Rescued adult female Shih Tzu urinating in house only!!!

Question
Hi Kristen,

I hope you can help me!  About a month ago, I rescued two little dogs, one a male maltese mix, and one a female Shih Tzu.  I think they were probably dumped off.. were in terrible condition- matting so bad I could not tell the sex, and filthy.  I had both groomed, vet for shots, deworming, etc.  I planned to keep the dogs after not finding owners.  The Shih Tzu required more care- she had skin bacterial infection and ear infection.  Now both dogs are looking great!  The Maltese male was just fixed, and the Shih Tzu is next after we control the yeast on her skin with medicated shampoo.

I am having a few problems with the Shih Tzu.  The Maltese was marking at first, but learned fast with scolding and reward.  The Shih Tzu is another story.  BTW, the vet thinks they are both 2-3 years old.  The Shih Tzu pees in the dining room on the carpet. Since my carpet is beige, and she pees out of the traffic area, I don't find it when it is fresh.  Only the smell leads me to the general area.  I have used the carpet cleaner, vinegar/water, enzyme cleaner to no avail (this carpet is only 2yrs old!).  We scold her and remove her to outside.  The most frustrating part is that we will take her outside, STAY out there for more than 20min. with her, she won't pee, then let her in, and she looks at us and pees!  I have never had little dogs before... only big dogs, and have been able to train them quickly.  I have read about crating, but wonder about the male.  He is trained, and I don't want to crate one but not the other.  Also, this only happens when we are home, and all in the house.  I want "house dogs" but don't know what to do.  She is very stubborn.  She also tries to attack my 14y/o house cat.  She has spunk, and is a really good watchdog. But she is also submissive to humans and loving.  Not at all aggressive with my 3y/o daughter who loves her.  

I work part time, and when we are gone, the dogs have run of the garage.  They do Pee and Pooh out there, but not in there crates (which have door open).  We don't care about the garage, just the house.  I know that it may be a double message, but I am worried about crating them for 8 hrs at a time.  

Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated!

A NEW shih tzu mom

Answer
Bless you, Cindy for rescuing and taking care of these two dogs! It takes a special kind of person to do rescue. I tried for a while, but I just got to where I couldn't stand to hear the excuses anymore (the kid got tired of him, we're moving, he's old and we want a puppy, he digs up the yard/barks all the time/jumps the fence, etc.). I had to stop before I seriously injured someone. *blush*

First, let me assure you that crating them is not cruel and you should not worry about them. By allowing them to potty in the garage floor, you are sending them mixed messages. They should ONLY be allowed to potty outside. When you're not at home, crate them. They are old enough to be able to go 8 hours no problem, providing you give them the opportunity to empty their bladder and bowels before you leave. My 6 month old and 18 month old German shepherds do just fine being crated from 8:00am until 5:30pm, and my almost 5 year old pitbull/chow cross does fine being loose in the house for that amount of time, too (she's NEVER had an accident in the house, and I got her at 10 weeks of age - she's my angel dog). Do not feed them or give them access to water for at least an hour before you plan on crating them. Take each of them out separately on leash before you leave, and make sure they at least pee. If they've eaten within the past 2 hours, they *should* poo, too.

When you cannot keep an eye on them when you are at home, crate them (in the house, not in the garage). When they are loose, keep them confined to the room you're in by using closed doors and/or baby gates, and let them drag a 6 foot long leash in case you see them starting to show signs that they're getting ready to go, so you can quickly grab the leash and get them outside. Since it's only the female that you seem to be having the problem with, you might consider keeping her tethered to you so she can't sneak off and pee under the table or otherwise out of your sight.

Do not scold either dog unless you find them IN THE ACT. This is extremely important; it does no good to find a spot and then scold the dog. Even if you rub the dog's face in the spot (which is cruel and unnecessary, but people still do it), the dog is not going to connect the dots and figure out that it's being scolded for peeing on the rug 5 hours or even 5 minutes ago. It's imperative that you only scold when you catch the dog in the act of pottying in the house. Even then, though, you should only make a loud noise to startle the dog (clapping your hands, saying "AAh aah" or "NO!", etc.) and then quickly taking the dog outside as you say "Do you need to go outside?" When the dogs potty outside, praise them!!! Play with them afterwards! Make it a good experience!


If you cannot keep the dog confined to the room you're in, or do not want to tether her to you, you might consider letting her wear a doggie diaper. This will not solve the problem in and of itself, but it will keep your rug protected. You can use cheap women's sanitary pads to line the diaper with to absorb the urine. If you choose to do this, it's very important that you periodically check to see if she has peed in the diaper, and change the sanitary pad and wipe her off, especially with her skin condition and being so sensitive - you don't want her being in contact with urine or feces for long periods of time, just like a human baby.