*Big Problem Help Needed?*?

Question

We are having Really, Really bad problems with one of our shih-tuzs, And We Really need to get something Done About It. She doesn't listen, she acts like a kid, pees off the pad (and just so happens to pee on the couch,? Coincidence, I think not, we do every thing for this dog and still she treats us this way!?), poos off the pad, its only getting worse.

Today we came home to a dirty, messy, pee-pad tore-up house with poo mashed into the carpet, which is absolutely pathetic! Thank goodness we put them in a seprate area where the whole house wouldn't be screwed up, and poo mashed on the couch, along with pee! I hate this dog so bad, with a passion!

What should we do with her? Shelter, sale her or what, she needs to be outside where she belongs, but we have no friends that can take her.

I have successfully trained one dog, her sister. So what is the deal?!

I trained them at the same time! One caught on, and the other one must not be that smart I guess.

Maybe you can take the dog out of the_(where ever it came from)_, but not the _(where ever it came from)_out of the dog.

Answer 1

Not to be rude, but I don't think its the dog, it you. You've created this problem, you need to fix it.

Dogs don't do things out of spite. They do things out of boredom, illness, and poor training.

First she needs a full vet exam, rule out medical problems before startint to retrain her. Next you need to treat her like a puppy as far as housebreaking. Teach her to go outdoors. This is a VERY common problem with using those pads. The dog doesn't care if its going on the pad or not. By teaching your dogs to use pads you have taught them that its ok to go to the bathroom indoors. Anywhere inside is fair game.

With that started, you also need to enroll in obedience classes. Every dog needs training including small ones. You say you do everything for this dog. Generally when I hear this, it tells me the roles have been reversed. She thinks she's in charge. You need to implement NILIF. Noting In Life Is Free. With the program she has to work for what she wants. Before being petted, she has to sit. Before being fed, she has to lay down, and so on.

No do belongs outside, they belong indoors with their human "packs".

How long it will take you to house train your dog depends on your dedication to the training process and your puppy's maturity and learning rate.

Things you will need to housetrain your puppy are a properly fitted crate, a collar and leash, some treats, and time and patience.

You also need to pick a spot for your puppy to go potty. Using the same spot each time will help the puppy recognize that this is where he should go, and the smell from going there other times will help him go potty faster when you take him out.

I don't recommend using doggie litter boxes or those puppy pads. If you want your dog to always go potty in the house fine, then use this article to teach them to go there. But don't complain to me when your dog starts going other places in the house. Dogs often times cannot tell the difference between a puppy pad and your expensive rug. All they know is its ok to go potty in the house so any area with a roof is fair game for elimination. Also trying to paper train a dog and then trying to switch the dog to going outside is counterproductive and confusing for the dog. Doing this will only slow the training down. So forget the puppy pads and start teaching your dog to go outside from day one. If you have already been using them throw them out and start all over from the beginning, but keep mind the process may take a little longer the second time around since once your dog has bad habits they are hard to break. Its much easier to prevent them than to correct them later.

When looking for a crate you want one that is big enough for your dog to stand up, turn around and lay down. You don't want it so big that he can lay in one end and use the other end as a bathroom. If he can do this trust me he will. There are all kinds of different styles of crates: the two most common are wire and plastic. But they come in mesh, wicker, all sorts of different materials now. I would recommend choosing either a wire or plastic one, especially for puppies that like to chew. Here are some pros and cons of plastic and wire crates.

Plastic: These come in several sizes so can accommodate nearly every size of dog. They also give a more den like feeling to the dog and have less of a cage look. The disadvantage to these crates is that you may need to buy more than one to accommodate a growing puppy, and they take up more room if you want to store them even though they usually will come apart in halves for storage. There are also some newer plastic crates that will fold up similar to a wire crate.

Wire: Like the plastic crate these also come in a variety of sizes. They do look more like cages though, something that can be fixed by purchasing a cover for it. A cover will also help some dogs feel more secure in a wire crate. The advantage of these is that you can buy a size to fit your dog when it is full grown. Wire crates have dividers available for purchase so that you can make the crate fit your puppy. These also have a storage advantage in that most fold up very neatly and can be stored easily.

Next you will need to introduce your puppy to its crate. Just sticking the puppy in there without a positive introduction can be very stressful for the pup. I like to bring a new puppy home on a day off, and try to pick it up as soon as possible in the morning. This way I have all day to introduce the puppy to the crate so that by bedtime the puppy will feel pretty comfortable with its crate and shouldn't fuss to much.

Start by showing the puppy the crate and let him explore it. Next show your puppy a treat and then toss it inside. When your puppy goes in to get the treat praise him excitedly. Repeat this a few times and then end this session. If your pup won't go all the way in the crate to get the treat try throwing it closer to the door, or even outside the door and then gradually toss it farther back, until the pup goes all the way in.

After an hour or two have another session with crate. If your pup went all the way in the last time start there, if not start at the point you left off. After a couple times of going in the crate and coming right back out you can shut the door. But let the pup out after a second or two. Repeat this gradually increasing the amount of time the pup is in the crate. If you do this several times the first day by the time your ready for bed your pup should be pretty comfortable with the crate. I also like to repeat this process for a day or two after the pup comes home.

Also remember that whenever your dog is crated you need to remove any type of collar, even a buckle collar can catch on a crate and strangle a dog.

Now that you have your crate set up and your pup introduced to it you need to put your puppy on a feeding schedule. Puppies 8 wks to 6 months should be given three meals a day. After six months this can be cut down to 2 meals. Free-feeding (having food available all the time) is not recommended. It can lead to obesity and makes it harder to housetrain your puppy. Another disadvantage to this feeding method is that it will be harder for you tell if your dog is off food which can be a sign of illness. Feeding on a schedule allows you to predict when your puppy will need to go out. If you know when it went in you can predict when it will come out. You will want to divide your dog's full daily amount into three smaller meals. Give him the food and after twenty minutes take away the bowl whether there is food in it or not. Dogs will generally consume all they want in twenty minutes. Take your puppy to his potty spot about 15-20 minutes after he has finished eating. Repeat the go potty command while you are waiting for him to go. When he starts to go tell him good boy go potty, and when he has finished give him a treat and make a big fuss over him.

I'd also like to tell you how to tell if your puppy is getting to much or to little food. The recommendations on dog food bags are just a starting point. Start with that amount and then watch to see if your dog needs more or less. The way to tell is to do a rib check. You shouldn't be able to see the ribs, if you can add more food. You should be able to easily feel the ribs under a thin layer of fat, if you have trouble feeling the ribs, cut back the amount of food.

In addition to having to go out after meals your puppy will also need to go potty after he wakes up from a nap, after playing, and first thing in the morning and before bed. Signs that your puppy needs to go out: are restlessness and circling an area while sniffing. If your puppy does these things it's a safe bet to take him out. Remember though that individual dogs have their own signs of needing to go to the bathroom and you will soon pick up on these signals as well.

When you are out for potty breaks you should stand still, if he wants to play ignore him. You want him to know that it is time to go to the bathroom not time to play. If you allow him to play before he goes to the bathroom he may start to hold out on you to extend his playtime. Once he has gone to the bathroom however you can play all you want. Stay outside with your dog for about 10 minutes to wait for him to go, if he doesn't go in ten minutes just pick him up and carry him back inside matter-of-factly. No treats or playtime on the way in. When you get back into the house he will either need to be crated or watched like a hawk. Try again in ten minutes. Repeat until he goes.

Another mistake a lot of people make when they bring their new puppy home is to allow him free run of the place. This will only hurt your training and will also cause your dog to get into a lot of trouble. Young puppies need to be watched. When your puppy can't be watched he should be in his crate. This way he can't make a mistake or get into trouble.

Accidents:

The only time you can punish your puppy for having an accident in the house is if you catch him in the act. Even then it's less of a punishment and more of a redirection. If you see your puppy going to the bathroom in the house, startle him with a sharp NO and take him outside to finish the job. When he finishes outside, give him a treat and lots of praise. Back inside the house clean up the mess and use an enzymatic cleaner (such as OUT or Nature's Miracle) to remove all traces of the mess so he won't be tempted to use the same spot. Most carpet cleaners will leave traces of the mess that you can't see or smell, but your pet can.

If you find a mess after the fact, well to bad that one is your fault, you should have been watching the puppy. Simply clean it up and try to watch more carefully. If you try to scold your pup after the fact he will have no idea what you are mad about and will be confused and may even become scared of you. NEVER, NEVER rub your dogs nose in urine or feces. It is not only disgusting but it also has no training value what so ever. Hitting your dog with anything including a rolled up newspaper is also unacceptable.

Young puppies may need to use the bathroom during the night, so I advise putting the crate in your bedroom. This way if the puppy sounds restless you can take him to the bathroom. This will also make your puppy feel more secure because he is close to you. If you do need to take your puppy out in the middle of the night make sure you allow him to go to the bathroom only. No playtime for these outings. Still give him a treat and praise, but do so in a quieter manner than you would during the day. This way you won't get him all riled up the middle of night. Remember if you let him get away with playing in the middle of the night he will begin to expect it, and you don't want that. How long night time outings will last depends on the age of your puppy, and how fast his bladder matures.

It also helps to have his last meal of the day at least two hours before bed and take away his water an hour before bed. You don't want to put it in the crate with him, it would be unfair to the puppy to expect him to have a supply of water and then not have to go to the bathroom all night long. The only thing that should be in your dog's crate are a chew toy and maybe a doggie blanket. Although some pups will urinate on absorbant materials that are in their crate, if yours does remove it. Also if you see that your puppy is chewing on his blanket it should be removed. If the puppy ingests part of the blanket it could cause an intestinal blockage. If that happens emergency surgery is needed to remove the blanket from the intestines.

I know this sounds like a lot of work but that is what puppies are. They are also a lot of fun and that should make up for the work part of having a puppy. And just keep in mind that one day soon you will have a beautiful dog who is housetrained and is a joy to have around.

(Note: if you are going to use this article to train a dog that had previously been housetrained and is now having accidents, please contact your vet first. If your dog suddenly "forgets" his housetraining it can be a sign of infection, and that needs to be treated. Once you have confirmed that the dog is healthy with your vet, then refresh your dog with this article)

Answer 2

Sounds like your dog is suffereing from anxiety stress and it's a matter of retraining her. Spoiling her isn't a kindness, it just allows her to do as she pleases so she no longer knows what the rules are. Shih-tzus are NOT outdoor dogs although you need to walk her three times a day outside so she can get exercise and expend some of her energy (and do her socializing). Now, just like a new puppy, you will have to retrain her and confined her to only certain rooms or to a crate when you are not there to supervise where she cannot damage herself or your stuff until she relearns how to use the pad. Do not hate the dog--you made her this way by allowing her to do as she pleased whenever and wherever she wants. Remember, she's a dog--she needs an alpha being to keep her in line, to let her know what is the right thing and what is the wrong things, she needs to know when she pleases you (the alpha dog) and when she doesn't, etc. Training a dog well is all part of good caregiving.

Answer 3

No Shih-Tzu "belongs" outside. That's nonsense in itself. If you do not have the patience and time to properly train (and housetrain) this dog, then you probably should release her to a local no-kill rescue, who'll put her in a foster home where she'll learn what she obviously isn't being taught by you. Someone else will adopt her and get to know the great dog she can be, once some time is spent training her.
A dog that isn't house-trained, shouldn't be loose in the house when you are not home. That's what crate-training is for. Take your dogs outside often, don't expect them to use puppy pads, because all that's teaching them, is that it's ok to go potty indoors. So you cannot blame her, for what you basically taught her to do.

Answer 4

How old is the dog? How did you train her? Have you been consistent with the potty training? Our dogs were the same way, but we stayed consistent with them, and now they use the pads. Do you just let them roam in the house all day? If so don't let them roam the whole house all day, don't give them all that space. I don't crate train, but when we are not here, they are in my bedroom. That way things don't get tore up. Get a baby gate and keep them in a room while your gone not the whole house. Put them together, it could be separation anxiety. Just sounds like she isn't trained. Although you may have others that are trained, some are easier to train then others. My female was way harder than my male. We still have occasional accidents.

Answer 5

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Answer 6

Why are you not crating this stinker when you are away??? Watch the Dog Whisperer. He is fantastic! He is on the Discovery Channel every night.
Don't give an animal run of the house if they are having accidents.
When you are home and the dog is loose, place a leash on her and attach it to your belt. Take her out regular intervals making sure he/she goes potty.http://www.bellybands.shoppingcartsplus.com/page/page/1272207.htm
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Answer 7

Here is an idea. I have tried this on my dog and it worked. Put some pepper on the places you don't want your dog to be. The dog would then go away from that area because it will cause irritation to your dog if it stays there. Don't put pepper in the place where you WANT your dog to be.

Answer 8

Please take this dog to a shelter, you are not a doggie owner, period, this dog should never be left outside and needs some tender loving training and you sound like you do not have anywhere near enough patience for it, please take the dog to a shelter so it can have a good home.

Answer 9

Give her to me. I have 8 Shih Tzu what is one more. No friends to take her ....well that explains why the dog is like she is. If you have no friends how do you expect the dog to like you. Give her to someone that knows how you treat her.

Answer 10

You need to either rehome this dog or train her properly. Crate train her. She should not have access to the rug and couch when you are not home she should be in a crate. If properly crate trained you can allieviate this problem.

Answer 11

giving her away wont solve the problem so keep her in a small kennel where she cant get her stuff all over the place and when she poops. firmly hold her up to it and say no then put her outside. that is what i did. if you have tried this then keep her outside. you should add in how old she is that way you will get mostly the right answer because it is more of a probolem if she is an adult