My new Shih-Poo

Question
We have a 2 1/2 month shih-Poo named Lulu who will go outside but sometimes goes inside, pee and poop.  She will not use the puppy pad inside and I don't know why.  I am concerned that when it gets really cold outside (snow etc) she may not want to go outside and will continue to poop and pee inside, what can I do to train her???

Answer
Hello, Lisa. The first thing I'd recommend if you haven't done it already is to buy her a crate. It should be just large enough to allow her to lie down in comfortably. When you leave the house, and also at night, put her in her crate. Puppies instinctively do not want to soil where they sleep, so crate training is an excellent way to housebreak a puppy.

The general rule with puppies is that you should take them out to potty at least as many hours as they are old in months. At 2 1/2 months of age, that means she should have a potty break every 2-3 hours. Also, if she's not already on a feeding schedule, I would recommend that you do that, rather than leaving food & water available to her all day. She should be fed 3-4 times a day at 10 weeks of age, so split her daily ration into thirds or fourths, and feed her those portions throughout the day. I'd do a morning feeding, an afternoon feeding, and an evening feeding, but not feed her later than 8:00pm. Allow her to have access to water 30 minutes before you put her food bowl down. Leave the food bowl down for 30 minutes, and then pick it back up again. If she hasn't finished everything in the bowl, it's okay; just dump it back into your dog food storage container. Do not add that amount to her next feeding. She will soon learn to eat it all when you provide it for her. Allow her access to water for 30 minutes after you pick up the food bowl.

Puppies will generally poop within 20 minutes after eating, so put her on a leash and take her out in the yard 15-20 minutes after she's finished eating. Walk her around and try not to let her become distracted and play with things, or whatever. When you see her starting to show signs that she's getting ready to go (sniffing intently, circling, squatting), stop walking and allow her to go, while you repeat a "potty command" over and over. I use "Go hurry" with my working dogs, and "Go pee pee" with my pet dog. Say the command over and over while she is pottying, and then when she finishes, say, "Good hurry (or good pee pee, or whatever)" in a happy, excited tone of voice. Now you can let go of the leash (if it's safe to do so) and play with her for a little while before going back inside.

If you catch her in the act of pottying in the house, you should say "NO!" in a stern tone of voice and immediately take her outside. Let her finish outside and praise her as described above. Clean the area in the house where she pottied with an enzymatic cleaner such as Nature's Miracle, to remove all traces of odor.

I would personally get rid of the pee pee pads in the house, because they can cause confusion if you're fussing at her for peeing on the rug, but praise her for peeing on the pee pee pad not 6 inches away from her. IF you're going to continue to use them, I would recommend putting them in a shallow kitty litter box. This not only makes cleanup easier, but it provides clear boundaries for her and will make it easier for her to understand that she is to potty in the box. The same technique as if you were going to teach her to go outside should be used with the box, only you would take her to the box instead of taking her outside.

Good luck!

Kristen