Housebreaking help

[Milo's mom 16]

Hello!  I am new here but hoping for some help.  I adopted a Shih Tzu mix from our shelter a few months ago.  He was a stray so we have no history for him.  They guessed he is between 1-3 years old and a shih tzu-terrier mix  When we got him he was in pretty bad shape- malnourished, outgrown hair was so matted he has to be shaved in spots and also had a bad case of kennel cough.  But this little guy spoke to my heart and I brought him home and fell in love!!  It was unknown if he was potty trained so we started out with the crate.  But he hated it!!!  He would cry, bark, scratch and get so worked up it made his kennel cough so much worse..  So we stopped putting him in it.  Probably not the best decision but he was so sick, I couldn't do that to him too.  But he was going out to go potty ok so we thought maybe we was potty trained. (He eventually recovered from the kennel cough and we did reintroduce him to the kennel when we leave the house, but he still doesn't like it)  We are taking him outside 4-5 times a day and sometimes he will go but sometimes not.  He also get very distracted by the squirrels, rabbits, birds,etc (probably the terrier in him) that I'm not sure he realizes what he is supposed to be doing out there!   So we are trained to take him out but I don't think he gets it.  We are trying to ring a bell before we take him out ( our other dogs picked this up very easy) but he doesnt ever seem to tell us if he has to go and has gone in the house on occasion.  We have tried giving treats when he goes outside also.  Our other dogs were all trained from puppies so we haven't ever dealt with trying to train an adult dog.  And because he is an adult dog, he can probably hold it longer than a puppy so maybe he really doesn't have to go ( or he is going In the house somewhere and I don't know about it...). I think it would be very hard to now go back to crate training him at this point as we have only kenneled him when we leave the house, not while we are home..   Does anyone have any suggestions?   I am sorry this got so long but I would appreciate any help I can get!!  He is such a sweetie and we love him dearly but not the accidents...

 

[PipsMom 34,988]

 Kathy, Milo & Josie. 

I can certainly see why you adopted him, bless you....gorgeous picture..

There are a few on here that have rescues and know all to well your problem...they will answer when they check in. Just wanted to welcome you to our family here.❤️

[Crinkly 15,586]

Hi and welcome!

[Pawz4me 6,802]

Welcome!  He sure is a cutie!

Sounds like you have a fenced yard and just let him out?  If so I'd put him on leash and walk him around until he does his business. That way you can help keep his mind on the task. Once he's taken care of it I'd let him loose to run around and chase squirrels for a few minutes. You probably won't need to keep him on leash forever. He should eventually catch on, but it might take a few weeks or even a few months. 

For inside you might consider trying an ex pen or puppy play pen until he's reliable.

Also be sure to clean all his accident areas inside with a good enzymatic cleaner like Nature's Miracle. 

[Summerangel 18,997]

Hello and welcome. He's gorgeous ?

[Milo's mom 16]

Thanks for the welcomes!!  Paws, we do not have a fenced yard and we do take him out on the leash.  He still goes after the squirrels and rabbits when we first go out so we have to distract him to try to keep him on task.. often all he does is sniff around, doesn't go potty.  For example, we went out this morning after breakfast and took care of his business (both poo and pee).  But I have taken him out twice now in the last 7 hours and nothing....  Is that unusual?  My other dog is a corgi and she goes more than that!   I have never had a little dog like him before so I'm not sure..

Edited October 17, 2015 by Milo's mom

[Infamousmare 491]

We had a rescued Shih Tzu boy who was very much like your Milo - he panicked in the crate and he needed constant potty walks because he would potty anywhere in the house.  He was also very distracted - I used to cringe when cars would drive by, squirrels would run around, cyclists would roll past, the breeze would stir the leaves...  *LOL*  

First, we kept him penned in the kitchen/eating area, which is all hardwood,.  Unless I was able to watch him with no distractions, he was in here.  This way, I didn't have to watch him every second.  If he had an accident, it was infinitely easier to clean up than on the carpeting.  

Second, I would take him out the same door every time for potty walks and we started out at every hour or so.   Then we got to every 1.5 - 2 hours (he was about 6-7 months old).  We didn't use a bell (what a great idea, though!), but I would say "Potty time, Luca!" as we went toward the door.   Then I'd say, "Potty, Luca" when we got outside.  Then I would NOT interact with him except to sometimes say "Potty Luca"  when he got distracted.   As he was going, I'd say in a super happy voice, "Potty Luca!  Good Boy!" and scratch him behind the ears.   He never responded to treats - I'd try giving him a treat out there and he'd look at me like I was nuts.  (Luca only liked his treats in the house.)    

Third, while out on our walks, I'd keep him in a small area on the front walk.  You can decide on your area, but he began to understand that when we were in that one area of the yard/front walk,  Once he pottied and I praised him, THEN he could go sniff all the wonderful and fascinating smells in the yard.      He caught on to this pretty quickly!

As for the crate, that was TOUGH.   He would cry and bark and paw frantically at it the first several nights home.   He, too, had a nasty upper respiratory infection and I felt so sad for him.   However, I had talked with some wonderful people who deal with rescues and they told me that it is good for him to learn that the crate is a good place and that he'd eventually get used to it and do okay.   He did!   I always praised him for getting in, left it open during the day so that he could go in and out and I always put in lots of super fun treats so that he'd randomly find them.    I also turned on a YouTube station specially made for dog relaxation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OHEB41yRdU. and left it on during the night.   This helped him out a lot.    It is really hard and I thought he'd never stop barking or crying at first, but he did.   

Milo is so lucky to have you and I think that the more time he spends in your home, the more he'll know that you love him and that he can trust you.   Just set up those good boundaries for him - he'll be much more comfortable knowing his place in your loving home.  <3

 

Edited October 17, 2015 by Infamousmare

[Sophie's Haven 17,464]

Welcome to Chatter........your little fellow is adorable........love his eyes. Thank You first of all for taking Milo into your home I have a passion when it comes to rescues. 6 of my 7 Tzu are rescues and they are such a joy. Now I have Bailey who came into our home at what was guessed to be a year old. He was crated also while I was at work(have since retired) and he to was not fond of the crate........I would put him on a leash and walk him for about 20 minutes each time he went outside and he did really good but every once in awhile I would notice small dribbles next to anything that was left on the floor like a grocery bag, shoes, sorted laundry, throws that hang over the chair or couch, or if I should have moved a piece of furniture from one location to another..........well I found my culprit.....Bailey is a marker........so he now wears a belly band to avoid any mess.......but he still potties outside and goes all night without making a mess........I am not saying this is what your dealing with but you can still have him wear a belly band in the house and remove it when it is time for him to go outside to potty.........plus it will help let you know if he is potting in the house as it will be soiled. It will take persistence to break him of getting his focus off squirrels and rabbits.......it took almost 2 years to get Bailey completely focused  on the job at hand. Now my Allie can hold her pee for 8 to 10 hours.......she too is a rescue and that is how she has been since we got her.

[Pawz4me 6,802]

Thanks for the welcomes!!  Paws, we do not have a fenced yard and we do take him out on the leash.  He still goes after the squirrels and rabbits when we first go out so we have to distract him to try to keep him on task.. often all he does is sniff around, doesn't go potty.  For example, we went out this morning after breakfast and took care of his business (both poo and pee).  But I have taken him out twice now in the last 7 hours and nothing....  Is that unusual?  My other dog is a corgi and she goes more than that!   I have never had a little dog like him before so I'm not sure..

I don't think it's unusual for an adult small dog to hold it that long when they want to. Yogi often holds it for much longer. 

Have you tried actually walking him somewhere to get him to go?  I mean somewhere other than your yard? Some dogs really need a little brisk walking to trigger the urge to defecate.  And of course most males will urinate wherever another dog has. 

[Milo's mom 16]

I'm glad to hear it isn't that unusual for him to hold it that long.  

Thank you all for the tips!  I am going to try keeping him tethered or penned up in the kitchen area when I can't keep eyes on him at all times.  This is my first little boy so I'm not that familiar with the "marking" habits.  May have to check out the belly band that Sophie's Haven mentioned.. I will keep up with taking him out regularly, using the "potty time" trigger and rewarding him when he does go.  And longer walks to get things going!  Maybe I am expecting too much too soon.  Really hope he figures out to let us know that he needs to go out. 

He seems to be making progress with the kennel so we will keep that up too.  Loved the tip on hiding random treats in there for him so will definitely do that.  

Thank you all again for the help and support.  I am new to this type of forum so please forgive if I don't quite know how to respond individually.  And for the very large picture of my Milo!!!  I'm a proud momma but didn't realize it would come out that big!! LOL!

[ParadiseTzu 11,275]

Welcome Milo. You have gotten very good advice. He is so cute and we love big pics. I think you will get there.

---

[Summerangel 18,997]

I'm glad to hear it isn't that unusual for him to hold it that long.  

Thank you all for the tips!  I am going to try keeping him tethered or penned up in the kitchen area when I can't keep eyes on him at all times.  This is my first little boy so I'm not that familiar with the "marking" habits.  May have to check out the belly band that Sophie's Haven mentioned.. I will keep up with taking him out regularly, using the "potty time" trigger and rewarding him when he does go.  And longer walks to get things going!  Maybe I am expecting too much too soon.  Really hope he figures out to let us know that he needs to go out. 

He seems to be making progress with the kennel so we will keep that up too.  Loved the tip on hiding random treats in there for him so will definitely do that.  

Thank you all again for the help and support.  I am new to this type of forum so please forgive if I don't quite know how to respond individually.  And for the very large picture of my Milo!!!  I'm a proud momma but didn't realize it would come out that big!! LOL!

if you want to reply to an individual's  reply. 

In there box where they have replied, under their message it will say 'like this' and under that is quote, click on the quote and the quote will be appear at the bottom in the reply box, where you can type your message under the quote. 

Hope that makes sense? 

[Missysmom 24,975]

Welcome Kathy, Milo and Josie, so glad you joined us! Bless you for rescuing Milo and giving him a furever home! He is adorable, Love his pic!

Our Missy is also a rescue and was a bit older, but we too don't know her actual age. But they told us too she may need a refresher house training as she was in a new environment. We too had several dogs that readily trained to the bell at the door but Not Missy! I think she thinks it's for Us to ring so we now do that when we want her to go out like at bedtime and she comes running!  

What we found helpful was to attach Missy's leash to us, like on our pant loop, and have her follow us around the house. We did this for a few weeks, maybe a month. This really worked well as we could keep a close eye on her and she also learned quickly to follow us around. She is litterally my shadow now, if I get up she does too! 

We also leash walked her for her potty outings, we do have a fenced yard but we made her stay on lead till she got the idea of where to go potty. We tried the walking in a circle giving her the potty command, a lot of people say that works but it just made all of us dizzy! But it might be something that works for you! We also did tons of praise and gave her a treat when she went. She still runs right up to us after going potty for her treat!

Missy can 'hold it' for a very long time. She generally goes potty after her meals and before bedtime and of course on her walks, she marks everything just like a boy!

And Missy loves her crate but Only when the door is Open! When we leave put her in there and close the door she carries on like crazy! What I did was put a piece of my clothing, pants, t-shirt, etc in there with her. And I give her a Kong stuffed with treat and peanut butter- that helps a lot! 

It sounds like you're doing Great so far, it does take them some time for them to adjust. Missy was also sick when we got her, for probably about a month or so and i do think that slowed progress just because she didn't feel. Things went much better and quicker once she was recovered and then we could see her sweet personality, before that she was very shy- not now! 

I know Milo will pick up his commands quickly now that he's feeling better, they are Very smart pups! Please keep us posted! 

 

[ParadiseTzu 11,275]

Kathy - just something to think about....my Willie (9 months) is the first male dog I have housebroke. And he does not squat or hike his leg (yet) to pee. He just sorta gets still to pee so it was very difficult for me to know especially until I got used to the fact that is he is walking around (while on the leash) and gets still, he is peeing. Even still, a lot of times I have to feel under his belly for any even small amount of wetness. Makes for lots of washed hands on my part but that's ok. Anyway, like I said just a suggestion that maybe he is peeing without you knowing.

[Milo's mom 16]

Hello again!  Have been quite busy this week and haven't had a chance to respond.  I have put some of your great advise in action.  We are giving treats whenever Milo goes potty and lots of praise.  He still doesn't go every time we take him out but he did cry a bit to me a couple of times and went poo was soon as we got outside.   So that is a start!!  Still doesn't get the bell but I will take anything that I get.

If it has been a while since he has gone, we will take him out to give him a chance to go. He is still very distracted by squirrels,  rabbits and sniffing all those wonderful smells out there.  So if he doesn't go, we have started to keep him tethered in the tiled kitchen dining area until he goes again.  We have a open concept so he is somewhat close to us but not in the carpeted area.   And he generally usually goes whenever we go for a long walk.

Anyway, no accidents this week so that is good!  

[Milo's mom 16]

Welcome Kathy, Milo and Josie, so glad you joined us! Bless you for rescuing Milo and giving him a furever home! He is adorable, Love his pic!

Our Missy is also a rescue and was a bit older, but we too don't know her actual age. But they told us too she may need a refresher house training as she was in a new environment. We too had several dogs that readily trained to the bell at the door but Not Missy! I think she thinks it's for Us to ring so we now do that when we want her to go out like at bedtime and she comes running!  

What we found helpful was to attach Missy's leash to us, like on our pant loop, and have her follow us around the house. We did this for a few weeks, maybe a month. This really worked well as we could keep a close eye on her and she also learned quickly to follow us around. She is litterally my shadow now, if I get up she does too! 

We also leash walked her for her potty outings, we do have a fenced yard but we made her stay on lead till she got the idea of where to go potty. We tried the walking in a circle giving her the potty command, a lot of people say that works but it just made all of us dizzy! But it might be something that works for you! We also did tons of praise and gave her a treat when she went. She still runs right up to us after going potty for her treat!

Missy can 'hold it' for a very long time. She generally goes potty after her meals and before bedtime and of course on her walks, she marks everything just like a boy!

And Missy loves her crate but Only when the door is Open! When we leave put her in there and close the door she carries on like crazy! What I did was put a piece of my clothing, pants, t-shirt, etc in there with her. And I give her a Kong stuffed with treat and peanut butter- that helps a lot! 

It sounds like you're doing Great so far, it does take them some time for them to adjust. Missy was also sick when we got her, for probably about a month or so and i do think that slowed progress just because she didn't feel. Things went much better and quicker once she was recovered and then we could see her sweet personality, before that she was very shy- not now! 

I know Milo will pick up his commands quickly now that he's feeling better, they are Very smart pups! Please keep us posted! 

 

I hope I am doing this reply thing right!!  Thank you for the advise.  I had tried tethering Milo to me for a while but I was worried about doing that because he does seem to have some separation issues and I didn't want to play into that too much.  So we started tying him up in the kitchen area where he is close to us but not attached.  He sometimes cries when we leave the room, but hopefully he learns to trust that we will come back.  We always do!!! ?