Your new pup is very cute. He’s friendly, excitable and loving – what you’ve always hoped for in dog. But there’s one thing that isn’t cute and that’s his ability to poop just about anywhere. He will poop behind the sofa, on the welcome mat, and even right on your lap if you let him. It’s not in a Shih Tzu's natural instinct to know where to poop and where not to – they will need to be trained. You may have noticed that he doesn’t seem to go in his bed area. Dogs will usually not poop where they sleep, but any other place is fair game – and they will poop anywhere. So, to house train your new pup, try any of these three methods. In good time you’ll stop sniffing every time you enter a room and start enjoying your time with your new pal!
In order for you and your Shih Tzu puppy to live together, they will need to respect the rules of the house. One of those rules is no pooping on the carpet! Reasonable enough, I’d say. This is something that all dogs, no matter their size or intelligence, can learn to do. It may take a couple of weeks to form the habit of going outside, but once they’ve got the hang of it, there is little you need to do to keep the training up – it should become instinct.
It’s important to house train puppies from a young age. Once they have learned that they can go anywhere, they will continue to do so. But if you catch them early, it will be a much simpler process. It’s much more difficult to train older dogs not to poop inside, so the recommendation is always to start early! Begin as soon as your puppy comes home.
Like all training, rewards are useful for encouraging good behavior. You can choose to use small treats, but this is optional. A treat is useful for capturing their attention, but this isn’t necessary with house training, you just need a positive reward for correct behavior. Options for alternative rewards include love, attention, or their favorite toy.
It is very important not to scold your puppy if he does have accidents. This could cause him to hide when he does need to go, which will worsen the problem! Training using fear and intimidation is not successful, it can lead to anxious and aggressive dogs which will only lead to further problems. Instead, encourage desired actions and reward correct behavior.
Patience is key on this one. It may be frustrating to you that your pup cannot control himself. But remember, it took you years to become potty trained! So give your little guy a break and be prepared to commit to this training regime. Let’s get started!
She has been with us 2 months. My husband walks her every am but she never pees or poops. She can hold her pee for 16 hours. If we go out to dinner she will poop on the rug even though she has just been taken out.We would like to know how to have her go on command. We have had dogs in the past and never had a problem. I feed her 2 x day and give her plenty of chances to poop and pee.
Thank you in advance, any advice would be appreciated.
Hello Anna, To teach pup to go on command, take pup outside to a calm area on leash to go potty. Walk pup around slowly for 10-15 minutes and tell pup to "Go Potty!" happily. If pup goes, give pup five small treats, one at a time. After pup pees, walk pup around again for 10-15 minutes and tell pup to "Go Potty!" again, giving pup another five small treats, one treat at a time if pup poops also. If you are having an especially hard time getting pup to go, make sure you are keeping pup moving around slowly during the outing -the movement stimulates the urge to go, especially for pooping. Make sure you are taking pup to go potty in a calm area at first (many dogs will hold it during a walk in hopes of keeping the walk going, because they have learned that going potty means they have to return home right after. Walk pup around somewhere calm back and forth or in a wide circle to get them to go first, then have the walk down the road be the reward after). Spray a potty encouraging spray on the area you want them to go right before you take them outside, since the scent can encourage pup to also go potty there. I also recommend crate training pup and crating pup when you know they haven't gone potty outside lately, since pup could be waiting until things are calm inside to go potty there due to habit. Confining pup to a crate when they don't go potty but you know are not empty, can discourage pup from going potty in the home, so they are more motivated to go while go outside. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
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