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My adult dog pees inside. How do I house train them to go outside?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Chihuahua | Female

Recently got a chiwawa that is 2 years old and was trained to go to the bathroom inside the house. How can I prevent this or retrain the dog?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on August 2nd, 2018

Great question! I can give you the method I recommend for potty training puppies, which should also work with Jojo. Start by keeping her on a regular feeding schedule, and taking away her food between meals. Take her out to potty first thing every morning, and once every hour to couple of hours in the beginning. Always make sure she goes out after meals, first thing when she wakes up from a nap, last thing before bedtime at night, and right before you leave the house. Take her to the same spot each time to go potty. Her scent there will encourage her to go. Stay with her outside each time she goes to potty, at least until she is fully house trained. When she goes outside, praise her and give her a treat. You might want to consider crate training as part of her house training. It allows you to keep an eye on her for signs that she has to go potty, and will teach her to hold it until you put her outdoors. The crate needs to be big enough for her to stand up, turn around, and lie down, but it should not be big enough for her to go potty in. I hope this helps!

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