Training a 4 year old shih-tzu

Question
QUESTION: I have a three year old Shih-tzu who is trained to use potty pads during the day.I just bought a rescue Shih-tzu that is four years old.She is excellent at going potty out-side. She's only had one accident in a week in my house. I'm gone for a long period during the day and i would like to train her to use the pads during the day. Is there anyway possible to do this?I don't want to crate her because i bought her for a companion for my other dog and they are doing great together. This is the only issue we have. Any suggestions?


ANSWER: Try getting an exercise pen to confine them both in while you're gone, or maybe shut them up in the kitchen or whatever room the pads are in. Put the wee wee pads on one side of the pen, and perhaps the three-year old will 'train' the four-year old to use the pads.

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QUESTION: Do you think this would be stressful for my other Shih-tzu that has had free run of the house for three years now? She is just now getting used to the new dog and she was a little jealous at first. I think it stressed her out a little. I figured that she might be the one to teach the new dog how to use the potty pads.

Answer
If they are getting along ok, then I don't think it will be a problem. If you're worried, you can just put the new dog in an exercise pen and leave the 'old' dog out. If you do this, try to set up the X-pen next to where your 'old' dogs' wee wee pads are, so that the new dog can see her using them.