My dog was potty trained - but now he isnt!!!

Question
Hi, I have a one year old male Shih Tzu named Skeeter.  He was potty trained with no accidents whatsoever, and now, about two weeks ago, he has started pooping and peeing in my house.  I know he realizes he is not supposed to be doing this because he always goes potty somewhere that I can't see him.  What is really so strange about this is that when I take him out, he won't get in the grass.  This morning he actually peed on the sidewalk and has never done that before.  I noted that this problem really seemed to start up immediately after it had rained off and on for a few days.  Could it be that he is smelling or sensing something in the ground?  If so, what can I do about it? We also have a 2 year old female Shih Tzu and a 1 1/2 year old female Golden and they both go out into the grass to potty.

Also, I noted that quite a few of questions asked had to do with Shih Tzus.  Is there something about this breed in regards to having housebreaking problems.

I would like to start working one or two days a week, but feel that I will have no choice but to crate Skeeter if I can't get this under control.  

I hope you can help.

Sincerely,

Vicki

Answer
I've never heard anything about Shih-tzu dogs being difficult to housebreak. Dachshunds, yes, but not shih-tzus. I think they are just a popular breed, especially among apartment-dwellers, because of their size, and that's why there are so many questions about them.

As I've suggested to many other people, keep the dog confined to the room you're in, or tethered to you, when you're at home, so that you can immediately stop him and get him outside when you see him starting to show signs of needing to go potty (or if he actually starts to go). Until you can get the problem under control, I think the best thing to do would be to crate him when you are not there, so that he does not have an opportunity to have an 'accident.'

It sounds like he is one of those dogs that doesn't like to get his paws/belly wet. There are dogs that flat-out refuse to go outside to potty if the ground is wet, or if it's raining. You could try forcing him to go on the grass, by keeping him on a leash when you take him out, or making a special area for him to go potty, where it is pea gravel or some other substrate other than grass.