pet potty training

Question
We have a 10 month old female shih tsu who refuses to poop outside.  We may catch her (by accident)occasionally.  It is not a matter of not being there.  We can have her out forever at a time we know she usually goes but she just waits until we come back in and just goes into another room and poops.  My personal feeling is that she doesn't want anyone to see her poop.  Help!  We've tried everything.

Answer
Hi Pat,

Are you crate training her? Meaning if you have her outside and she doesn't go, she goes into the crate, a crate only big enough for her to lie down in and turn around in. Will she poop in the crate? With a dog who isn't reliable in terms of housetraining, she shouldn't have the freedom to go into another room to do her business. She should go into the crate or be tethered to your belt so that you can see her sniffing/squatting behavior and interrupt her attempt to poop inside. You will then be in a better place and time to take her outside and richly reward her for pooping outside. This means that when she poops outside she gets her favorite treat (preferrably human food, not dog treats!) Save this treat for only when she successfully poops in the correct spot.  It sounds to me that you aren't 'there' if she's in another room. If you are present, you should be in a place to interrupt and shuffle her outside. If you put her in her crate, give her 20 minutes and then take her back out. It sounds to me like she's not exactly sure that outside is what you want, just that you don't want her doing it in front of her.  Does this make sense?

Good luck!

Jaz