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Zack Keithy, our author, is a certified veterinarian technician (UC Blue Ash) for over 6 years (contact him here). The articles written here are based on his expertise and experience, combined with a review by our expert vet reviewers including Dr M. Tarantino. Learn more about us here.
If you are a Chihuahua owner, you know how frustrating it can be when your pup pees in the house.
It’s not just gross, it can get messy quickly, and it makes your home smell like a barnyard.
You know what’s worse? My dog stepping in its own pee and leaving a trail all over the house.
If you find your Chihuahua peeing in the house becoming a problem, read on to find ways you can do to help prevent it.
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- Have You Housetrained Your Chihuahua?
- Reasons Why Your Chihuahua is Peeing in the House
- Difference Between Inappropriate Urination and Territorial Marking
- How to Tell if Your Chihuahua is Just Marking?
- How Long Does It Take to Housetrain a Chihuahua?
- How Do I Stop My Chihuahua From Peeing in the House?
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- In Conclusion: Chihuahua Peeing in House
Have You Housetrained Your Chihuahua?
I’m not sure if you have completed potty training for your Chihuahua at this moment, but if you have just started, be sure to complete it before trying out other solutions.
Poorly trained puppies will relieve themselves anywhere they like, but puppies who have received good training are not likely to do so without reason.
Consider how the following suggestions relate to your dog if it has been effectively housebroken but has started to urinate at random once more.
Doggy says, consider reading this too: What To Do if a Puppy Poops 2 Hours After Eating?
Reasons Why Your Chihuahua is Peeing in the House
There are many reasons why your dog may be peeing in the house.
Stress, anxiety, medical issues, and separation anxiety can all lead to this behavior.
Forgotten its training
Even if you think your dog has made progress during potty training, your dog could still regress.
This is sometimes brought on by poor comprehension or misinterpretation of the rules.
Also, did you move the potty area? Has anything changed that your dog might find puzzling recently in the house?
Your Chihuahua may forget what they were taught as a result of all of these things.
Even after your dog has undergone appropriate training, you, as the dog owner, will still need to constantly encourage and recall your pet.
When this happens, you could want to start anew with the basic training methods to instruct your pet on what to do and reinforce the lesson with scrumptious treats.
Doggy says, you might like this too: Do Havanese Dogs Like Water? 3 Tips to Use
Behavioral problems
Due to internal or environmental factors, your Chihuahua may urinate unintentionally or on purpose.
Male dogs frequently mark their territory with urine, especially those who have not been neutered.
Even while this can be corrected, change takes time.
On the other hand, external factors like stress, anxiety, or even excitement might also cause your dog to urinate haphazardly about the house (or even lead them to start humping your arm!).
Think about whether any loud noises occurred that weren’t anticipated, like thunder, fireworks, or a door slamming.
Have you seen any negative exchanges between visiting friends and family and your dog?
Have you recently brought a baby or a dog into your family? A new puppy can cause an older dog to regress.
Does your dog have separation anxiety?
Puppies are prone to overexcite themselves and accidentally urinate; this is a trait they will outgrow quickly.
Doggy says, consider reading this too: Why Do Dogs Lick Their Lips When You Pet Them?
Potential medical issues
Sometimes a problem is hidden from our immediate view, but if we look closer, we can see it.
Your Chi may be suffering from a urinary tract infection (UTI), which affects approximately 14% [1] of dogs over the course of their lives.
Symptoms include frequent urination, straining to urinate, weeping or whining during urination, and perhaps having blood in their urine.
Naturally, a trip to the veterinarian needs to be scheduled right away.
It will be beneficial for you to be aware of the hereditary disorders Hyperuricosuria and Cystinuria, both of which can lead to frequent urination.
You can learn about all of these with a DNA test.
Your Chihuahua is getting on in years
Dogs who are older are more likely to forget their training.
Additionally, as dogs age, their bodies deteriorate and they lose some control over their bladders.
Other aging-related illnesses, such as dementia, may contribute to your dog’s propensity to urinate throughout the house.
Additionally, they could also develop bladder and kidney issues, which are not that easy to detect right away.
A trip to the vet is in your and your dog’s best interests if your older dog shows any indications of decline.
Doggy says, consider reading this too: Why Does My Dog Lick and Hump Me? 7 Solutions
Urinary incontinence
Although younger dogs are not entirely excluded, older dogs are more prone to develop this condition.
Sadly, your dog has little control over this, so when it happens, you will see little puddles of urine all around the house.
Fortunately, there are medications that can help your dog in this circumstance, so visit your vet for help.
Doggy says, consider reading this too: Dog Pooping After Spaying – Common Issues
Difference Between Inappropriate Urination and Territorial Marking
Unknowingly, we may occasionally “blame” our dog for not peeing in the proper location and become frustrated when we have to clean up messes.
But how can we be certain that it was just an accident and not a result of a natural instinct?
Dogs, whether they are male or female, will mark their territory, and there are several obvious pieces of evidence of this.
How to Tell if Your Chihuahua is Just Marking?

Peeing on upright objects
The most common sign that your Chi is establishing territory is this action.
To mark their territory, they frequently urinate on the legs of furniture or even the tires of your car, in particular upright objects.
This can happen more frequently if you recently moved into a new home or apartment and your dog is attempting to stake out its area.
Additionally, you might see urine streaks that look to have been sprayed there on purpose and are higher off the ground than usual.
A small amount of urine
Dogs often do this to mark their territory.
They may continually urinate on the same spot in little amounts, or perhaps only once or twice.
You will only see a little patch that occasionally goes undiscovered rather than a larger puddle that means unintentional peeing.
Only peeing and no pooping
If your dog only urinates and doesn’t pass any motion, that could be another sign that it’s only marking.
That suggests that rather than experiencing a strong urge to urinate, it is likely just trying to mark its territory.
Peeing at doorways/entrances
Your Chihuahua may occasionally have an “accident” only at entrances or even close to your bedroom door.
They are aware that the house belongs to them and their owner, and they are therefore bound to defend it.
They merely use marking as a means of communication with other dogs.
Change in the way it pees
This mainly applies to female dogs only.
When marking, a female dog may alter the way she urinates.
A female dog may lift one of its legs and spray a small amount of urine, similar to how male dogs do.
When a female Chi is in heat, this behavior becomes more noticeable, on top of other actions like accidentally peeing in the house during heat.
Doggy says, you might like this too: Why are Chihuahuas so clingy?
How Long Does It Take to Housetrain a Chihuahua?
The quick answer is that housebreaking your dog will take some time.
The Chihuahua breed is quite a stubborn dog and can take some time to pick up on the training.
It is by no means not able to follow instructions, in fact, they are super smart!
As a result, it’s imperative that you have lots of patience to train your dog for success.
You can’t expect puppies to learn all the rules right away, so don’t hold it against them by punishing them for transgressions they’re still learning how to avoid.
Focus on rewarding good behavior instead, and give them plenty of opportunities to practice the right behavior.
It should normally receive consistent training for 4 to 6 months in order to completely housetrain your Chihuahua.
Doggy says, you might like this too: Why do Chihuahuas burrow?
How Do I Stop My Chihuahua From Peeing in the House?
Now it’s time to think about what to do when your Chihuahua pees inside.
What’s important is that as soon as you bring your dog home, you should begin a solid training schedule.
If you’ve had your dog for a while and notice it’s regressing, providing appropriate training is equally crucial.
Whether your dog is accidentally peeing or is simply marking, the techniques listed below can be beneficial.
Bringing it out more often
By taking your Chihuahua out more often, you can help prevent accidents.
As you should know, it’s important to take your dog on walks and play with it every day in order to keep its mind active and reduce its desire to mark territory.
Each time it relieves itself outside, give it praise and offer a small treat to let it know this is the right behavior.
Doggy says, you might be interested in this too: Dog Keeps Ringing The Bell to Go Outside? Stop the Madness!
Thorough cleaning after accidents
If your dog has an accident, you don’t have to scold it or attempt to correct the behavior right away.
Instead, ignore it right now and tidy up the mess as soon as possible.
Use an enzyme cleaner to clean up the spill rather than a paper towel or wet wipes.
Your puppy won’t be as likely to mark that location again because they are so effective at getting rid of odors and stains.
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Consider spaying or neutering your dog
There are good points from both sides of this discussion, but we do believe that if you do not want to breed your Chihuahua in the near future, having the operation done is the better option.
Numerous studies have shown that sterilized dogs are substantially less likely to mark and engage in unwanted behaviors like humping.
Controlling the places it can access
A dog needs to be trained, but if given the chance to roam the house unattended, it will misbehave.
Even more so, you will need to limit its exposure if no one is around to watch over it.
You may do this simply by using playpens, crates, or installing baby gates.
Establishing hierarchy
If your dog does not know who is in authority, it will undoubtedly continue to mark wherever it goes.
Establishing yourself as the pack leader is a strategy to strengthen your bond with your dog and reduce the likelihood that it will mark.
For those of you who may have forgotten, the oldest and largest male in the pack is always the alpha.
In fact, because they unconsciously try to assert their authority, male dogs mark more frequently than female dogs.
On a similar topic, if you have multiple dogs in your home, you should decide which dog is the alpha dog.
Hiring a professional
If all else fails, hiring a dog trainer or behaviorist might be the answer.
You would most definitely move in the right direction after a handful of sessions with one.
They provide very different services, so be sure to have a chat with both of them.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Are Chihuahuas hard to potty train?
Yes, Chihuahuas can be hard to potty train. They are stubborn and have a strong sense of independence, so they need an owner who is confident and assertive. It is also advisable to start them out at a young age.
How often does a Chihuahua need to pee?
An adult Chihuahua will need to pee about 3 to 5 times per day, with each visit no more than 8 hours apart. Puppies will relieve themselves more often, and an estimation can be made by using their age. A 3-month-old will be able to hold their pee for 3 hours.
How long can Chihuahuas hold their bladder?
Adult Chihuahuas are able to hold their pee for six to eight hours. If it urinates more than 5 times per day, it may be a sign of a health problem, such as kidney or bladder diseases. On the other hand, if it holds onto its pee for more than 12 hours, that could also be an issue. A veterinarian should look into this.
In Conclusion: Chihuahua Peeing in House
If you want to keep your Chihuahua from peeing in the house, make sure that she has plenty of attention and exercise throughout the day.
You can also try taking her for walks on quieter streets or trails where there are fewer distractions.
Check out other dog behavior articles on our site such as why your dog is sticking its bum in the air, whether is it rude to bring your dog to someone’s house, dog dragging other dogs by the collar, and many more!