Well, you do have my sympathy. Been there, done that with potty issues. My latest addition, a four month old Shepard/Hound took me six months. My three previous dogs took only a few days. It's a very long story.

Anyway, when I got my first dog 16 years ago, she was abused, a Shepard/Lab. I had all sorts of problems with her. I was really at my wits end when I discovered a trainer who asked me a question that put things into perspective really fast. That question was: "If you are doing something and it's not working to fix things, what does that tell you?" I stupidly said "I don't know". She then said, "It's not working, why would you keep doing something that is getting no results? You need to try something else, and keep trying new things until the problem get's fixed". With this simple statement, things immediately started to change, and I had a wonderful dog for 14 years.

You situation is difficult and not getting better. Shih Tzu dogs may need special treatment in this department because of their wiring. I don't know. You need to contact someone, perhaps a rescue organization who knows the breed to get input.

Aside from that, you need to get the dog on a schedule, monitor and write down time and days what is going in, and when it comes out. Get dog used to walks at specific times of day in the morning and afternoon. A mid-day break would also be great. When dog is crated, donÂt offer food or water. When dog comes out of the crate, immediately take him out, don't stop to put your shoes on, just go out. Get him used to the command "go pee" and "go poop" or what ever command you want. Dog needs to associate those commands with what it is doing and HUGE amounts of praise, like he is the best dog in the world, along with yummy treats used only for training purposes.

Lots of people make a mistake by not putting their pups on a schedule for potty training, and they get nowhere. Dogs are creatures of habit, they depend on a repetitive schedule. Your dog needs to realize that you are going to tend to his needs. Scheduling reinforces this.

Theory has it that a pup should be able to hold it one hour for each month, up until around 9 months. Your four month old dog should be able to hold it four hours.

Unfortunately, dogs don't know this theory. When pups play and eat they gulp huge amounts of water. Your pup simply has not grown enough inside to hold it very long. Shortly after drinking, take the dog out. If dog does nothing, crate him, set a timer for 20-30 minutes, and take him out again. Repeat this until he goes, give the praise and treats.

There is a huge difference between a dog that is 4 months and one that is 9-10 months. They grow inside and out and can hold things longer.

Your goal needs to be no accidents for 9 months, only then will he be considered house trained.

This is a start. BTW I have recently house trained 3 dogs in three days or less.

Good luck!

SG

How often do you leash walk your puppy? You can not do it enough. First thing in the morning, dont just let your dog out in the backyard to do its business itself, clip a leash onto your dogs collar and taKE IT FOR A 10 MINUTE WALK. This should be done often during the day. After you eat dinner, walk your dog, and just before you are ready to retire, leash walk your dog. Dont forget to praise your puppy when it goes, and use a command, NOT yelling but in a happy tone, tell your dog PP OUTSIDE, or whatever you choose, be certain to praise it.
Remember your puppy is a puppy, limiting its body movements in a crate is not going to do much for its disposition when it becomes too sore from being in the same position all night long, soooner or later you will end up with an agressive dog, because it wont feel good physically.

I completely agree with Mazer.

Consistency and commitment from the human is key to this issue. Some dogs "get it" very quickly and some just don't, I am a testament to that.

Freedom restriction is also key. If you can't supervise dog every second, with a leash on, crate him. Dogs that have to much freedom and are allowed to go all over the house get into mischief and could hurt themselves.

The three basic issues dogs simply must have under control are before they earn gradual freedom are:

*Teething
*Chewing
*House training (no accidents for 9 months).

If any of these three issues are not corrected, dog is simply not ready for being weaned from the crate, which should be your ultimate goal.

Lots of people don't realize that when you are addressing the three issues, you are laying a very basic foundation for the dogs future behavior. Dealing with these things also prevents lots of future bad behavior.

Keep in mind that all of the freedom restrictions and hard work should be considered temporary, until dog improves. Also keep in mind, that when dog get's into mischief, or does something wrong or "unacceptable", like chewing on something you don't approve of, or has accidents, if he could talk, he would be telling you "I'm not ready for more unsupervised freedom yet". It's really as simple as that.

SG

Besides peeing in his crate, is your dog peeing elsewhere too?

If the dog is peeing the crate and laying it in, then crate training is not going to work as a potty training tool for him.

I agree with what Mazer said about talking the dog out on a leash with you. You can praise your dog when he goes and you can even train your dog "where" to go in the yard, if you use that method.

You probably will have tether the dog to you at all times, so you know exactly when he is going to squat and get him outdoors. He won't be able to sneak off, if he is tied to you.

Thanks for the advice all.

We have been trying to keep him on a regular schedule. This definitely helped with his pooping schedule. Before we established his schedule he had a few poop accidents in his crate over night. He never has never had a poop accident in the house otherwise though.

We definitely watch him at all times he's out of his crate. He has maybe 1 pee accident in the house a day. I can live with him having accidents in the house, I understand he's still a very small pup...it's just the lying in his own urine overnight that gets a bit frustrating sometimes. It's my theory he was forced to do that in the puppy mill where he was rescued from so he doesn't feel the same reservations other dogs do about lying in their own waste.

I had been taking him for a 15 minute walk every morning and again before bed. (About all he can handle at his size). Unfortunately it's been raining every day here for the past 2 weeks so we haven't had as many walk opportunities.

Do you think I should start getting up at night again to take him out whenever he barks? I have no problem doing this, but I worry it could prevent him from learning to hold it at night.

As SG mentioned, Shih Tzu's ARE wired differently and it's time to break the cycle and try a different approach.

When I worked with a rescue group, it was common to hear that ST's were often difficult to house train. Your idea to put the puppy in the laundry room is the best approach at this point. The author of the attached article is a ST breeder and she doesn't attempt to start crate training until the pup is 6 months old.

Try to learn what works for your pup and remember that the basic approach to crate training doesn't always apply to every dog.

Also, I'm not a fan of keeping dogs in crates with no bedding. Even if they soil the bedding at least it prevents the dog from lying in urine all night.

Here is a link that might be useful: Housetraining ST's

Shih Tzu's are so adorable.

Maybe your pup would do better with a larger area - one with a bed and a separate area with newspaper for potty breaks? There are dog beds that are raised off the floor which may help your dog differentiate between "clean sleeping" and "potty area".

Sky

I disagree about the bedding. I don't use it. Teething or bored pups can chew on the bedding and it can become a choking or intestinal block hazard.

And for dogs who do care about laying in pee, bedding absorbs the pee, making less of nuisance for the dog... not much of an issue for this guy though.

And older crate trained dog past the chewing phase, may get bedding in my house, if he shows a preference for it. Some of the real furry dogs will push the bedding aside as they prefer the cool floor.

joe,

There are many types of bedding available for dogs that is practically chew proof. I don't think eating a crate pad is an issue for a 4 month old ST and I'd be more worried about urine burns on his skin. Since the OP has added that the ST is a mill pup, that is probably part of his problem in addition to being too young to control his bladder.

We'll agree to disagree.........to each his own! :)

At 4 months old your puppy may not have complete control of his bladder yet. Or it could be that his bladder is still growing and hasn't caught up with the rest of his body. The vet did a urinalysis, yes? I don't think this is a breed problem because the puppy was doing fine until you stopped taking it out at night when he asked.

I would, at this point, keep taking him out when he barks at night. Otherwise you risk teaching him a really bad behaviour and that is to pee in his crate/den. The key to housetraining a dog is that they don't want to mess their "den", and by allowing the puppy to sleep in his pee you are effectively un-teaching him this. I think a crate with no bedding is fine, except for sighthounds who have no body fat and very little hair. And it's only temporary.

I would do three things:
- mark down when he is asking to go out at night; then you can see if this is improving as he gets older and his bladder matures
- when you take him out to potty be very boring; preferably take him out on leash so he can do his business but not play; as soon as he potties say "good boy" but no excitement, then you both head back to bed
- pick up his water dish a couple of hours before bedtime so he doesn't fill up right before bed

Unfortunately one of joys of having a puppy is that you have to lose some sleep. But as he gets older it WILL get better. You WILL get through this, hang in there!

mprice, whatever you do, do NOT go to your dog when it is barking, you will only encourage it to bark. Keep up the good work, try and get out even if it is raining, put a towel by the door so you can towel off before going back inside, and you might want to think about getting a raincoat for your pup. Good luck and please restore the crate size so your pup can move about comfortably.

How big is the dog and how big is the crate? We were told that at night to make the crate just big enough for the dog (we put a cardboard box in at night). Most dogs do not like to soil where they live. we found that this worked for us.

I didn't crate train, because my dachshund just hated the crate with a passion. So I play-pen trained him. Using a small baby playpen, I put his pee pad in there and kept him in there while we were not home. At night we baby-gated the small master bathroom and he slept in there with a pee-pad. He did not bark or whine to go out once down for the night. In the morning I would find that he had used the pee pad quietly.

I kept a strict feeding/going out schedule, didn't give water after dinner, kept him very well exercised with a couple of long walks during the day.

This method worked for me. He was trained by about 5 months. He stopped needing to pee at night.

I do believe in crate training, but if yours is peeing in the crate - maybe a bit larger crate with a pee pad will work for now.

I question the origins of this puppy. Shih Tzu puppies are VERY rare to find in shelters. The ones you do see are usually puppy mill rescues. Housebreaking a puppy mill dog can present be a whole other world from housebreaking a "normal" dog. They spend the formative months sleeping, eating and going to the bathroom in a little cage.

No real advice. However, do clean up the pee with cleaner designed for that purpose. Household cleaners won't work. Keep the dog clean so that he doesn't lose his sense of cleanliness. I would allow him more room in the crate and some means to escape his mess.

Bathroom is a big deal for me. When I first got my dog from another owner who didn't know how to raise dogs, I'd take him to the designated bathroom area and didn't let that dog get out of the area until he does his business even if it means I stand there for an hour. The area is bounded by railroad ties so it's easily identifiable to dog and me. I stand outside it, he stays inside the boundaries by you making it so, using the leash to pull him back in or preventing him from stepping out of it. No need to talk to the dog, you're simply waiting.

After the designated time span, he goes back in the crate. If he does his business (peeing is sufficient), he gets praise and attention and is allowed to explore the yard freely, on-leash, before going back in the crate. If he begins to poop while exploring, I take him back to the bathroom area and let him do it there (ergo don't stray too far from the bathroom area so that you can quickly get him back there). He is not allowed to pee while exploring, if he does, he is taken back to the bathroom area and made to stay in there for a minute or two. It took about a week, and it was really hard on me, but we're good now. Thank God the weather was cooperative. But yes, it is highly dependent on his desire to keep his crate clean.

I agree with Justusbarkers about a puppy mill and what the pups go thru. I haven't crate trained but most pups don't like to pee in their bed unless they have no choice or in their past, they didn't have a choice. I would say, give him more "elbow room" not a lot, but enough where, at night, he won't pee in his bed.

Take the pup out every 2 hours and praise him for relieving himself outside. At night, take him out just before you go to bed and get up early and take him out again. Keep it up until he gets the idea but you still have to be consistent. As he gets better, you can stretch it out to every 3 hours.

By the way, to get a dog or pup to relieve himself quicker outside watch what he is doing, and if he's just snooping around, get him to run. Running loosens up everything inside and then they look for a place to go. Sometimes it takes longer than other times but it always worked for me.

I owned a Westie that was probably a puppy mill dog. When I got her she had been in a crate\cage so long she thought pee and poop was something she was supposed to play with. I spent hours cleaning up after her every day when she was young. There were days I felt I'd never get her house trained.

Having a dog stay in a crate so small they can't do anything but stand or lie down seems abusive to me. We have 3 terriers now. Two of them sleep on pillows at the head of the bed, and the 3rd sleeps between us. About 15 years ago my Westie, Hattie, who had been trained to sleep on a pillow at the head of our bed, woke us up one night barking and carrying on. She rescued us from a house fire and I've been a believer ever since that sleeping with the dogs is a good practice. I'd never lock any of them in a laundry room.

Not responding to barking at night seems like a bad idea; maybe the dog is trying to tell you it needs to go out (or the house is on fire).

A schedule is important. Set your alarm clock to take the dog out at night. Going out before and after bedtime is also a good idea. In the case of my problem Westie, Lila, she slept in bed with us, on a leash all night, and she learned to wake us up when she needed to go outside. Later we installed a doggie door in our bedroom and this worked well. It took about a year to get her fully house trained.

Maybe you could try training your dog to sleep on a pet bed beside your bed, putting her on a leash at night to keep her from wandering the house and to wake you when she needs to go. Having the loop of a leash on your hand while you sleep is a lot easier than it sounds. Since Hattie and Lila passed I've house trained all my dogs this way.