[PocoPeyPey]

Hello! I have a 12 week old Chihuahua Havanese mix. The first couple of weeks we had her we were potty training her using pee pads. It was working pretty well, but we want to encourage her to potty outside instead. I moved the pee pads outside (we are in a 3 story apartment and I can’t take her potty downstairs until she’s done with all vaccinations). I’ve tried standing outside with her for over an hour, crate training (she’s not having accidents in the crate), etc. Nothing seems to be working. When I finally have to have 10 minutes to myself to cook or go to the bathroom I put her in a playpen in the kitchen and she ends up going on the pee pad in there. This morning she had an accident in the house at 6:40am. She has eaten and had lots of water since. I keep taking her outside to give her bathroom opportunities. It’s been 5 hours and she still hasn’t gone. I don’t feel like that’s normal for a small, 12 week old puppy. I’m a teacher, so I will have to go back to work eventually and I want to establish her potty spot now. PLEASE HELP! She loves treats and I plan to reward her big time when she finally goes outside, on our patio. She also seems to potty better if I take her for a walk in the outdoor hallway of my apartment, but usually ends up having an accident before I can get her back to the porch where we’d like her to potty.

 

[Peppersmommy81]

This was an issue my mom had with her chug. I had the opposite issue (she refused to go inside on a pad which sounds good but is accually problematic) with my dog. I did some research (a common theme with me) and found the issue is usually texture. Dogs like thier potty spot to feel a certain way. They also take smell cues well for peeing. We decided to try a grass pad to help them both. It's like astroturf on top and then sit on a drain thing then a solid tray. We both put puppy pads in there. She put in a 'lightly used' one to give him the idea. I put mine outside in her favorite potty spot to get the scent, mom's inside in place of the pad. Cooper (moms chug) accepted the switch ok. She then moved it right outside, the into the grass. She wound up getting a second (one inside one out) till he got the hang of things, then took the second one to her camper.