My chihuahua won't pee in the rain! - Chihuahua School by Chihuahua Power

If your chihuahua won’t pee in the rain, you’re not alone. It’s a common issue with chihuahuas!

Owners go to all sorts of lengths to get their chihuahua to pee outside when it’s raining and it can be frustrating when they stand in the rain for five minutes getting soaked, have a good think about it, and then scoot back inside.

Should you put a coat on your chihuahua if it’s raining?

Dogs have fur that is designed to cope with a spot of rain. They don’t understand that a coat is designed to keep off the rain. It’s just a human concept and this just adds another layer of resistance and drama to the process. Unless you live somewhere with extreme weather or you’re going on a longer walk, it’s OK to be naked. The dog, not you!

First, is your chihuahua peeing outside because he knows that’s the place to pee, or is one just a consequence of the other? Is your dog going outside to explore and investigate and then doing a pee because he’s out there? There’s a difference.

We open the door, our dogs run out because it’s exciting and while they are outside it’s a natural inclination to pee and mark. But that doesn’t mean they know this is the place to pee. It’s an easy trap to fall into.

One of the big mistakes that people make is letting the dog out into the garden and then rewarding them when they come back in. But, by the time the dog has finished their pee and come in, a thousand things will have gone through their mind. They won’t make any association between the reward and the toileting. In fact, you have just rewarded them for coming back in. You must be outside ready to catch the correct behaviour when it occurs.

Tips to help if your chihuahua won’t pee in the rain.

Take a step back and refresh your chihuahua’s toilet routine. You may need to make some adjustments, so we are sure our chihuahua knows that peeing outside is what we want them to do. Dogs do what has value for them, and we need to build value for peeing outside.

Take them out on a leash if necessary, and calmly walk them about until they do the deed. We are looking for a proper elimination not just a mark, reward to the mouth the moment they perform.

It’s important to do this calmly and not have an overexcited party, like we’re often told. This is because hyper arousal might confuse and frighten your dog or turn things into a game. Calmly feed the dog the moment they have finished. You can also put a verbal cue in here as well that’s unique to toileting.

Build this until it’s solid, and your chihuahua knows the cue means time to pee.

While you’re building the correct behaviour you still need to get your chihuahua to pee in the rain, a good trick is to take them somewhere else. Put their harness on them and take them out the front of the house. The change of environment will be exciting and peeing will be a natural consequence of being outside. Make sure you’re ready to reward.

Now your chihuahua knows that peeing outside is what’s required and there is value in it, you can back off a bit. Let them off the leash, but still be present when they toilet.

They won’t put their head out the door.

If your chihuahua puts their head out the door and then refuses to go out, play some games around the door. Not ‘in the situation’ when you’re trying to get your dog to go out and pee, but just for fun when there’s no pressure.

Throw some high value food out the door, keep it close to start with. Then, when your dog is out, throw some low value food back in the door. We are flipping value from inside to outside.

Play this for about 30 seconds a couple of times a day. We want your dog to be happy hopping in and out.

As your dog progresses, throw the food further out, then add in some different times of day and different weather. But only when the game is nice and solid, and your dog confident. Remember it’s a game, we are not putting the dog under any pressure and always give them an opportunity to leave the interaction.

The idea here is to build a positive connection with going out the door, that will override previous reluctance.

Some dogs don’t like the rain, and some don’t care, but they are perfectly able to nip out for a pee. Don’t start to molly coddle them trying to find complex solutions and creating drama and stress. Your chihuahua won’t understand and could interpret it as your anxiety.

You can’t toilet train your dog from inside the house. You must go out with them! If mobility is an issue, get help from a friend or family member.

Remember this will take some time, if your chihuahua still won’t pee in the rain, just go back a step and do some more work there.