Potty training 2 year old Chihuahua

Question
I have three dogs, 7 yr old schanazer, 3 year old datsun and 2 year old chiahuahua. My chiahuahua will not stop using the bathroom in the house. I thought I had him trained when my husband and I were staying in our rv, he never used the bathroom in the home. Now that we have a very large living space he goes inside. I had this problem in the home before, but when we got in the motorhome he did not go inside, as soon as we moved to larger living space its like he was never trained. I dont know what to do.

Answer
Hi Stacie,

You didn't say if your other two dogs are also male, and whether or not any of your dogs are spayed or neutered. Male dogs that are not castrated are more likely to mark than castrated dogs, so having your dog neutered can help. With urine marking the dog deposits a smaller amount of urine. Marking in the house is typically done to an upright surface such as a doorway, table leg or piece of furniture. Dogs often mark on objects.

Un-neutered male dogs will "mark" in a home, especially when there are other pets in the home. This isn't the same as having house training accidents. Usually marking stems from feelings of insecurity, establishing territory, a perceived threat, or stress (such as moving, or introducing a new pet, etc.). Living out of your motor home can be interpreted as moving to a new location, and could have started the marking.

First, clean the areas in your home where your dog has relieved himself with an enzymatic cleaner, such as Nature's Miracle or Simple Solution. The odor of where he's gone to the bathroom in the past can be attracting him back to re-mark.

The key to house breaking a dog of any age is supervision, and frequent opportunities to go to the bathroom outside. If your dog is having accidents in your home, you can't let him have the unsupervised run of your house. You must be dedicated to stop the marking behavior, and you must be consistent. A couple of weeks of intense supervision and correction can save you a lifetime of tearing your hair out trying to find a quick fix for the problem. When you can't be watching your dog, he needs to be contained to either a dog crate, or part of a room (with the help of a child gate, or two). Preventing accidents from happening in the first place is the way to go (no pun intended!). It can help to keep the leash on your Chihuahua when he's in the house. This ensures your dog isn't able to sneak off and have an accident. Shut doors to other areas of the house or barricade them off with baby gates or improvise with whatever is at hand.

Punishment will make an insecure dog more insecure, and won't help stop these accidents. Do not rant, rave or smack your dog at any time. If an accident happens, clean it up quickly and quietly, and promise yourself next time you'll watch your dog more closely.

During this re-training period you need to leash walk your dog, and not let min outside in a yard. It's only during a leashed walk that you can offer praise or a treat the very moment your dog relieves himself outside. It's with this praise that your dog will learn how very happy it makes you when he does his business outside.

If your Chihuahua is particularly persistent with either the marking or house training accidents, it can help if he wore a "belly band". A Belly Band will not stop your dog from urine marking it's territory inside your house but it will save your furniture, carpets and floors from the damage of dog urine. It will also save you a lot of the frustration of cleaning up. Belly bands are designed to wrap around a male dog's body and cover his penis.  It is a physical barrier between his urine and your furniture. A belly band is in fact a dog diaper.
Belly bands are not meant to worn constantly, but rather as an aid when you want to allow your dog inside the house without the headache of keeping a constant eye on him making sure he doesn't pee on your furniture. You should remove the belly band when your dog has to relieve himself outside.
You can see this product here:

http://www.sassypup.net/Belly-Bands-Dog-Diapers-p-1-c-357.html
http://www.bwdogcoats.com/no-pee-bands.html
http://www.petexpertise.com/dog-training-aids/belly-band-for-boy-dogs.html

If you know how to sew, you can make your how belly bands:
http://www.ehow.com/how_4824111_belly-band-male-dog.html

Best of luck,

Patti