Why does my chihuahua come back in and pee?

March 11, 2022May 9, 2022
by Louise Kirby

It is a standing, but unfunny joke, that chihuahuas will go out and then come in and pee in the house. It is something that I get messages about a lot. It can be a relationship breaker for some chihuahua owners.

In the week I had a message from Jon who was clearly frustrated by his chihuahua’s lack of toilet training. The issue seemed to be exactly this, his chihuahua would go out and then come in and pee in the house. He was clearly at the end of his patience and considering neutering his dog to try and solve it.

So, why does my chihuahua come back in and pee?

First, we need to understand the difference between peeing and marking. Peeing is a full on empty of the bladder and marking are the little squirts that mainly, but not only, male dogs do up furniture and items left on the floor. Marking is often an excitement behaviour and understanding your dog’s emotional bucket will certainly help you manage this better. Follow the links to read more about these issues.

Once you have established that your chihuahua is really coming back in to empty their bladder you need to consider the next issue. Communication.

Communication.

So, we know as humans that when the door is open that this is an opportunity to go out and pee. It makes perfect sense to us. But the fact that your chihuahua will come back in and pee in the house is telling us that somewhere we haven’t communicated this to our dogs.

Humans are very good at putting their own narrative on a dog’s behaviour. Especially if the behaviour they are presenting is challenging. Owners really start to believe they are doing it on purpose, but I can promise, your chihuahua does not do things to spite you.

Are you confusing your chihuahua?

So, the door is open, your chihuahua hops outside has a sniff about then comes back in the house and does the deed on the rug. What’s happening?

What do you do when your chihuahua pees in the house? Do you make loud noises of consternation?

“Oh, bad puppy, do your wee in the garden!”

Then think about what you did when they peed outside when you were training them? Conventional training would have advised a high excitement congratulations party and treat your chi.

“Oh, you’re a good pup, good dog, super dog!”

But the confusion may happen because the noise could be startling and similar. You are making the same noise to, and they may be worried they are doing the wrong thing.

What to do when your chihuahua comes back in and pees

So, your first action point is to go out with your chihuahua and stay with them so you can quietly mark the correct behaviour. No party or whooping, just a quiet cue of your choice and mark instantly with high value food. (Food from their daily food allowance is always best.) It also gives you the opportunity to check they have gone to the toilet.

If they play a lot in the garden, then try and build value in peeing in one place. If they associate the garden with lots of high excitement, they may lose focus once they are out there.

Have you really spent the time in toilet training your chihuahua? It might be time to go back to toilet training 101 and rebuild the connexion.

Clean up any areas where they are peeing. Get rid of the smell so they don’t think this is a toilet area.

Is it raining?

Some chihuahuas don’t care about the rain and some hate it. But what confuses owners is why they stand there for 5 minutes getting wet while they consider their options then turn around and come in. We know they could have just done a quick pee, and all done.

I can only theorize; they are checking scents and they don’t feel safe. Doing a pee or poop does leave them in a vulnerable situation. Small breed dogs are programmed to worry about threats from above. You will just need to go out with your dog, take an umbrella or have a garden umbrella up. Another good idea is to take your chi to a different location. I take Minnie out the front of the house and for some reason she is happier to pee there when its raining.

If you have dealt with this issue, please leave a comment and tell us how you did it.

anal glands

Everything you need to know about dog poo

October 7, 2018January 11, 2021
by Louise Kirby

Let’s talk about dog poo

If you have a dog or two you spend a lot of time talking about dog poo. If you have chihuahuas you spend a lot of time picking up poo. Maybe you even have to hire a dog poop pickup service to deal with the demand every day.

How your dog’s poo looks is a good barometer of their health. So, taking time out to have a look at dog poo may sound disgusting, but it’s an important part of keeping your chihuahua healthy and picking up any niggling health issues.

Generally, your dog will poo just after eating a meal, the stool should be firm and chocolate brown in colour. It is going to be a bit smelly but not so overpowering that it makes you gag.

This nice poo has taken some achieving. Mika has had long term food intolerance that have caused soft stools and anal gland issues.

All dogs get bouts of diarrhoea, often because they have eaten something that has upset their gut. The odd bout is to be expected and most often won’t need vet intervention. Read how to deal with diarrhoea.

How much your chihuahua poos is going to be related directly to how much food they have digested and how much has passed through as waste. People who feed raw are very proud of how small their dog poos are. This is because there is very little waste from raw food. While feeding raw is considered by many to be a superior food, there can be a downside to super tiny poop.

Anal Glands

Anal glands are two small sacs of fluid that sit inside your dog’s anus, when he defecates, the stool should express the sacs and release the fluid. This gives your dog’s poo it’s signature scent. However, if the poo is too small or too soft to do the job then issues with anal glands can develop. Read: Why anal glands are a pain in the arse.

Worms

Doing a visual check on your dog’s poo is also a good way to see if your dog has picked up worms. If you can see any tiny white dots or anything wiggling around, then you probably need to worm your dog. However, don’t rely on this visual to be an indicator of worms. Run regular faecal tests.

Sloppy

Permanently soft poo is an indicator that something is wrong in the gut. Your chihuahua may have a food intolerance or allergy to something he is eating. Resolving this is important as food intolerance can lead to leaky gut syndrome, cause other itchy skin conditions, problems with ears and add to tear staining. But, one of the main issues with soft stools, is again anal glands. Soft dog poo will not express the sacs which can then fill up and get infected.

Sloppy poo could also be a sign that you are overfeeding your dog, re-look at the amount you are feeding and start weighing it out rather than just chucking it in the bowl.

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Dry

Dog poo should not be over hard and difficult to pass. Constipation is an indicator that your dog is eating too much insoluble fibre and you need to adjust his diet. Don’t give your chihuahua large lumps of raw veggies to chew on. People often do because they want to help clean their chihuahuas teeth. But dogs can’t digest raw veggies. To feed raw veggies to your dog, you must start the digestive process and pulverise or grate them to break down the cellulose. He may also have a bowel obstruction, so if constipation goes on for more than a couple of days then speak to your vet.

Yellow

Yellow poo can mean the food has passed too quickly through the gut to pick up any bile. (It’s the bile that makes it go brown). It can also be an indicator of other health problems such as pancreatitis or liver disease.

Change your dog’s diet to something better quality and if his poo does not turn brown then speak to the vet.

Orange or Grey poo

Can be a sign of liver or gall bladder issues, speak to your vet.

Black tarry sticky poo

Black sticky poo can be the sign that blood is present. This could be from bouts of colitis or an upper GI bleed. If your dog is passing these kinds of poos, then speak to your vet.

Mucus

You can expect to see some mucus on a stool from time to time, but if this is a regular occurrence or the mucus is red this could mean your chihuahuas gut is inflamed and severely irritated. Put your dog onto a bland diet of chicken or turkey and pumpkin and if it does not settle then speak to your vet. If your chihuahua has had a nasty bout of diarrhoea, then try making a healing bone broth.

Your dog’s poo will tell you pretty much everything you need to know about your chihuahua’s health. It’s not glamorous but it is important to understand what you are looking at before you flush it down the loo.

Health

Know your dog worms and find out how to…

June 6, 2017July 8, 2019
by Louise Kirby

Parasite top trumps: Know your dog worms

This is the yukkist game of Top Trumps you will every play! Dog worms are unpleasant and uncomfortable for your dog and in some cases can make your chihuahua really ill or even be fatal. Here we take a look at the most common dog worms.

Being able to spot the symptoms of infection will help you keep your chihuahua healthy. A sign your dog may have worms can be when your chihuahua drags his bottom on the floor. You can keep on top of worm infection by sending off samples of your dog’s poop to a lab for a worm count. they can check for all the worms your chihuahua is likely to pick up, including lung worm.

The other option for making sure your dog is free of worms is to administer a monthly worming tablet. You can buy them from the vet. But not every dog owner is comfortable with medicating their dogs in this way and prefer to do a test and medicate if it’s needed.

Roundworms
(Toxocara canis & Toxascaris leonine)

Infected by eating the worm eggs from the environment.

Signs of infection: Visible in your dog’s poo or vomit and will look like thin white strands. It can be passed to puppies from an infected mum.

Power: To cause diarrhoea, lethargy and intestinal blockage. In server cases worms can migrate to other organs.

Tapeworms
(Dipylidium caninum)

Picked up fleas or by eating other infected hosts.

Signs of infection: White grains that look like rice that can be seen moving around your dog’s anus or in his poo.

Power: Can cause intestinal blockage.

Hookworms
(Ancylostoma caninum)

Nasty little gits that bury themselves in your dog’s intestinal wall and suck blood. Signs of infection are diarrhoea and vomiting, weakness and pale gums.

Power: Can be very dangerous for young puppies and can be life threatening. If you are buying a puppy make sure the breeder has wormed it. Puppies bred on puppy farms often are not wormed and get sick very quickly.

Whipworms
(Trichuris Vulpis)

Picked up by eating eggs from the environment. Adults live in the wall of the large intestine. Less common in the UK.

Signs of Infection. Not so easy to see unless your dog passes a clump in his poo.

Power: Causes inflammation and bleeding of the large intestine..

Lungworm
(Angiostrongylus vasorum)

Getting more common in the UK. Picked up by eating infected slugs and snails. The larvae live in the lungs and the adults live in the heart and blood vessels.

Signs of Infection. Can be confused with other illnesses. Coughing and bringing up blood, sickness & diarrhoea, stomach & back pain.

Power: A severe infection can be fatal especially in young dogs. Know where lung worm is in your area.

Heartworm
(Dirofilaria immitis)

Spread by insects such as mosquitoes. Not so common in the UK yet. Adults live in the heart.

Signs of Infection: Weight loss, difficulty breathing, bulging chest, inactivity and weakness.

Power: Can cause heart failure.

If infected your our dog will need antibiotics, steroids and a series of injections from the vet.

There are also some natural alternatives to chemicals to support your dog against common worms. We will talk about this in the post; Ten Superfoods to Protect Against Worms

Understanding dog worms is important and not a reflection on how you look after your dog. They can pick up dog worms from eating stuff while they are out on a walk. Just make sure you keep your eye out and test your dog regularly.

Books by Chihuahua Power

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