken to the landlord. He has a high pressure sprayer. I asked him if I could borrow it. Might be easier to just clean up after them.
I realize I’m late to the party, but I came in to second this suggestion. We have Chihuahuas and that is the optimal solution. Once they become accustomed to the pad(s) they associate it with their bathroom habits. Start by putting the pad where they “go”, then slowly move it to the location you prefer.
If you’ll forgive a few more words on the subject; My daughter lives in an apartment and has a dog that (we thought) could not be housebroken. She hired an actual dog trainer to help as a last resort, and learned some interesting tips. She (trainer) said the first step is to stop any negative associations with pooping, inside or outside, so the dog isn’t stressed about it. She had daughter gleefully and happily put the dog in another room for any cleanup, because dogs can detect even minor stress from their humans. The second step was to use a really really long leash for outside potty trips, so doggy was “alone”, and more likely to poop when outside. The trainer said human reactions to accidents in the house really slow the housebreaking process.
I was skeptical of the “kum-by-yah” method but I’ve had to eat my words. The dog is almost perfect in its habits now, and I didn’t think it possible.
