Don't know what to do

[soobaroo 0]

We are having a rough time dealing with Molly. She is seven months old now and basically refuses to potty outside most of the time. It's cold here and it's like she is saying I can hold it longer than you will stand out here. As soon as we go back in the house she heads for the pee pad. She also is eating poo, something I expected her to outgrow but now I'm not sure. Of course we clean it immediately but sometimes we aren't aware of it till she gets some. I'm very concerned about the health effects to our other dog. Molly licks Tasha's ears and now she seems to have an infection in one ear. I'm thinking it could be the bacteria causing it. We tried using Deter to stop Molly from poo eating but now she's got the runs pretty bad. I'm taking Molly to the vet Friday and Tasha soon after or the same day. I'm frankly so frustrated with everything I suggested we might have to give Molly up or do something. My wife didn't really want a second dog, it was my idea. Now she loves Molly and doesn't know what to do either. I know nobody can tell me how to fix this but I needed to vent. I just feel terrible about this whole situation.

[ruffian 4]

IMO go back to basics. She need to be kennels or tethered so she can not get free to mess in the house. When she pees/poops outside have a treat handy and praise praise praise, and make it the best treat in the world too her, and treats that are only used for that. I use dried lamb or kangaroo or something, its very much like beef jerky, Bristol LOVES it and will work to get a piece. If she doesnt pee (or poop if its after a feeding) then she doesnt get free roaming time. And if I can not watch her because i am cooking/cleaning or otherwise busy she is in her kennel.

[Beau1124 2]

Beau was fairly easy to train, of course I've never had a female and I understand they can be more difficult to housebreak. Even now, almost three years later, I still use a leash when I take him out to go so I have control. We have "Beau's area" in the yard and that's where he goes. Some mornings I have to have the patience of a saint while he searches for just the "right" spot. We live in Indiana so I'm with ya there on the cold thing! As for the poop thing: Beau still gets into poop -grrr- it is soooo disgusting. When we walk he is on a short leash for just that reason. Then we come to an area and it's Beau's sniff time. I know my neighborhood so I know where it is relatively safe (read: poop free) for sniff time but on occasion..........man, he's quick! I wish I had something to say to help you; I agree with going back to basics, keeping her on a potty schedule and walks (hard, I know in the winter).

[mr.coffee 364]

Pretty much it right there - with Harley we'd go out frequently, like say 15 minutes to half an hour when he was little. Always on leash, and with "Let's go potty!" commands. If he didn't go, we'd come inside, but go back out sooner, like 5 to 10 minutes, until he did go. Potty training was one of the critical times for the clicker for me, because I could click ~as he was going~ and treat immediately after. Of course much verbal praise comes along with it - "Oh, that's so good, good potty, Harley!" Of course the neighbors surely thought I was nuts, but that's fine with me, it's better than what I think of them...the command has stuck, too, before a car ride he will pee on command.

We never really used the crate except at night, but that was just our fortune I think.

As for eating poop, there's not a lot that can be done about it. On the rare occasion that Harley has an accident in the house - never while we're home, BTW - we find that he munches down still. Outside, "Drop it" and "Leave it" are good, again accompanied by click, treat and praise. I have these little soccer cones that I found at TJ Maxx, I keep several near the back door and as soon as it hits the ground I cover it. This also marks the spot so Devon (my 13 year old son) can go clean up the yard. Alternatively, just keep bags handy. Since I know he would chow down if given the chance, I don't give him the chance. When we're outside to potty, I keep my eyes on him at all times.

As he's gotten older, the leash is usually not necessary, we've done away with the clicker, and I'm more familiar with his patterns. The commands and praise have always remained consistent.

Hope this helps...

-m

[Emma's mommy 0]

Oh, don't give up. I know you must be very frustrated with Molly right now but Tina is correct. You have to go back to the basics. You need to be very consistent with this part. Also, maybe you can try to feed her at a certain time every day so that she gets on a schedule and then it might be easier to predict when she will be eliminating. You are going to have to use her crate when you can not watch her. The poo eating...... If you have tried the pineapple and Deter etc.. when it's time to potty have her on a leash so that you have a better chance of catching her in the act (and saying NO or Leave it ) and picking it up before she can. I don't know much about this but I sure hope that this helps. Good luck at the vet and keep us posted.

[tzuhouse 4]

I agree with so much said....go back to basics....including a kennel. They seem to get the fact that they are kenneled until they go....if they don't go, it's right back in side into the kennel. Once they go, they get freedom. Plus, if she comes right back in to use the pee pad, at least it is not on your carpet....as for eating you MUST watch like a hawk and the second they hunch to dump (LOL that's what we call it) GET READY to swoop in an pick it up....if they even turn to go for it, tell them NO and MEAN it. They will eventually get the idea, while that doesn't mean they will never do it again, they at least know that while you are around, they won't.

DDN'T give up, she will get it, but tzu are not the easiest to train. Yes, some are VERY easy, but others take upwards and over a year. Patience is so important and don't let her see your frustration. Consistency is the other key.....take her to potty the same time and place and treat and praise like crazy. Like Mike said, put on a show both for Molly and your neighbors....who cares they call you crazy....LOL

GOOD LUCK!!!!

[Beau1124 2]

Oh, it sounds like everyone is talking about the tzus eating their OWN poop. Never had that one....just other animals' poop. One time I wasn't quick enough on the walk and we had to come straight home so I could wash his mouth out. :)

[Carolina Girl 2]

I agree with everyone else, you should "start over". Take her every 15 minutes or so. If she doesn't go, kennel her then try again 15 minutes later. Also, I think someone else said this, you should have her on a feeding schedule. When mine get fed, they pee/poop exactly 20 minutes later. We do that in the morning and evening. I really think that a schedule is key in potty training.

[mr.coffee 364]

Yup - food in, poop out. On Sojos Grain Free, we get one after each meal, on Sojos Original it's usually just one after breakfast. Breakfast at 8:30, dinner at 6:30.

-m

[Sunlite 9,106]

Emma was the worst, took 2 years, she is now 8 and still reverts!

Back to the beginning... Start with crate training and limiting water and so forth...

Patience & praise will work but you must be consistent!

[soobaroo 0]

I had a long drive for work last night and did some soul searching. It didn't take long to realize this is my fault and not Molly's. We both work and while our schedules are somewhat staggered we both have to be gone on the same day a couple days a week. Getting an older dog would have been a better choice. It took about a year to house train our Havanese. She is a very smart dog and probably would have been trained by the time she was 6-7 months if not for the inconsistency caused by our schedules. With Molly we've been too willing to fall back on the fact that she will use the pee pad so we have been less vigilant when we're tired and it's cold out. We can do better but it doesn't help when we're both gone. Maybe it just isn't fair to the dog to have one if someone isn't home every day.

She hasn't gone after her poop since she's had the runs. This is another thing easy to control when we are home but not when nobody is here. Our vet appointment is tomorrow for both dogs so I'm sure he'll give me medication for Molly's diarrhea and check the ears on both. I'll discuss the poo eating with him also but I doubt he'll have any answers. Most of my puppies have done this but they all outgrew it quickly. This one has me worried as I've heard this tends to be a problem with shih tzu's.

I was feeling desperate last night and thinking she needed to be in a home where someone was there all the time. That had me thinking I might have to consider contacting rescue to find her a suitable home. We will just have to try harder and hope it doesn't come to that. My dogs have always been part of the family and not disposable items. I'd feel like a terrible failure if we can't make this work.

Thank you for all the suggestions and good wishes.

Edited December 17, 2010 by soobaroo

[Emma's mommy 0]

Well, I too hope that it doesn't come to finding Molly a new home. I really hope that things turn around quickly with her. You must be very frustrated right now but It sounds like you are going to give it a little more time and ... that's a good thing. Please let us know how it went at the vet today. I hope that your pups are feeling better.

[soobaroo 0]

Molly's diarrhea seemed to be gone this morning but the vet gave us medication for it. We'll use it till we're sure it's gone. Tahsa has an infection in the ears caused my moisture but not bacteria. We have to stop Molly from licking Tasha's ears which seems to be the cause. Things look better today, probably because my wife is home also. She's determined to make this work so I'm sure we'll be ok. Thanks again.

[Little Molly 0]

I know that this may be tough for you, but also I'm glad that your wife is willing to make this work! Look at your dog like a child. Would you give your child up if he didn't "get it"? No! You just have to keep on trying and like everyone says, be consistant.

My Molly was very stubborn. She didn't "get it" until about 9 months of age. I tried to keep an eye on her and was going completely crazy by following her throughout the house. I don't have a yard, so I tried to get her to go out on our balcony, but she would not. I bought cat litter and box, but she would eat that. Newspaper didn't work because she would shred that. I was going crazy and to tell you the truth, I was at whits end! For the first time in my life, I was almost ready to give up on a puppy!

Not only problems with her not peeing outside. But problems with her peeing inside....wherever she felt like going! I had mop in hand at all times! So maybe your more lucky because at least yours goes on the pee pad!

I then bought a repellant, and sprayed it on all the places that she was going (inside). Then I put an old rug outside and tried very hard to catch her while she was in the act. One day, I saw her finally crouching down to pee, and I ran over and grabbed her in the act, and put her on the rug. She didn't understand. So the next time she peed, I took the rug and cleaned up the pee with it. That way the rug had the smell of urine on it, and would attract her the next time (hopefully). Well the next time we got her to go outside, she peed half on, half off the rug. I praised her like crazy. And the next time we did it again! Each time she would get close to or on the rug, we would clap our hands, pet her and give her a hug. It finally clicked! Now Molly goes on that old rug (which we change daily) and loves it!

So please, don't be discouraged. It will work out! You will just have to figure out what works for YOUR pup!

Pam

[mom2Gizmo 24]

Most shih tzu's don't seem to be reliably housetrained until a year of age. Just keep working on it. Supervision and preventing accidents as much as you can is key. Also, my shih tzu was eating stool at 7 months old. He stopped doing that by the time he was a year old also. So the pup may grow out of it. My sisters maltese, on the other hand, never grew out of it.

[luvmybabies 165]

My two shih tzu were trained on pee pads for various reasons. They learned very quickly, both by about 3 - 3 1/2 months. But my maltese are a different matter. Our oldest (the female) is trained to go outside OR on pee pads but if you don't watch her she will squat on the rug. So I never fully trust her unless we are in the living room. The male maltese was not trained when we got him at a year old and his breeder and handler praised him for lifting his leg like a little "stud". He knows he is supposed to go on the pee pads and mostly does but sometimes he lifts his leg on things and will always lift his leg in the living room unless watched like a hawk. Same scenario for my Papillon as he was untrained when I got him at a year old. Both my malts eat poop, they prefer their own but others will do sometimes if I'm too slow to grab it from the pee pad. My oldest is 11 and has always done this and when outsides leads us on a merry chase around the yard to find the right place. If we become distracted then immediately she poops and grabs it or grabs another ones if it has not been picked up. I've tried to train them all the same way and got them all going on pee pads but I tell you it was a wicked year training 5 to go there. My Golden of course goes outside and wouldn't dream of doing her business in the house. I'm really impressed how my Shih Tzu trained so fast and very unimpressed at how hard the other three were and are to train. Consequently all the dogs are gated in the kitchen and bathroom unless they are sitting with me on my chair or playing at my feet or being bathed and groomed! I must mention here that Benji and Connor have never lifted their legs so they never spray anything. Don't know why but I'm not questioning it. Connor is over a year and a half so probably never will do this and Benji is now 9 months. I think he just copies everything Connor does as Connor is his hero!!

The ear thing happened to my Golden and my Lab I had at the time Jazz was a baby till she was about 3. Jenny never had any ear problems till Jazz appeared and Jazz didn't have ear problems when we brought her home. But.....they constantly play fought and got each others ears sopping wet. Then the yeast infections started. I'd just get one cleared up and the other would start. This went on for the entire 3 years Jenny was with us before she passed. The vet told me they were passing it back and forth to each other and the wet ears were helping. When Jenny died I took Jazz to the vet and it took us 2 months of treatment before her ears were finally cleared up.

She has only had one ear infection since and it easily cleared up (she is 9 now). I would guess your answer would be to try to keep them from chewing on each other's ears and eventually the problem will solve itself. My big dogs were outside a lot away from my direct supervision so that is why I never seemed to resolve the problem.

[soobaroo 0]

I've had to work some long and unusual hours the last few days so I havn't been online until today. The screwy schedule also seemed to get me sick.

My wife has been doing great with Molly while I was gone. She takes her out every hour and puts her on the couch after coming in if she doesn't do anything. She can't get off the couch and won't pee there. Tasha would never pee on the couch either so it seems to work well when somebody is home. I'm home alone today and for some reason Molly just doesn't seem to like to pee when I take her out but she'll go for my wife almost every time. We are making progress so I'm sure she'll get it. I expected these two dogs to get along well but that's an understatement. They seem to just love each other and are together constantly. Thanks again for the encouragement and suggestions. Thinks are looking much better.

[Seastar 44]

Glad to see you got lots of great advice and encouragement! Things always get better when you put your heart into it.

[mr.coffee 364]

Awesome!

-m

[soobaroo 0]

Thought I'd give you an update on how things are going. We started giving Molly little bits of treats whenever she poops or pees outside. Should have tried that sooner because now she pees outside quickly and looks for her treat. We tried Deter to get her to stop the poo eating and later realized that was what caused the runs. That was after giving it to her for only about 4 days. If we are right there when she poops just saying no stops her from getting any closer. I just hopes she outgrows this filthy habit soon. I think almost every puppy does this but most stop by the time they are 6 months. This breed seems to have a bigger issue with this than most. Oh well, we are just happy she is doing business outside and not using the pee pad nearly as much.

[savri dream 0]

I hope things do work out for you, treats and crating worked for me it strengthens their bladder and really does learn them to hold it although Alfie still has the occasional accident, he's just turned six months