# Adults still not potty trained?



## NiceGirlsFakeIt (Jan 17, 2011)

I'm at a loss. I have two adult chis (3 and 4 years old) who are not potty trained yet. I got them both when they were about 6 months old - neither of them were potty trained. I feel like I have tried everything. I let them outside every couple of hours and they still urinate in the house. I've tried putting the pee pee pads down and they won't use them. My male is not neutered and I wonder if maybe that is part of the problem, but I have read once they get past a certain age, it doesn't matter - You have to nip it in the budd before it becomes a habit. I have resorted to keeping them in the kitchen because of the easier clean up, but I really miss them being at my feet all day. 

Any suggestions? I've tried not giving up, but I'm really feeling discouraged after three years of trying.


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## michele (Jan 12, 2009)

I'm trainig dottie 12 weeks at the moment,every time she goes on the pad i give her a treat and make a huge fuss of her,get him neutered he's marking his territory.Are they male and female?????


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## Island Protector (Dec 31, 2010)

Do they only pee indoors, not poop? Is there anyway you can tell when they need to pee so that you could either bring them outside to pee or have them on a leash on their pee pad and hold them there until they go? I know with puppies, to train them you keep them on you when you know they will be needing to go soon (have the leash around your wrist while you're doing things). Have you tried putting pee on the pee pads so they get the idea to use them?


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## Tink (Oct 14, 2009)

Every single time they pee in the house, or anywhere you don't want them to go, that reinforces the idea that it's OK to go there. It does no good to discipline them after the fact, they don't have a long enough attention span and don't know why you're mad. I'm going through something similar with Jazz. She is REALLY good about going potty on her pad when I take her to it. But she will randomly pee in the hallway whenever she damn well pleases and it's VERY frustrating. But it's my fault. I've been lazier than I should have been. She should NEVER have any ANY OPPORTUNITY to pee anywhere except where I want her to go, and that is completely under my control. I just haven't been consistent enough. 

I know of people who have successfully potty trained adult dogs. It's harder, because instead of just learning what you want freshly, they have to UN-learn their prior behavior and patterns while also learning the new. It will be a bit confusing for them for a while, and things may get worse before they get better.

If you are serious about wanting to train them, you'll need a belly band for the unneutered male, at least initially, because ANY pee scent on surfaces will influence your other one. And then you'll need to approach their training as you would a brand new puppy. Consistency, frequency, and dedication being the key points.


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## Kristina (Jan 9, 2011)

There probably wasn't enough discipline from the beginning. Potty training is something that needs 100% attention. Patience and consistancy. Never scold. Like Tink said they have already moved on and most likely have no idea what's going on. This will only confuse them, as they will try to relate why they are being punished to what they are currently doing, which could be completely unrelated. It will also scare them.

Repetitiveness is important. Place them on the pad, when they walk off place them on again and again. If you catch them making a mistake pick them up quickly and place them on the pad(or outside if that's what your doing). After they eat, on the pad, after they sleep, on the pad...rince, wash, repeat. Every 20 minutes to be safe, really. Lot's of praise when they do it correctly, make a huge deal out of it, and a treat, mine really responed to that. 

You need a lot of time to care for Chi's, they are like babies. Take a few days off if you can or stay home all weekend and just dedicate all your time to them. That's what i did, when i first brought them home i spent 4 days home with them and trained them. Every weekend since i have not gone out(unless to run errands), i have stayed home to guide and train them. I have to say that they are almost 100% angels. But i put a lot of time and effort into them. I think it would be good for you to retrain them. Take some time off if you can and really focus on training.

And everything else i agree with what Tink says so i won't reiterate 

Good luck!
Kristina


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## ExoticChis (Jun 20, 2010)

go back to basics, and try crate training.


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## NachoPup (Jan 16, 2011)

Try potty bells, it worked for us! Good luck:coolwink:


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## NiceGirlsFakeIt (Jan 17, 2011)

I take them outside every couple of hours or if they've been sleeping, I take them out as soon as I notice them wake up. I always say "Good boy, Louis" or "Good girl, Lola" when they potty outside and I always wait until they pee and poop. When they're finished, they come up to me and sit down next to me on the porch (that's how I know when they're finished and it's safe to go inside).

I stay at home with my toddler son, so I'm home everyday and I would work with them all day. For the past several months, they've been confined to the kitchen and I feel awful about it, but I've really given up (and I feel horrible about that) . I read a book on potty training Chis and it basically said all the same things you guys have suggested and I think I probably tried all of them. After a year of doing the same things over and over, they still just don't seem to grasp it. Or they do and they just don't care? lol. 

Do you think if I got my male neutered, this would help? I saw one of you said the smell of urine will entice them to go more. If he's not marking his territory, that should help a lot, right? And has anyone tried that spray they sell in pet stores? It's supposed to make them not want to potty. I could spray it where he normally marks his territory and see if that helps. Thoughts?

Also, I thought about not leaving their food and water down all day, but I read that Chis need to have a constant source of food and water throughout the day because they're so tiny and are pront to having low blood sugar. Any thought about this?

Thanks everyone!


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