Supplies

Before you bring your puppy home, you should have the following:  An exercise pen or crate to confine your puppy, newspapers, potty pads or a litterbox, a collar and leash, food and water bowls, premium food, plenty of safe items to chew on and toys to play with, bedding, Nutri-cal, a good book on chihuahua care and training, the contact information of a good vet and a puppy proofed home (no exposed electrical cords, cleaning supplies, plants, etc.)

Housetraining 

Small puppies eliminate frequently and with little or no warning.  They are like babies and can’t hold it! Constant supervision is key. Never let a puppy have free run of your home if you are not supervising every move, every minute.

The more accidents your puppy makes when you are not watching, the more ingrained this bad habit becomes, and the harder it will be to housetrain your puppy.  Prevention, supervision, and rewarding the desired behavior are the way to train your puppy.

A puppy will need to eliminate after each meal, after play periods, and after waking from a nap. Small puppies may need to urinate as often as every 15 minutes!  Sniffing the ground and circling can be signs that it is time to take your puppy outside, or to his litterbox, newspaper or potty pad- whichever method you have decided on. If you catch the puppy starting to squat, bring him to the correct place, and reward and praise after he has eliminated in the correct spot!  Never punish a puppy for an accident you find after the fact- he will not remember doing it, and will not understand why you are angry. Besides, the accident will be your fault for not having supervised him well enough.

When you cannot watch your puppy, you can keep him in an exercise pen with a bed and food at one end and a potty pad, newspaper or litterbox at the other end.  The puppy will naturally not want to soil his sleeping/ eating area and will walk away towards the appropriate spot to eliminate.  It may to helpful to place a small piece of soiled newspaper or potty pad, or a handful of soiled litter in the spot where you want your puppy to eliminate.  Puppies naturally want to eliminate where they can smell urine.

Often, puppies will cry and whine when first introduced to their pen (or crate).  Going back to comfort the whining puppy, or lifting him out every time he cries is rewarding bad behavior- this tells the puppy that “when I cry, mommy or daddy rescues me”.  If you would like a puppy that is quiet and well behaved in his crate or pen, this behavior must be ignored.  From day one, praise and attention should be given when the puppy is calm and quiet- reward the good behavior and ignore the bad!