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Dog poops in the dining & living rooms and pees on the sofas

16 years ago

I have a one-year-old female Shih Tzu who poops on the floor in the morning while my husband showers (he's the first up). This is after he has let her out, feed her and let her out a second time. She also pees on the sofas when we leave the room. We crate her at night and she's fine, but if we crate her during the day she poops and pees in her crate. HELP US PLEASE!!!!

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Comments (8)

debd18
16 years ago
Toy breeds are notoriously hard to housebreak. I've had a lot of trouble with my toy fox terrier in that respect. One thing she does is if I just let her outside, she becomes so distracted by the sights and sounds that she forgets to go to the bathroom. She does much better if I go out with her and keep reminding her to "go potty". I know that's a pain when you're trying to get out the door in the morning, but so is cleaning the floor.

Also, since she's only a year old I would continue restricting her freedom until she becomes more reliable. A year is sometimes not enough for toys. The furniture should be off limits permanently for this dog.

It's unusual for dogs to soil their crates, but if she's closed in there for longer than she can hold it during the day, this may have become a habit for her. They also tend to do this if the crate is too large. Some dogs will use one end for sleeping and for a bathroom area.
quirkyquercus
16 years ago
The reason toys are hard to housebreak is because they are small and can sneak off to potty in the house and thus consistent training is not possible.

Is this a recent thing or did you recently get the dog? If so there may be something medically wrong.
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munkos
16 years ago
If it isn't recent and isn't attributed to medical problems there could be a few things

Does your husband watch to make sure she does anything, or just let her out, dissapear, and then let her in??

How big is her crate?? If its large enough that she can piddle in it, and get away from it, it's too big for housetraining. If she's doing it and hiding it under her blanket/bedding - Take the bedding away for a day or two. You'll feel bad, it'll sound annoying, but she won't do it if she's forced to lie in it once she does.

If she's not housetrained, she should never be left alone in a room. This gives her ample opportunity to do her business and not get caught. You're effectively training her to just not do it in the house if you're in the room.

A lot of people on here have given the suggestion to previous posters with training issues, to connect the dog to you at all times when you're home. . This way it's not possible for them to sneak off, you can catch them in the act, and they're not left alone with time to do their business.
mazer415
16 years ago
you stated your husband takes the dog out in the morning, does this mean he just opens the door and lets the dog out for a few minutes to do its business by itself or does your dog get walked on a leash in the morning? suggest you start taking your dog out for leash walks every mornng for about 30 minutes
Bumblebeez SC Zone 7
16 years ago
I always watch my dogs when I'm outside. One is very finicky about where and when and if I didn't watch we would come back inside without her doing anything. She knows exactly why we are outside too.
Meghane
16 years ago
You probably need to leave her in the crate until DH is done showering and can take her out immediately upon being let out of the crate. My first Husky would not pee or poop in our bedroom, but if we left the bedroom door open when we slept he would sneak downstairs and pee and poop then come back to bed. Preventing him from leaving the bedroom until I could take him directly outside solved the problem. I had to keep the leash in the bedroom and hook him up in the bedroom and take him directly outside, otherwise he'd pee and poop on the way to the front door. You may have to do something similar, and make sure she actually pees and poops outside before bringing her back in.
mazer415
16 years ago
Just going outside with your dog is not enough. Take your dog out on a leash and actually go for a walk, the other dog smells and walking will stimulate your dog to go.
premier
16 years ago
You said that your husband feeds her, lets her out again and then showers which is when the dog does this. Seems like the dog has his bowel movement timed. The dog probably needs more time after eating to have his bowel movement. And as asked by others, what is your husband doing when he lets the dog out twice. He needs to put the dog on a lead and walk her to find a spot and he has to see her go. If he doesn't see her go and simply gives up and rushes off to the shower, she will go while he is in the shower.

You said that she goes to the bathroom while in the crate during the day. Exactly how many hours do you leave her in the crate during the day??? Obviously the time period is to long for her. And if she pooped while your husband was in the shower in the morning, why is she again pooping so soon?

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