Help with newly adopted/rescued Shih Tzu

11 years ago

Hello everyone! I really need some help with my Lady Bug! The local pound had a approx 2yr old Female Shih Tzu up for adoption and we jumped on making her part of our family. My husband and I think she is probably JUST a year old. We brought her home and she has been here two full days now which is not very long. The first day she did NOTHING but squat all over my carpet. Nothing was coming out to maybe a tiny tinkle. Then today she didn't do it at all, well maybe once or twice but this evening she has done it 20 times! Since we have no idea what this little girls background is we can only assume she is potty trained. We did notice last night some blood on the tile...go figure she is in HEAT! There is NO blood in her urine and her urine is dark yellow. I assume she may be a bit dehydrated from the the pound and being lost. I do have a 6 month old male chocolate lab so there is a lot of keeping them separate going on right now.

I didn't want the pound to spay her with the 4th being right around the corner and I didn't want it to interfere with her recuperation. Then I saw she was in heat and I don't know if she JUST started it or if she has been on it. The pound didn't notify us so I assume they didn't know either or she just started because it is red and not pink. So I don't know if she has a bladder infection, if it is just her heat cycle, if she isn't potty trained? I don't know what her deal is. Could this be her first heat maybe and she has no idea whats going on? She pees on pee pads no problem pretty much. She never pees in the same spot so I don't think she is marking. I don't know.. any ideas! I take her out before bed and she sleeps through the night for about 8-10 hours and when she wakes up I get her out right away. We walk for what seems 2-3 laps around my large yard and she doesn't even pee! What kind of dog holds it all night and doesn't pee in the AM? I bring her in and she waits a good minute then tinkles on the carpet. Shes a small dog but these pee spots are teeny. I am really lost. Happy I adopted her but kind of thinking that maybe with such a picky type of dog I should not have adopted one from a shelter where we have no idea about her background. What if her old people just let her pee in the house and fed her wet food because she doesn't like dry food and we have no idea so is it going to be impossible to break those habits? We are still going to stick it in with her. I adopted her IM not giving her back and she is scheduled for her spay for July 10th so don't freak out. Shes getting spayed!

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Comments (6)

annzgw
11 years ago
Has she had a vet check yet? I would first have a vet check her and make sure she's in heat and also to check for any possible infections.
I would not say you have a 'picky type of dog', but one that has been in a new household for only 2 days, is possibly in heat or is ill, and has yet to learn what her role is in her new family.

Is your lab already housebroken? Did you crate train him? If you aren't familiar with crate training, then you should start a schedule of routinely taking her outside and giving her lots of praise when she does her business. Just be sure to stay in the yard until you see her go.
It doesn't matter if she came from a shelter or a home that said she was house-broken, you still have to train the dog in your home.

I once adopted a small dog that had been fed only table food. It took awhile but I got her to switch to dry by mixing canned food 50/50 with the dry, then over a couple of weeks slowly eliminating the canned food. For now, you need to make sure she's eating and drinking......even if it means giving her only canned food.
User
11 years ago
Rescues are usually spayed or neutered during the adoption process her behavior actually indicates there is an infection of some sort, urinary or bladder possibly. Please have your puppy checked by a Vet as quickly as possible. And if she starts squatting again, put a shallow dish under her bottom to try to capture some of her urine for testing.
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I am admittedly not very experienced with small dogs, but letting a small dog (or many dogs) roam the house for 8 or 9 hours with no accidents, is probably....not going to work at all. For extended hours and a dog that is potty trained (of course, this is individual for each dog), it might be wise to think of a smaller area for the dog.... in our house, the kitchen, which is tiled, with a dog bed might work. Or the laundry room/hallway/bathroom, which is tiled. This is just my experience, and we have had many, many dogs who live indoors. "Training" per se for going outside to do their business may or may not be effective in the way you think it will be. Many dogs learn to signal their owners when they need to go, either by scratching at the door, barking at the door, or ringing bells on the doorknob. But if the owner isn't home to let them out, then the dog has to hold it--which is another skill altogether. Do you see those 2 things are different? Our dogs are *almost* totally reliable, but it's more a matter of sticking to the routine of getting them outside early and often, than it is their ability and mindset to hold it for long hours. How we train them is basically whenever they go potty outside, we make a big happy fuss over them, and then usher them into the house--so they connect going potty outdoors, with immediate happy return to the indoors. Something else to keep in mind: where we live, a small dog like that could NEVER be in the backyard unaccompanied, due to coyotes....and birds of prey... Where we live, coyotes routinely and regularly clear 6' and bigger fences/walls, grab small dogs and cats, and jump back over. Coyotes live in residential neighborhoods, too. Also, an owl grabbed my friend's Yorkie and dropped him from a great height, which the dog somehow survived, but was injured and temporarily paralyzed. So, depending on your area and the predators, be prepared to spend a significant amount of time outside with your small dog.
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dabunch
11 years ago
Everything will be fine.
Your Shih Tzu needs time to adjust. After a few days of consistency and love, she will be the sweetest dog. It is very stressful for Shih Tzus to be changing homes. They are creatures of habit and consistency. They learn quickly, and even remind you to do something if you forget, but you have to be patient, consistent, and loving. They are independent, but always want to please you. They may be a bit stoic and resilient, not showing you that you HURT them, or that they have something wrong with them, UNTIL they are really sick.

She may have a bladder infection due to
*dehydration
*stress
*not being taken out when in shelter
*she has bladder stones or other things going on which require testing...

SHE NEEDS TO SEE A VET ASAP. She may need bloodwork, Urine, xrays...

She probably is nervous and confused.
I doubt that she is in heat. They usually spay the dogs before adoptions

My first thought would be a bladder infection, due to stress, and confusion in her life.

If I had her, I would have her evaluated by a Vet quickly, and see what I'm dealing with. IMO, EVERYBODY should take their new pet to be seen by a Vet, sooner than later.

Also, I would crate her until she gets adjusted (a month)-Just in case she was not properly trained, or is nervous, the crate will help with boundaries and training. Do take her out for periods of time out of the crate. Show her love and afffection. Reward good bahavior. Take her for walks and exercise. She'll settle into a routine and will be a very easy dog to enjoy. She will require a lot of grooming, like every 6-8 weeks-haircuts, hair trims aroud the nose and eyes, earplucking, and MAY need anal glands cleaned, occasionally.

I've had Shih Tzus all my life, so if you have any questions, just ask.
Please let us know how you make out.
eahamel
11 years ago
I wouldn't assume that ANY shih tzu is housebroken. That's quite an assumption there. You don't know anything about her background?

Not all pounds do spays or neuters when animals are adopted, they expect the adopter to take care of that. If she is in heat, that may partially explain her odd peeing, but I suspect it's an old habit that her previous owners couldn't break. I just found out that it isn't state law where I am, though just about all shelters and pounds here won't adopt an animal that hasn't been s/n.
dabunch
11 years ago
Eahamel,

You make some good points.

I guess that if the dog is scheduled for a spay on July 10th that means she has not been spayed, yet. I'm assuming the shelter said that she is not spayed.

Being in heat can ellicit some strange behaviors, however so can stress, nerves i.e. when little dogs are scared they may squat and pee because they are intimidated or scared. With the blood being a factor, this points to either a medical problem (urinary or uterine infection), or being in heat. Either way, she seems irritated.

I always think it's a good idea to take a newly adopted pet to a Vet ASAP. You never know what sort of diseases it may have. Shelters have too many animals to be dealing with all of their issues... Many times the pets get the CHEAPEST, if any care when they get dumped off into a shelter. Those are the facts.

Many people put in very little effort into training little dogs. My Shih Tzus were very easy to train. I crated all of them for a period. Took them out as often as I could (I worked).I was consistent, rewarded them ON THE SPOT, got all excited and happy when they peed outside. I used the BELL method by the door with the one I have now. She was a puppy and didn't bark. I would hit the bell as we were going outside and say excitedly: potty outside! She was trained in no time and loved slapping the bell.lol

I find it that IF you put the effort in the beginning of owning the pet, you'll be very happy, otherwise you may get a confused dog with "issues"....and they may end up in the shelter all over again. There is a HUGE difference between small, hairy dogs vs large dogs. Small dogs are like toddlers, big dogs are like older children.
eahamel
11 years ago
Dabunch and others,

And I agree with all of you! This dog needs to go to the vet at once. Any new pet, no matter where it comes from, needs to be taken to the vet as soon as possible after you get it home. This dog may well have a bladder infection, or something else causing irritation. I don't think very many dogs that make it to a shelter have had much vet care, and may have never been to a vet at all. They won't be able to take care of all of her needs when you take her in to get her spayed, and you don't want all of that stress on her body at one time, anyway.

And Carol09, if you're in the South, this dog needs to be tested for heartworms. I doubt that she's been on preventive and the infection rate for those dogs is about 95%, if not higher. They'll eventually kill her. I have a dog I rescued from someone who was moving and was going to take her to the local pound, where she would have been euthanized because she's 6. She hadn't been to the vet in the 6 years that they had her and she has a very heavy HW infestation and is on a slow treatment that will eventually clear them. This is very important.

Help with newly adopted/rescued Shih Tzu

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annzgw

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