Getting a shih tzu puppy. How do you potty train them when they are so young?

Question

I know they do not understand the concept when they are so young. so if i let her use the puppy pads for alittle while until she is old enough to understand that she goes outside will that hurt me later? i was planning on crate training her. i work during the day but can come home and let her out every couple of hours. should i just leave her in the crate and let her out every couple of hours or leave her in the bathroom with puppy pads? i don't want her to be confused.

Answer 1

try to entertain them untill they gotta tinkle when you see sniffing that when u take em' outside and teach them to go to the door

Answer 2

Congratulations on your Shih Tzu puppy. I have an 11 month old female Shih Tzu named Coco. Potty training these smart little dogs is a real challenge. They are willful and have a mind of their own. If they can manipulate their humans they will in a flash.

It was a real struggle getting Coco house trained. I tried using the doggy pads, but didn't like them because sometimes she would miss and get urine on the carpet. Another reason I didn't like the pad is that I thought they looked tacky spread around on the floor in my house. If you choose to use the pad, slowly move them closer and closer to the door until the pad is outside. That will teach her to go outside.

Create training is wonderful to teach the puppy to hold it's bladder during the night so that the dog won't wake you up in the middle of the night to go potty. However, it shouldn't be used as a means to contain her at all times. If you have to be away why not leave her in the kitchen? Get a baby gate and block off the entry way so she can't get out. That's what I do with mine. The kitchen floor is easy to clean if she has an accident, and it is bigger than a bathroom. Of course some of the bathrooms now a days are quite large so this may not be a problem for you and your dog.

Good luck with your puppy. I hope you enjoy yours as much as I enjoy mine.

Answer 3

First of all, be aware that a puppy's bladder doesn't fully mature until it is about 4 - 6 months old, so no matter what you do before then, it's not going to be 100%. The potty training will be an ongoing journey, improving as the weeks go by.

The rule of thumb is that they can hold it in for an hour for every month of age. So, if your puppy is one month old, it can hold it for 1 hour.

You can start with the bathroom and puppy pads or crate her (letting her out every 2 hours) and she will still learn to hold it in to go outside, later on, once she can hold it in.

Be aware that sometimes, the smaller breeds tend to be a little more challening to potty train, so be patient.

Invest in a good potty-training book, especially on your breed, and learn about the different techniques suggested and see what works best for you and her :)

Answer 4

If you use puppy pads, when it is time to move her outside stake a puppy pad in the area where you want her to go. A puppy left in a crate can not hold their urine for more than about 4 hours. Their bladders are not strong enough to go overnight until they are between 3 or 4 months old. Do not rub their nose in an accident as that doesn't teach the puppy anything but to be afraid of you. When you take a puppy out to potty do not play but go out do their business, treat and bring inside. Playtime is not a good time to teach as they are too distracted.

Answer 5

It is hard to house train a puppy when you are working. I don't believe in crating a dog. But if you have make sure you do come home every few hours and let her out and run around. If possible get your puppy during the weekend so you can spend time with the puppy. I hope she is 8 weeks old before you pick her up . Shih Tzu's love being around people they really don't do well by themselves. Even though many do. They just love being around people. You going home and letting her out is a nice way of doing it and happy to know you are going to do that. You are going to love your Shih Tzu they are the most lovable dogs I know. Good luck with her and it seems you are worried about her. When i have my puppies running around they all run to the puppy pad about the time they stop moving and squatting they missed the pad lol..

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I just read Peaches answer..I couldn't have said it any better. I agree with that answer 100%..My thumbs up to you Peaches.

Answer 6

I once had an elderly lady for a friend. She had a wonderful little dog. A mix of some sort. She had the dog trained well and it behaved very well. Learn here https://tr.im/H3J67

She kept an uncovered candy dish on her coffee table with candy in it. The dog was forbidden to eat the candy. When she was in the room observing the dog he did not even appear to notice the candy. One day while she was in her dinning room she happened to look in a mirror and could see her dog in the living room. He did not know he was being watched. For several minutes he was sitting in front of the candy bowl staring at the candy. Finally he reached in and took one. He placed it on the table and stared at it, he woofed at it. He stared some more, licked his chops and PUT IT BACK in the bowl and walked away. Did he want the candy, oh yeah. Did he eat it? Nope. They can be trained that well but most, I'll admit, are not trained that well. When I was a young boy, maybe 5 years old. We had a german shepherd. He was very well trained also. My mom could leave food unattended on the table, no problem. She would open the oven door and set a pan roast beef or roast chicken on the door to cool. No problem. He would not touch it, watched or not. But butter? Whole other story. You leave a stick of butter anywhere he could reach and it was gone. He was a large shepherd so there were not many places he could not reach. Really, I think the number of dogs trained to the point they will leave food alone when not being supervised is very small indeed.
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Now if we are talking obedience training, not food grubbing, that is a different story. Way back when I was first learning obedience training one of the final exercises was to put our dogs in a down/stay and not only leave the room but leave the building for 15 minutes. The only person that stayed was our trainer, not the owners. Most of the dogs in my class did not break their stay, which would be an automatic fail. I'm happy to report my dog was one of the ones that passed.

Answer 7

Personally, I would not use the puppy pads at all.

Use a crate and a solid housebreaking routine to teach your puppy the appropriate time and place to go - when you have a young pup, you should take them out about six or more times a day. First thing in the morning, last thing at night, and within a half hour to an hour of each feeding, to name a few.

You should start house training your puppy as soon as you bring her home. It's not true that they don't understand the process - they understand it just fine. However, up until about 12 weeks old, they are not physically able to "hold it" because they are not yet able to control those muscles.

That does not mean you shouldn't teach her the routine of going outside to potty and when to go outside. Watch for signs of urination or defecation, such as turning in circles and take her out immediately when she gets ready to go. (This requires you to watch her - always watch your puppy or crate her when you can't watch her.)

Answer 8

The best time to get a puppy is when your going to be home for a couple of days. (Like the weekend.) That way they have a little time to bond with you and they tend to listen a little better.

Potty training a puppy isn't a matter of time....its a matter of timing.

Instead of thinking....."Take the baby out every couple of hours" Do it this way....

When it wakes up.....take it out
When it finishes eating.... take it out
When its done playing... take it out right then

A puppy lives in the "right now" state.....
When it wakes up...al it knows is its gotta pee! And if you don't take it right then it will pee where ever!

Same thing goes for playing and eating.

Regardless of what people say, crate training is bad for a dogs mental state. The perfect way to confine your pet from roaming your home while your gone is to put it in the kitchen/laundry room/bathroom with a baby gate. Don't close the door. A baby get will make your baby feel less confined and the puppies mind set will be better. Give them plenty of toys and a bed on one side of the room, peepee pad on the other side of the room and food and water in the middle. (Puppies don't normally like to poop where they sleep!)

It is possiable....with patience....to teach a puppy to use the peepee pad AND go outside. This training method has worked perfect for me and the animals I train!

Good Luck!!
Peaches

Answer 9

I got a used dog that was already crate trained though she did have two or three accidents when she was new to my place but she got the hang of it, she was 7 mos when I got her. Anyways about the pottie training there are three easy paths I can recommend

1 go to your local library and check out a book on dogs sometimes there are books that are breed specific

2 go to a local petstore where they offer obedience training and ask one of the trainers for tips

3 go to a local commercial bookstore and read about the training process, when I do this and don't buy the book I at least try to buy a coffee, chocolate etc so the store gets something out of my visit and I walk out knowing something new

Good luck.

Answer 10

Hi, I understand that you are looking for some advice or resources to help fully train your dog or fix behavior problems. If a professional dog trainer is not an option at this time, or if you want to trt training your dog on your own (a great way to bond), I'd suggest you https://bitly.im/aMS0v

A friend recommened it to me a few years ago, and I was amazed how quickly it worked, which is why I recommend it to others. The dog training academy also has as an excellent home training course.

Answer 11

Thats the kind of dog I have and it was very easy to housebreak her. I took her out about every 2 hrs. or so. It did take patience but she learned fast. They are smart little dogs. Your going to be very happy with your choice. Good Luck