my chihuahua (5 months old) is an angel to be honest – sleeps all night in his crate, can be alone with 1 or 2 visits in the day from a pet sitter while im at work, getting better every day with walks and meeting new dogs and people, and loves learning new things. It's just this potty training taking us so long!
It took a long time to get his vaccines sorted as I had a problem with the breeder not being honest, and as I don't have a secure garden I was using a patch of grass in the corner. I then had a relationship breakdown which was a blessing in disguise as I had to stay with my parents who do have a garden, so we got him potty trained in 2 weeks – holding it all night in his crate and everything.
Since we came home to my apartment we had 2 major setbacks; 1. he got a bad stomach from eating something he shouldn't have which meant he was having diarrhoea with no chance to scoop him up and run him outside and he started getting 'used' to going indoors for 2 days, and 2. he started looking for the grass patch i since removed and at first was a great signal for me to know he needed to go and take him straight outside, but now he runs off and goes on something as I'm putting his harness on like he cant hold it, or he is going in his crate overnight which is really hard to manage without disrupting our sleep routine.
I definitely feel like we are back to square 1. He goes every time we are on a walk but it's still set us back in terms of him going in his crate at night or when he's home during my days in the office he doesn't hold it and wait for the sitter anymore like he did before.
I understand now that I cant wait for his signals anymore and I'll have to go back to taking him out every time he drinks, naps, and plays like when he was really small, but I'm curious. How have people managed potty training in apartments?
submitted by /u/dungbing
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