Angie posed this question:

“I have a 4 year old chihuahua mix that weighs about 25 lbs., is it possible that she cannot hold her urine or bowel movements the entire day being a small dog? The problem is that we take her out in the morning and she won’t do anything because it seems like she’s always more worried about what the squirrels are doing and then she ends up going in the house, this even happens at night, she does go outside sometimes and is usually good on the weekends when we’re home with her but during the work week she goes back to going on the piddle pads in the house. My Boyfriend refuses to use a newspaper on her but then we rarely catch her in the act either. I am also 7 months pregnant and was wondering if she can sense this and that might be making her make a mess as well. I don’t want her doing this when the baby is here so I could really use some help in the matter. Thanks!”

Angie has partly answered her own question - yes, it is true on the whole that small dogs cannot go as long between toilet breaks as bigger dogs (though there will always be the odd exception).  That said, no dog should really be expected to hold on for more than 4 or 5 hours without being allowed to relieve herself.  Punishment when catching her has no positive benefits, so in this case, Angie’s boyfriend is doing the right thing.  If you do catch her going where she shouldn’t, interrupt her with a loud clap of the hands or a loud “Arrggh!” sound and take her where you would like her to pee.

She may sense something is different, not so much the fact that someone is pregnant, but perhaps the change brought about by the different emotional state of a family member (anxieties, worries, fears etc..).

If you know that you are going to be away for longer than 4 hours and are not able to have a dog walker, friend or relative let the dog out to toilet, then you need to consider having an area in the house where you can tolerate her using as a toilet area (on the pads or paper of course). She should also not be allowed too much freedom to roam - leave her in just one room either with the door closed or blocked using a baby gate.  Because she is a tiny breed, you could also use a puppy pen.  Contrary to what most people think, confining a dog is not cruel.  They feel much more secure when left alone if they only have a small area to “take care of”. 

Even though she is a small dog, that doesn’t mean she would not benefit from going out for a proper walk (”The hunt”) on a morning before going out to work, as opposed to just letting her out and expecting her to pee or poop.  The exercise would also stimulate elimination.

Combine the exercise regime with a feeding schedule (I don’t want to repeat the same advice over and over, but if you use the search box on this site, it will bring up posts with guidance, further reading and resources to help set and maintain a schedule for feeding and watering your dog).  Again, I do not want this site to appear like a sales page for the books I recommend, but there are two books I know are of use to people who are having difficulty keeping dogs housetrained when they are left alone most of the day - you will find details of these in this earlier post: Housetrained Dog Peeing in The House

I would also recommend anyone with housetraining questions reads my free guide to housetraining first, before asking specific questions relating to house training, as there is a lot of useful info in it that you can use.