2yr old Shih Tzu spoiling carpet

Question
QUESTION: I have a 2 year old shih tzu female.  She is an outstanding dog with lots of personality.  She was spayed at 10 months and in the past did VERY WELL with poddy training.  She was trained within 2 days to relieve herself on wee wee pads.  She has been consistently doing well up until recently.  She has been spoiling the carpet RIGHT NEXT TO the wee wee pad which is clean.  And this behavior occurs only when I am not present in the home.  I allow her to roam around in my room because she does not have any destructive behavior.  She is a very good dog, except only in this aspect.  I tried many different tactics and none of them seem to work.  I tried reteaching it to her - praising her/giving her treats when I catch her doing it right - or when i come home and see that she has done a good job.  I tried completely ignoring the behavior and her when she spoils the carpet so that she doesn't correlate it to negative attention.  I tried giving her more room so she can roam around the whole apartment to decrease stress.  I'm just not sure what to do anymore.  I'm tired of cleaning the carpets everyday and would like to resolve this problem.  Do you know of anything I could possibly try?  Some people have suggested crating her, but I would not like to resort to that.  PLEASE HELP!!! thank you!!!

ANSWER: The very first thing to do with any change in urination pattern is make sure she doesn't have a urinary tract infection or spay incontenence. So I'd check with your vet on that. However, if she's only going on the carpet next to the pads, I'd suspect the problem is confusion. One reason I'm not real fond of piddle pads is because their texture and appearance are very similar to lots of other things in the house - including rugs and clothes which may get accidently left on the floor.
And the big problem is - if it only happens when you are gone, how can you fix it? Dogs often don't associate punishment or reward after the fact with an event. She may be sorry that you are angry, or happy that you are glad. But she's not going to connect those emotions to something which may have happened several hours previous. Think about it - if you'd put in a full day's work, handling lots of projects and your boss came in and told you "if you ever do that again, you're fired" with no information about WHAT you'd done, you might be worried, but you also might not have any idea what you'd done to displease her, or what you could do to avoid displeasing her in the future. Now consider that you are an animal who doesn't think about future and past the way we do, but lives in the present.
I would be giving her less freedom instead of more. While crating can be a valuable tool (if not used to excess, and is a handy way to take a bit of home for your dog traveling, and can get her used to being confined if she ever needs to stay overnight in the vets), if you'd prefer not to crate her, how about an x-pen/exercise pen (available at most large petstores) or a baby gate which keeps her in a carpet free area? I'd also move the pad to an area which is carpet free (or if your apartment is fully carpeted, even the kitchen and bath, I'd buy a section of linoleum to lay over the floor where she will be kept when you aren't there. I'd clean the area she's been soiling with a really good enzymatic product like Simple Solution, which actually eats the urine molecules. Most cleaners make it acceptable to human noses, but dog have a much better sense of smell and will still be attracted to that area as a spot to eliminate. And you might consider some answer besides pads. My favorite of course would be training her to go outside to eliminate. If that's not possible in your situation, you might consider training her to a litter box. Use dog litter, not cat litter, as it has a scent which attracts dogs to use it. The texture and look of the litter, and the act of going into a box may be clearer to her than the difference between squatting on one soft flat surface on the floor (her pad) and a similar surface (your rug). Good luck! Sandy Case MEd, CPDT  www.positivelycanine.com

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QUESTION: I really doubt it is confusion.  This is directly behavioral.  When I am home all day, she uses the pad.  It's actually placed in a litter box separate from the carpet so she can step into it and know the difference.  She has had this almost her entire life.  ALSO i KNOW she knows that she did something bad because when i call her over nicely, she is very timid and she looks at the poop and pee, then runs away under the bed.  Then i take her to where she should have peed.  and if she obviously seems confused, I know there would be no point in yelling at her.  The litter idea sounds good, except I feel like it would act as the same thing as the wee wee pad.  I read reviews and they say it tracts everywhere.  The point is, I would really like to change her behavior - not her environment.  She has been fine with it the past couple years and all the sudden when i leave the apartment, she starts peeing and pooping by the door and next to her litter box/wee wee pad area.  I'm thinking it may be something like separation anxiety, however she has not displayed this in the past.  

also the pen idea is great, but it would act as the same thing as keeping her in my room and would probably relieve herself anywhere she wants.  my apartment is fully carpeted and there is no room for her to go in the kitchen nor the bathroom =(

I really think this has something to do with her behavioral problems.  I heard that this is very common in shih tzu's and also I had many shih tzu's in the past that did the same thing, but worse such as pooping on the bed.  

Thank you so much for taking your time to answer my question.  I really hope someone can help me find a solution that would work.

Answer
In almost all house accident issues, the first step (after making sure it's not physical) is confinement and management when you can't supervise. As I mentioned, xpen and and a square of linoleum from the builders supply to protect your carpet - put your pads (or whatever) in there. Or a crate, if you are not gone extensive periods of time. I really don't like teaching dogs that it's okay to potty ANYWHERE in the house, which is one reason I'd rather train a dog to go outside. I do understand that for some people that's a difficult option. (When I was in an apartment in college with my first dog, I arranged my schedule so I could walk him several times a day. If I couldn't, I would arrange for a trusted friend to walk him.)
I don't believe you mentioned the eliminating at the front door in your first question?
The fact is, our dogs are good at reading our emotions (even when we are trying to hide them). Do you think if she knew how to keep you from being unhappy when you return home she would try to avoid that situation? She may appear guilty, and she may somehow connect accidents on the floor with your displeasure. But obviously she isn't connecting it with her behavior or she would change it. So you need to try something different if you want to change the habit.
Separation anxiety is a possibility, but I think full blown SA is unlikely in this case. It's a very over-used term. Unless she's tearing things up, barking incessantly (which, if you're in an apartment, I am sure someone would mention) etc., what you are probably dealing with is a dog who thinks it's okay to potty various places when you aren't home, because there are no consequences AT THE TIME WHEN IT HAPPENS (emphasis, not yelling), but knows you would direct her to a certain spot if you were home. Your presence may be a reminder of where to go. If there is an element of separation anxiety involved, you need to make your comings and goings very unemotional - Don't make a big deal of it when you leave (in fact, rehearse getting your purse, your keys, etc. going out and coming back in, then for a few minutes so she doesn't get as anxious. And be unemotional when you return home - really unemotional - not pretending to not be unhappy about that mess on the floor. Do some basic training, give her boundaries and routine that she can understand. The more stable and understandable things are for a dog, the less cause for anxiety. If you're really concerned about SA, your best bet might be a veterninary behaviorist who can "interview" your dog in person (a lot can't be seen in an internet description) and prescribe meds if necessary. But from the information I have been given, I suspect what you are really dealing with is a housetraining issue. She used to know it, but at some point got off track. The only way to get her back on track is to totally eliminate the odor from the accident areas, and change things so she doesn't have access to those spots when you can't be there to work with her. Sandy Case MEd, CPDT www.positivelycanine.com