Training My 3 Month Old Chihuahua

Question
How would I train my 3 month old Chihuahua to use the bathroom in less than 3 days.I will finishing up my high school year and then June and July I'm free to spend a lot of time with her.I know I will be gone from 8:00am-4:15pm and I need a reliable source or technique to teach my Chihuahua how to use the dog litter without me being there and with me being there.Can you please help me out before I go get her this weekend?

Answer
Nacya, there is no method you can use that is guaranteed to have your dog trained in any set amount of time, let alone 3 days. You're expecting way too much.

The general rule with puppies is that they can go about as many hours between potty breaks as they are old (in months). That means that your puppy will need to be given an opportunity to pee at least every 3 hours during the day, and probably once during the night. I usually recommend crate training, which means that you keep the dog in a crate when you are not there to watch her, so that she does not develop the habit of going to the bathroom all over the house or tearing things up. Dogs generally will not soil in their crate, but you must be realistic about how much time you keep the dog in there, based on its age.

Ideally, you should have someone come over 3 hours after you leave in the morning, and every 3 hours afterwards, until you get home, to bring the puppy out of the crate and take it to the litter box to relieve herself. If this is not an option, there is doggie daycare, but it can be expensive.

Another option is getting a small exercise pen that's just large enough to put her crate and litterbox in. Personally, I'd just put a puppy wee wee pad in the bottom of the litterbox, rather than using the dog litter, because the dog litter is rather large, and the puppy may have difficulties standing and 'going' in it. You can buy a cheap, plastic, shallow cat litter pan and just put the wee wee pad in there - or you can try the dog litter - it's up to you. Put the crate against one side of the exercise pen, and the litterbox on the other. The opening of the crate should not be facing the litterbox. If you would like to, you can put a bowl of water at the rear of the crate, so she doesn't spill it by going in and out of the crate. There should only be a few inches between the crate and litterbox, so she is not as tempted to go on the floor between them.

When you're at home, I recommend keeping her on a leash, so that if she starts to potty, you can immediately get her to the litterbox. Make a sudden noise to startle her (which should make her stop going potty), and then encourage her to follow you as you lead her to the litterbox. Whenever she potties in the litterbox, be sure to praise praise praise!!!

If she potties on the floor and you don't catch her in the act, just clean it up. Do not scold her after-the-fact.