use Dachshund and Chihuahua as a foundation for starters because my little dog, Hollie, I believe is part Dachshund and part Chihuahua. When I found her at a rescue, the information I received was that she was a four month old miniature Dachshund. But as she grew her legs got very long and her belly area became more concaved like a Chihuahua. I also found her mannerisms to be mixed between the two breeds as well. This included the dilemma of housebreaking.

Because the Dachshund is a strong working dog, they have a very willful personality. This tends to make them stubborn and/or independent. Although the Dachshund is trainable they may not be easy to train. As a matter of fact the Dachshund may attempt to train its trainer. The owner of this breed needs to be comfortable letting the dog know just who the “leader of the pack” really is. The stubborn temperament of this dog makes them resistant and not the easiest to house train. With positive and continual scheduling the Dachshund does learn and with a determined owner the Dachshund will develop the training quickly.

The fact that Chihuahuas are so small makes house training them a little challenging. Chihuahuas can hide under furniture or sneak into corners unnoticed and leave little surprise piles to be found at a later date. Patience will be needed in the house training process of this dog. The Chihuahua will learn quickly with positive reinforcement training. Some owners never get their Chihuahuas fully house trained especially in bad weather. The Chihuahua does not like the cold and tends to shiver. They do not like to get their feet wet so going outside to damp grown or wet grass deter the Chihuahua from going outside to potty.

In either dog breed there are two recommended training methods to house training your dog. The first is to crate train or confinement train your dog. The second is to paper or puppy pad train your dog. In either case, consistency is the essential key. Once a bad habit starts, it is much harder to break and retrain your dog.

Hollie, my Dachshund-Chihuahua has a little of both temperaments which has made house training her quite the challenge. She was originally paper trained when I got her. As she got a little older I put her in a pen during the day with a doggie door access to the outside. Hollie would use the carpet piece just inside the door as her potty. She did not like the grass because she was so small that the grass rubbed her belly. When the grass was watered she did not like getting her feet wet. So, when she did go outside she would use the patio instead of the grass and the carpet piece right outside the door as her potty. When she visited other homes she would go to another room and leave the owner a little surprise in the corners even though they had a doggie door she was able to use. As last winter set in the pen was too cold to keep her in and she was given a little more room to roam so to speak. Now she thinks the throw rugs are her bathroom area.

With this frustration at hand, I set out to find some answers. I never had a dog previously that had these issues. Once introduced to the doggie door the rest was a done deal. Not with Hollie! I found a training for dogs that has helped me to overcome Hollie’s behavior issues.