Pee pad Training My Shih tzu

Question
I have a 10 week old shih tzu, his name is jax, i dont know how to get him to pee on his pad, i do crate train him, but he never seems to want to go on the pads just everywhere else, i just want to do the right thing and not the wrong, thats why i am asking for help, he really shows no signs when he has to go he just goes. I feed him Eagle pack dog food its all natural. Please HELP!!!!

Answer
Hi Mike,

Puppies under 4 months of age have very little bladder or sphincter control. Puppies under 3 months have even less. It's really no surprise that your 10 week old puppy just eliminates wherever he pleases. In about two more weeks your puppy should be slightly better, as he gains a little more control over his bladder muscles. But, there is still a long way to go in house training.

Having your puppy on a feeding schedule is a good way of to help regulate when he'll need to go to the bathroom. Don't wait for signs that your puppy needs to go to the bathroom...just assume that he has to! Take your puppy outside about 15 minutes after meals, after active playtime, upon waking from a nap, before going into the crate, and when he's taken out of the crate. Aside from that, if you see your puppy sniffing the floor, or walking in circles, whisk him outside! Very young puppies need to eliminate very frequently, usually 8-12 times or more daily! When you can't be supervising the puppy, he should either be in his crate, or contained in a puppy-safe area. He can't yet be trusted to have the run of your house.

Clean the areas in your home where Jax has soiled with an enzymatic cleaner, such as Nature's Miracle, so he won't be attracted to keep soiling in your home.

It's not at all uncommon that small breed dogs take a full year to house-train reliably. If you got your puppy from a pet store, he's already "trained" to eliminate in his crate. After all, what choice has he had until now?  For now, an alternate confinement area (other than the crate) would be useful, at least for a while until clean instincts can kick in.

Even though you crate your puppy, you didn't say how long a time period Jax is being crated for. For puppies, the rule of thumb is no longer than one hour per each month of age, plus one (with a 7 hour maximum). So a 3 month old puppy should not be crated longer than 4 hours. Because of this, if you need to leave your puppy for a longer period of time during the day, containing him in a puppy pen, or using a child-gate or two in room of your home, might be a better option than crating at this time- especially if he's been soiling in his crate lately. This is an example of the kind of "puppy play-pen" I'm talking about:
http://www.futurepets.com/PUPPYPENS.HTM

Because Jax doesn't yet know to only eliminate on the training pads, expecting him to seek out the pads is an unreasonable expectation. Instead, lay down a thick layer of newspaper or training pads over the entire area that you contain your puppy in.

After containing Jax in this area for few days, you may see that he has a preference as to where he eliminates, so you'll want to put food and bedding at the opposite side. After a while, if the puppy is consistent in where he eliminates, you can gradually start removing paper from the other areas, until just the spots where he "goes" are papered. Still, you may come home to a surprise or two, and have to clean the floor up. This isn't an exact science.

It's handy to have a dog that's crate trained. For now, you may still want to use the crate when you're home but can't be monitoring your puppy, and for over night use.
Make sure the crate is the right size, the crate should not be too large. It should be big enough for the puppy to be able to stand  up, turn around and lay comfortably, no larger. Dogs do not want to soil their bed and the use of a crate teaches them to control their urge to eliminate. If the crate is too big, there will be room enough to soil and also sleep comfortably. Because your puppy is still growing, choose a crate size that will accommodate his adult size. Block off the excess crate space so your dog can't eliminate at one end and retreat to the other.

This website on house-training Shih Tzu puppies might help:
http://www.tinyshihtzu.com/training.htm

Eagle Pack is a very fine dog food, but for your pup's first year he needs the extra nutrients of a puppy food. Eagle Pack also makes a puppy food. Switch foods gradually, over a period of 5-7 days so your puppy doesn't get a case of diarrhea.

I hope I've been a help.
Best of luck,
Patti