Housebreaking 2 shih tzus (clean, poop, cleaning, stomach)

[njo280]

Help! We have two 1.5 year old shih tzu females. When we adopted them at 7 weeks we used a doggie door and pee pad on the deck due to the configuration of our home. The dogs are sill not housebroken and have accidents either on the bedroom carpet or couch about once evey 2 weeks. We crate them during the day, let them out at lunch and reward their behavior with treats and praise. It seems as soon as we turn our backs for a second, one of them has an "accident" tho we dont always know which one. Any suggestions? Do we give up on the doggie door/peed pad and start walking them? We had trainers come in who said we are doing everything right and they will eventually learn but that has not yet happened. I am at wit's end and it is causing lots of arguements at home.

[ZSP]

You'll need to go back to potty training 101 and be committed to it. Use the search and read posts by Viralmd - they are invaluable with step by step instructions. Good luck - it's doable with time and patience.

[ShelbyGirl1]

I agree....do a search and find ViralMd instructions on house breaking.
And the next thing to do, would to find a new trainer.(meaning those you had come in)

[Honeycrisp]

Would fuhgetabout the doggie door, they need to master the basics first with someone going outside w/ them and inside w/ them when they have to go, I'm 100% sure mine w/b slackers w/ a doggie door. Why would you use potty pads? That's giving them permission (in their minds) that it's OK to 'go' in the house, you want them housetrained, it's no wonder they're confused, it's hard for them to differentiate between rugs and potty pads (in their minds). When mine were young, we spent a lot of time in the kitchen, it wasn't great but in the end, it worked, they're a lot less likely to go when we're there than if we're not, they want to please. Would also feed yours just 2x/day (not sure if you're doing that) and get them on some type of schedule so you know apprx when they have to go (after they eat, when they wake up, when they start circling etc). Take them out on leashes even if your yard is fenced in, they're out there to 'go', not to play, they can play later. Like the other posters, would wholeheartily recommend ViralMD's housetraining info, you just have to be patient, diligent and keep at it and praise, praise, praise (keeping in mind 2 is twice the work).

[Viralmd]

Follow these instructions TO THE LETTER. And I would take EACH dog out separately (that is IMPORTANT, because you need to reward the dog for EXACTLY what you want, right on the spot). You MUST leash up the dog and go out and you MUST use amazing treats and not crappy biscuits from the store.

And EVERYONE in the family has to follow these directions. Regarding crate training: you can't just put a dog in a crate and close the door. It's a process. Check the website of the Humane Society of the US for their crate training directions.

But here are the houstraining instructions:

Housetraining your dog (puppy or adult!)

The first thing you need to do is to remember that you’re trying to reinforce a new behavior. That means that the rewards for this behavior must be WONDERFUL. NOT crap from the store. Wonderful treats are poached chicken breast/turkey breast, cheese and steak. And you don’t have to use big pieces. Tiny pieces (about 3mm cubes) are just fine! I poach a whole turkey breast every few weeks, cut it into hunks when it’s cool enough to handle, wrap them well and store them in the freezer. When I need some, I’ll thaw a hunk overnight and cut off pieces and dice finely, storing them in a plastic bag in the fridge. One hunk will last about five days. Cheese is also popular, so variety is fine.

I carry these plastic bags in my jacket pockets in the winter and in a fanny pack in warmer weather. You HAVE to have these with you, or this method won’t work, because you need to reward as soon as the dog finishes pooping or peeing. It’s not going to work if the rewards are in the house.

Remember that you’re trying to change a very ingrained behavior. Some dogs like to feel certain things under their feet when they eliminate, like fabric, or newspaper. This is called a ‘substrate preference.’ What you’re trying to do is change this substrate preference, and to do that you have to make the treats SO wonderful that the dog will change this very well-entrenched behavior. Thus the chicken, cheese, steak.

I love clicker training, but this can be done without clickers. You just need a way to ‘mark’ the behavior you want to reinforce. Use the word ‘YESSSSS!!!!’ very enthusiastically – that works for some.

You’re going to need to GO OUTSIDE WITH your dog and the dog needs to be on a leash. Yes, even in winter. If you don’t reward IMMEDIATELY after the event (when dog immediately finishes pooping or peeing) and wait inside, the dog is going to be reinforced for coming inside, not for doing its business. So, leash up your dog. STAND IN ONE PLACE. Be boring. Bring a book or magazine for yourself.

Eventually, the dog will do what you’re waiting for. The NANOSECOND that the dog is finished, HAVE A PARTY – lots of loud, high-pitched praise, treats and running around. You want to make this memorable for your dog! You’ll find that once the first event is achieved, the others will come more quickly. Keep on treating (you don’t have to throw a party except for milestones – a milestone = if he only pooped outside but now peed, too, or something equivalent to that) until he’s good and used to peeing/pooping outside. Before you know it, you have a trained dog.

Regarding accidents in the house: NO SCOLDING. Just clean them up. If you scold you’ll get the dog to think it’s bad to pee or poop and he’ll do it in places you won’t see. Until you step in it. Invest in a big bottle of Nature’s Miracle or Simple Solution and use it liberally on accidents.

With young puppies, remember they have little control of the muscle that holds the bladder closed. This is something they grow into. Just as it’s not expected that a human baby is toilet trained at six months, don’t expect much from a puppy. Patience, patience, patience!!!! The nervous system in a puppy has to mature, and it won’t have much control over the sphincter (closing muscle) at the neck of the bladder until six or seven months. The same goes for the anal sphincter. Until control is achieved, both of these muscles operate on reflex: there are stretch receptors in the bladder wall. When the bladder is full, it sends impulses to the spinal cord and these, in turn, send signals to the sphincter to open and the dog pees.

In the stomach wall, there are also stretch receptors. So when the dog eats and the stomach is stretched, the impulses again go to the spinal cord, but this time the reflex, outgoing, nerve signals are sent to the anal sphincter, so the dog defecates. This operates in people, too – which is why some people rush to the ‘reading room’ after a meal – especially breakfast.

[brookdaleresident]

I used Viralmd's method and it worked. My dog now tells us when she needs to go! It took a while, but we're finally there

[ljd1010]

Originally Posted by brookdaleresident

I used Viralmd's method and it worked. My dog now tells us when she needs to go! It took a while, but we're finally there

Ditto - awesome advice!!!!! We also used it for our rescue Shih-Tzu.

[nurider2002]

agree with Viralmd except, you cannot give the dogs the opportunity to make a mistake in the house. That means, when they are not in the crate, they are on a leash with you INSIDE, all the time, until you have had several weeks without an incident. Every time they go inside, it re-enforces that it is acceptable. Praise and reward them outside, but don't allow it to happen inside. I can tell you from personal experience, shih tzu's are notoriously stubborn about housebreaking--the most difficult dog I have ever had to housebreak. And get rid of those pads, as long as you have them, you are inviting the dog to go inside. good luck

[Hopes]

Pee pad? That alone reinforces peeing inside the house!

The inventor of the pee pad much also own a carpet cleaning business!

Stop the pee pads immediately.

Keep the dog's crated.

As soon as you let them out of the crate, take them outside WITH A LEASH. Reward them immediately with verbal praise and a treat when they do their business outside on a leash with you.

Continue this for about a month.

Then go outside with them without a leash. Reward them immediately with verbal praise and a treat for doing their business outside without a leash.

Do that for a month.

Then continue taking your dogs outside without a leash, but leave the treats inside the house. Reward them immediately with verbal praise when they do their business. Call them into the house and reward them with a treat for coming inside the house.

Do that for a month.

Then start training the dogs to use the doggie door. When it's time to go outside, have them use the doggie door. Reward them as soon as they go through the doggie door. Still go outside with them, verbally praise them when they do their business, and give them a treat when they get inside. (Make sure they use the doggie door to get back into the house.)

Continue doing that for a month.

Then stop giving treats for going through the doggie door, but give lavish verbal praise after going through the doggie door AND when they do their business. Give treat when they get inside.

Do that for a month.

Then stop going outside with them, but give them treats when they return through the doggie door.

As you can tell, you have moved the treat reward from being a reward for pooping and peeing to being a reward for coming to the house when called--and later for simply returning to the house on their own.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by Viralmd

Eventually, the dog will do what you’re waiting for. The NANOSECOND that the dog is finished, HAVE A PARTY – lots of loud, high-pitched praise, treats and running around. You want to make this memorable for your dog! You’ll find that once the first event is achieved, the others will come more quickly. Keep on treating (you don’t have to throw a party except for milestones – a milestone = if he only pooped outside but now peed, too, or something equivalent to that) until he’s good and used to peeing/pooping outside. Before you know it, you have a trained dog.

Funny. I STILL have verbal parties after 14 years! Maybe I'm not as enthusiastic, but I still say "good boy!" whenever anyone does their business!

And I play the dogs against each other to get the other to hurry up. I'll say "Good boy, Ralph. Look at Ralph. Ralph went poopey. Ralph is such a good dog."

Then the other one will want to hurry up to be a good dog too!

They're way past being housetrained, but I never stop reinforcing. At this point, it's more about maintaining efficiency. Gotta keep gettingthe job done as quickly as possible!