puppy housebreaking

Question
I have a 14 week old shorkie (half shitzhu, half yorkie).  She is doing good on pad training, but still goes half the time on the floor.  I have tried to have washable pads at least one in each room, and I know she knows where they are at, as she walks up to each one and sniffs it...  She still decides to go somewhere else half the time.  I understand she can have accidents as she is still housetraining, what is the best way to house train a stubborn pup like this mix? She seems to know when she does wrong, as she will run and hide just after, but still does it...

Answer
Hi "Honey" ~ I do not believe that dogs are "stubborn." I spend quite a bit of time explaining housebreaking to my clients, and I find that if they follow my instructions they have success, but if they do not, they have neglected to adhere to one or more of my recommendations. There is far more to it than I can address well in a forum like this, and to really help you I would need to get a lot more information and meet with you and your puppy.

However, from what you tell me, I suspect your dog has probably been scolded for having "accidents" inside. This results in a puppy that runs away and eliminates out of sight.

Dogs do not have a sense of shame or guilt, and what you are seeing and interpreting as your dog knowing that she did something "wrong" is really your dog's reaction to your attitude toward her when she is or has eliminated.

Punishment that hurts, threatens or intimidates is not advised in dog training, especially housebreaking. What your puppy may be learning from being scolded or punished is that you are unhappy when she eliminates in your sight - so she goes elsewhere to eliminate to avoid the consequences of your displeasure.

I do not recommend using the pads for housebreaking unless there is absolutely no alternative - for example, the owner has to work 8 or more hours and cannot come home during lunch to let the puppy out to eliminate and cannot find anyone else to do it.

Housebreaking requires constant supervision, and the method I recommend is crate training. I would recommend that you avoid any reprimands for "accidents" and try the crate training instead. Also, you will need to get some Nature's Miracle or other enzymatic cleaner to remove any residual urine or fecal odor. If you are not sure where all your puppy may have eliminated, get a black light so that you can see where she has gone in order to remove any and all residual odor. You may not be able to smell it, but she can and will be attracted to the same spot over and over again.

I recommend taking up positive reinforcement/clicker training with your dog. You can learn more about it here: http://www.animalinfo.com.au/fact_sheets/view/2/25/177/What_is_Positive_Reinforc  You can learn about clicker training on the same website. I have made some videos to accompany these articles. See this video I made on YouTube to help you be evaluate clicker training advice you may get elsewhere: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3abU-_Lk7jE

Hope these tips help,
Cindy