Can a dog be untrainable?

[jette 0]

I got an 8 week old puppy, her mother is Shih Tzu and daddy is a yorkie.

I am officially discouraged here!!! I have had this pup for 3 weeks and been with it all day, every day. I am trying to paper train her. She has hit the paper 99% of the time, then today, she pooped on the kitchen floor. Since she had already pooped, I let her out into the rest of the house, and she pooped in the entry way. and then ate it!!!! I watched her pee yesterday on the paper, so I let her out....she already peed, right? so, she goes into the dinning room and pees. I can't have a dog in the house that is not housebroken. She is the best little thing, but I can't have the house smelling like urine and poop and I can't keep her confined in the tiled kitchen or in a crate. I need help!!!! This is not my first pup. I have had a poodle, yorkie, mixed breeds, bichon and never had this problem. She came with a bag of Purina Puppy Chow from the owner, and the vet gave me a bag of Science Diet when she had her 9 week exam. Is this something that is in the breed or is it my training?

Thanks for any advice.

[poncho62 44]

Lets do the math....She is 8 weeks old, you have had her 3 weeks....You got her at 5 weeks....Thats pretty young. to start learning

At 8 weeks, if she is peeing on the pad most of the time, you are doing good in my opinion....It will take a month or 2 to train her.....have patience

We got Molly at 8 weeks, it took another month or two to house train her.....she never has an accident now. She had a habit of peeing on the carpet, I guess it seemed soft like grass......She knew it was wrong but couldnt help it I guess because the odor was there. We had the carpet cleaned and she stopped...been perfect ever since

[Mia-Bee-Uh 48]

Mia is a little over 6 months and she is just starting to really listen when I ask her to come, sit, and high five. We got Mia when she was around 9 weeks and even then I feel like we should have waited until she was closer to 12 weeks so she had more time with her mom and siblings. She still sometimes has accidents in the house if we don't take her out enough but she was basically potty trained a month or so after we brought her home.

It just takes time, don't get discouraged.

Make sure you're feeding her at regular intervals so you know when she should have to go potty. When Mia went outside this was our schedule:

Wake up, go outside and try to potty.

Eat, go out side and try to potty

Every 2 hours, go outside and try to potty.

I would wait no longer than 30 minutes after she eats to take her out and always make sure right when she wakes up and right before bed you take her out!

I was outside allllll the damn time when she was little. I had to take Mia out a few times in the middle of the night too when she was a baby cause she just couldn't hold it through the night yet.

Also since yours wanders off to go a lot of vet and people recommend tying a rope or something around your waist and then attaching a leash to the dog so shes always right there with you and cant wonder off. That way she should start whining and tugging when she has to go out so you can immediately take her and she never gets a chance to wonder off! I would give that a try if I were you! I did it a few times with Mia! lol

Edited December 9, 2012 by Mia-Bee-Uh

[Luna 8,676]

Puppies don't really have enough control over bowels and bladder to "hold it" for any length of time until between 8-12 weeks, some earlier than others and many much longer: it is not unusual to have a dog still have accidents up to 6 months or so. Some individuals of some breeds simply cannot be housetrained and are never reliable: Bichons, Lowchen and Havanese come to mind (all are closely related). We have a 2-year old Lowchen who has been with us 14 months and still cannot have the run of the house. Shih Tzu can also be stubborn - you simply have to be more stubborn and completely consistent.

Your best bet is to confine her when you cannot watch her. You say you cannot do this and I am a little confused? Putting a puppy in a crate or playpen is pretty easy.

[jette 0]

I got the puppy at 8 weeks, and have had her for 3 weeks....she is 11 weeks. The owner said she left food out 24 hours a day, so I have been doing that too.

I am going to start all over from the beginning and feed her 3 times a day. I am also going to give her a better quality food. I am thinking about Blue Buffalo? Something with less fillers so maybe she doesn't go as often?

When you use the crate for a young puppy, do you keep water in the crate? Like an attached water bottle?

Thanks for all your encouraging words and advice. I really, really appreciate it!!!!!!!! It was good to read that other pups have taken much longer to housebreak. I am going to use some of your advice like using a leash and attaching her to me, using the crate more, having a definite feeding and potty schedule. Thanks!!!!!

[Luna 8,676]

Our dogs all have water bottles attached to their crates - young puppies especially can dehydrate easily. Also, I think that dogs that have water available at all times are less likely to be plagued with kidney stones. You can train your pup to use a bottle, or if it is easier for you you can use a "coop cup" that will attach to the crate. You can definitely go to three meals a day now, decreasing to 2 meals at 16 weeks as long as your baby is at least 4 pounds then. We start out with three scheduled meals from the time we start weaning babies and go to 2 at 16 weeks. Has worked well for us thus far.

I did use the "leash" method for traning my first Pom years ago and it was very effective, but she was older than your puppy. I tend to rely on the "in-and-out" crate method, which has been good for us and certainly easier than following a puppy around all the time, lol. It also teaches the puppy that when he/she is in the crate it is either nap-time or play-quietly-by-myself time. You may put up with some objections at first, but when puppy is trained you will be thankful when you need her out of the way to vacuum, mop floors, have company over, on car trips, etc.

If you need supply ideas, I have all my favorites in the "Links" section of my website.