Shih Tzu puppy pooping in cage! Need help!!!?

No, Angel, your sacred puppy is not potty trained, that is impossible. The bladder is not even grown until 6-months-old, they are not fully potty trained until 1-year-old. It is only 1 hour for each month of age with puppies, so a two-month-old puppy can only be alone/hold its potty for two hours at the most. This puppy is spending too much time in the crate. The only reason it is going potty in the crate is because someone is leaving it in the crate too long. Puppies don't like to potty where they eat or sleep. Set a timer or alarm and get up and take it potty, that goes for your husband also. Sometimes husbands tell us they will help with a puppy, and in our mind that means they will help with the puppy, but in a mans mind, that means if they watched the puppy for two minutes while you brushed your teeth, they helped. You have to provide food and water and shelter to your puppy, that is a law. Puppies need food and water for digestion, joints, body temperature, etc. Yes, she is stressed, any puppy this age is stressed, they are taken away from their mother and litter mates. Try an old tee shirt with your scent on it, and play a radio or tv when she is home alone. You might consider a dog walker, pet sitter, family, church friend, neighbor to help just while the puppy is first little. Maybe come home during breaks and lunches. I use a crate* to potty train with, but only for potty training and then I break it down and store it. I put blankets and a small food and water dish in the crate. Dogs don't potty where they eat and sleep. When they are first little, I only expect them to hold their potty for 4 hours, and then 6 hours, then 8 hours and so on. So when they are first little, I set a timer or alarm clock to wake myself up at night to take them *out. I only allow my puppy in the bedroom* or the living room, only one room at a time. They have to graduate to more space. If I allow them to have full run of the house, it will overwhelm them. I take them out the same door each time. I tie a dinner bell to the door handle. Do not use a jingle bell as they could get their toe caught in it. So when they are little, I ring the bell for them, and then open the door to go *outside to potty. When they get bigger, I take their paw and whack the bell and open the door to go potty. Eventually getting to the place where the puppy will ring the bell and let me know when they need to go potty. Dogs want to please you, so it is your job to let them know what behaviors please you and what doesn't. So when my puppy goes potty, I give her a treat*, and clap, and make a fuss and praise her. So she learns that going potty outside makes me happy. If she has an accident, make a disgust sound like “tsst” and take her out right away. I never yell* or spank* my puppies. Take them out when they first wake up, after they eat or drink, before nap, finish romping, when their activities change, or when they are sniffing around. Some puppies go pee right away, but may not go poop until 10 minutes later, so wait for the poop. I have a little play time here, because sometimes I think they are done, and they are not. Puppies train at their own pace. While I may have a puppy that hasn't had an accident in several weeks, I don't let my guard down. I don't expect my puppies to be "fully potty trained" until one-year-old. If they have a setback, shake it off, and start over. I only have my puppies in the crate when I am not watching them. When I am sleeping, cooking, ironing, doing chores, basically when I am not watching her. All other times, she is out of the crate practicing being a "big girl." This is the time I train her how to behave in the house. So we are practicing "no barking", 'no biting", "no jumping", and "don't eat the furniture." I also have to practice "playing inside" so she doesn't knock over things. You must keep the puppy in sight when they are little because they don’t know the difference between newspaper and carpet, and you don’t want them sneaking off and getting into trouble. Some puppies can sleep through the night around 3-months-old, but their bladder is grown around 6-months-old.

REVISIONS:

*I use a CRATE to train with. It is the method I prefer, compared to other methods I have tried. I noticed that if they are in the crate, while I am doing chores, they are o.k., because the crate allows them to see me and be re-assured. The crate can also be a comfort when stored in the basement for dogs who live in areas where thunderstorms and tornados are an issue. . However, use the method that works best for you.....a laundry basket, a cardboard box, a woof-woof house, x-pen, child gates, whatever works for you.

*OUTSIDE, pee pad, litter box, whichever method you are using. When the puppy is first little, keep the pee pad, litter box near the food and water dish, so the puppy can eat and drink, and then go potty. You can move it away as they get older. The pee pad has a scent that smells and initiates potty. Sometimes a pee pad makes a sound that scares some puppies, so you might want to use a litter box if that happens. The pee pad allows a puppy to walk around, but a litter box keeps the puppy in one place.

*BEDROOMS, I use the bedroom and living room for training, because it works for me. Choose rooms that work for you, but watch for rooms that are damp, or drafty. While my puppies sleep in the bedroom during training, once they are trained, I let them sleep where they want to. They don't have to sleep in the bedroom forever.

*TREATS. While I use treats for training, you don't have to. I like Charlee Bears for training (a little cracker for a little mouth,) I use them for training, but once they are trained, I cut back on them.

*SOME PUPPIES will go potty in the same spot each time. Some puppies have to be told to go potty. A command like "go out" for pee, or "go finish" for poop, might work for you, keep saying “go finish” until the puppy poops. This is a good thing to train if you travel with your dogs. By using commands, the puppy won't get confused when you are visiting someone, on vacation with you, or when you get to a new home. The command will tell them what you want them to do in an unfamiliar place. You might also want to use a leash method, so the puppy doesn’t sneak off, or for strange places.

*YELLING. It is not a good idea to "yell" or "spank" your puppy and then take them outside when they have an accident. They may get confused and think that going outside is punishment. While you want to correct them, if you are extreme, they may not want to go outside again. Shake it off, and resume your schedule. You have to keep it real. Puppies train at their own pace, but a puppy can only hold their potty for a few hours. A guide would be 1 hour for each month of age, plus 1 hour, so a three-month-old puppy should only be expected to hold their potty for 4 hours at most.

SOURCE: These tips, tricks, and ideas were contributed from many brilliant minds. Thanks for your help!

I would agree that at 9 weeks she is still very young and a lot can change in time! I have house trained a male Shih Tzu who was a very slow learner, it took him about 9 months to be fully, reliably house trained. I would guess it may be due to stress, you could try putting her in the cage for short periods when you are home to see what happens, if you think she needs to go take her outside immediately so she can, then put her back. She won't be able to fully control her bladder/bowel for longer periods until she is about 6 months. Sounds like you are doing the right things with not feeding too late etc. Also there is a great book called 'How To House Train Your Dog In 7 Days' (it may take a bit longer, but it's methods certainly work!)

Anxiety. Yes. Very good possibility. But, I am thinking vet check up? Has she been to the vet yet? If not, she needs to go. Just for the peace of mind there is nothing physically wrong and she needs to start her puppy shots etc.

If she is in good health via a vet check then we are back to 9 weeks old and new to the world, her environment etc.

No *breed* of dog is exempt from having stress related accidents in their kennel. When your husband leaves make sure when he kennels her he does not say anything. Talking to the animal, saying *bye bye, we will see you later, mom will be home soon* only heightens the stress.

Also, explore how much you are feeding her. Three times a day, small meals. Giving her last meal at 5:00 pm is fine.

I think this is just going to take a bit more time for her to adjust. I know it is a pain to come home to feces all over the place and having to bathe the dog but don't correct her because she has no idea.

You may also consider putting her kennel in the bathroom with the crate door open for awhile. Then gradually get her back into being kenneled.

But please have a puppy wellness exam done by a vet.

I know the theory about having only a small area in any crate, but if a puppy/dog is going to mess in the crate, it will and if it's only in a small area, it will have no other option but to lie in the mess. I hate that! I have no advice about why she's doing this, but it could be stress - she's getting in a tizz about you not being there. If this were me, I'd not restrict her to a tiny area - if she has a bigger space, it could well be she messes in one end, and lies in the other. I've never confined a puppy of this age, even only for a couple of hours, in a crate - apart from overnight, when they are beside my bed. Our puppies of this age were in a pen, with a raised bench at one end, and a newspaper covered area should they need to use it, during the night, or if we had to leave them for a short time during the day. At least that meant they had a clean bed to lie on, so didn't get messy and need bathing every day.

I can only say what's obvious. This routine isn't working, so you need to try something different in terms of leaving her, and size of crate.

She is a tiny very young baby. Some puppies are not weened that young. I can only think she does not have a poo break before she goes to bed. It must stop or she will think that is where she is supposed to go poo. Why is her poo wet and messy. NO dog wants to sleep where there has been deification. She apparently can not escape it. How can any dog be trained at 9 weeks.? We think some of these little diva dogs like to punish us or get revenge. Maybe she does not like being left. Or left alone. Maybe it is stress. She is a very young female and he is leaving her home alone. I feed Natural Balance tiny bites. I have a four lb. Chihuahua and his poo is about the size if my pinky finger and rarely leaves a stain on the wee pad.

The owner of the dog needs to know how to "operate" the dog, same way you can get into a car that's in perfect running order but if you don't know how to drive you won't have much luck making the car go anywhere. If the owner doesn't know how to maintain the training, the dog will soon become untrained again. Read more here https://tr.im/BNwiW

People seem to think that once a dog is trained, that's it. Not true. You must reinforce the dog's training every single day in some way. It's best if the owner and the dog go together to get trained. As a professional trainer once said to me "We can train any dog in 2 days. It takes longer to train the owners

Definitely. A 2 month old Shih Tzi is a tiny little thing and could develop hypoglycemia if not fed often enough. Water is also very important!! You should also make sure the crate is comfortable for him/her. When my dogs are left alone, I leave the TV on for them. Human voices comfort them.

What is the cage size? She should be able to stand up and turn around, any bigger than that and you'll get accidents.

I wouldn't worry too much, at 9 weeks they are so young you have to expect accidents. She will grow out of it in the next couple weeks.

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