About 5 weeks ago we adopted a 3 year old Shih Tzu. We were told he
was housebroken but the first thing he did when he came into our home
was urinate. He would also defecate as well in the house.We have no
idea what took place in his previous homes.

We have housebroken him by pointing out the "errors" of his ways and
then taking him outside. I might add, we taught him to use the doggy
door we have which gives him access to an 80' by 80' yard. No longer
does he soil in the house and he has the run of the house at night.

So what is the problem? Well, when my wife and I leave the house even
for an hour or so, he defecates in the living room. He has been shown
the "errors" of his way repeatedly but to no avail.

His correction has been in all instances as follows: Once we see where
he has soiled, he is picked up and quietly taken to the scene of the
crime. He is then told sternly ""No", "No", "No" and then taken
outside. We don't rub his nose in his "error" nor have we struck him.
He is kept out of the house for 15 minutes or so and then re-admitted.
He is not scolded or admonished in any way when re-admitted.

It seems as if he might be unhappy because we left the house because
he doesn't make mistakes when we are home.

He is really affectionate to both of us and really is a sweetheart. No
aggressive tendencies at all and gets along with our other two dogs.
He even sleeps on our bed.

We would welcome any suggestions you might have as to what we might do
to get him to cease this behavior. Since we are at a loss of what to
do, your suggestions will definitely be appreciated.

Thank you,

Patty & Glenn

Mike Jr said in rec.pets.dogs.behavior:

So what is the problem? Well, when my wife and I leave the
house even for an hour or so, he defecates in the living
room. He has been shown the "errors" of his way repeatedly
but to no avail.

His correction has been in all instances as follows: Once
we see where he has soiled, he is picked up and quietly
taken to the scene of the crime. He is then told sternly
""No", "No", "No" and then taken outside. We don't rub his
nose in his "error" nor have we struck him.

No diff. He doesn't understand your correction.

Take him ouside (even mid-pee) and praise him there for peeing
outside. If he pees inside, go all neutral and escort him
outside.

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

Mike Jr said in rec.pets.dogs.behavior:

So what is the problem? Well, when my wife and I leave the
house even for an hour or so, he defecates in the living
room. He has been shown the "errors" of his way repeatedly
but to no avail.

His correction has been in all instances as follows: Once
we see where he has soiled, he is picked up and quietly
taken to the scene of the crime. He is then told sternly
""No", "No", "No" and then taken outside. We don't rub his
nose in his "error" nor have we struck him.

No diff. He doesn't understand your correction.

Take him ouside (even mid-pee) and praise him there for peeing
outside. If he pees inside, go all neutral and escort him
outside.

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

Mike Jr said in rec.pets.dogs.behavior:

So what is the problem? Well, when my wife and I leave the
house even for an hour or so, he defecates in the living
room. He has been shown the "errors" of his way repeatedly
but to no avail.

His correction has been in all instances as follows: Once
we see where he has soiled, he is picked up and quietly
taken to the scene of the crime. He is then told sternly
""No", "No", "No" and then taken outside. We don't rub his
nose in his "error" nor have we struck him.

No diff. He doesn't understand your correction.

Take him ouside (even mid-pee) and praise him there for peeing
outside. If he pees inside, go all neutral and escort him
outside.

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

On Tue, 20 Jan 2004 00:10:20 GMT, Mike Jr mrd no
wrote:

About 5 weeks ago we adopted a 3 year old Shih Tzu. We were told he
was housebroken but the first thing he did when he came into our home
was urinate. He would also defecate as well in the house.We have no
idea what took place in his previous homes.

We have housebroken him by pointing out the "errors" of his ways and
then taking him outside. I might add, we taught him to use the doggy
door we have which gives him access to an 80' by 80' yard. No longer
does he soil in the house and he has the run of the house at night.

So what is the problem? Well, when my wife and I leave the house even
for an hour or so, he defecates in the living room. He has been shown
the "errors" of his way repeatedly but to no avail.

It would show you the errors of your ways, but a dog can't figure that
out. He has not seen the error of pooping in the house. He may well
have seen the error of letting you see poop somewhere, but that is not
the same thing and can actually sabotage housetraining.

His correction has been in all instances as follows: Once we see where
he has soiled, he is picked up and quietly taken to the scene of the
crime. He is then told sternly ""No", "No", "No" and then taken
outside. We don't rub his nose in his "error" nor have we struck him.
He is kept out of the house for 15 minutes or so and then re-admitted.
He is not scolded or admonished in any way when re-admitted.

It seems as if he might be unhappy because we left the house because
he doesn't make mistakes when we are home.

It could also be that he was inadvertently taught that the bad thing
is to go in front of humans, not to go in the house per se. This is
common when dogs are punished for peeing or pooping in the house.
They get that the humans don't like to see their pee or poop, but not
why or what they do want. The way you are correcting the dog would
reinforce that you don't like the poop, but does nothing to teach the
dog that you don't want it outside. Keep an eye on the dog and stop
it mid pee or poop to take it outside and then praise when it finishes
outside. If you find a pee or poop spot in the house after the fact,
just let it go. The dog can't connect past acts with present
displeasure, so there is no point. In the meantime, keep the dog
confined in a small space, such as a kennel, when you are not around.
Dogs have a natural tendency not to soil their dens, so you can use
this to have the dog hold it until you can come home and take him out
and praise him for pooping outside. If you could baby gate a small
area that allows access to the doggie door, that would be great.
Slowly allow access to more of the house as the dog gets better at
going outside every time. You need to make sure that the dog does not
have access to anything other than a clearly delineated "den" area and
a clearly delineated potty area. When the lines are too blurry for
the dog, you get pottying in your den, or dining room, as the case may
be.

Good luck! I adopted a dog who had this same tendency and it took a
long time just to get her to understand that she didn't need to sneak
off to another room to stealth poop before we could even begin on the
proper place to poop issue. I don't know what her prior owners did,
but I would be willing to bet she saw them upset over finding her poop
or finding her pooping. She very respectfully and obediently made
sure nobody saw her pooping, which I hope your dog doesn't learn to
do!


--
Paula
"Paula talks tough, and she wears vicious lipstick, but she lacks the
depth of hate that I have spent many years cultivating." The Avocado Avenger

On Tue, 20 Jan 2004 00:10:20 GMT, Mike Jr mrd no
wrote:

About 5 weeks ago we adopted a 3 year old Shih Tzu. We were told he
was housebroken but the first thing he did when he came into our home
was urinate. He would also defecate as well in the house.We have no
idea what took place in his previous homes.

We have housebroken him by pointing out the "errors" of his ways and
then taking him outside. I might add, we taught him to use the doggy
door we have which gives him access to an 80' by 80' yard. No longer
does he soil in the house and he has the run of the house at night.

So what is the problem? Well, when my wife and I leave the house even
for an hour or so, he defecates in the living room. He has been shown
the "errors" of his way repeatedly but to no avail.

It would show you the errors of your ways, but a dog can't figure that
out. He has not seen the error of pooping in the house. He may well
have seen the error of letting you see poop somewhere, but that is not
the same thing and can actually sabotage housetraining.

His correction has been in all instances as follows: Once we see where
he has soiled, he is picked up and quietly taken to the scene of the
crime. He is then told sternly ""No", "No", "No" and then taken
outside. We don't rub his nose in his "error" nor have we struck him.
He is kept out of the house for 15 minutes or so and then re-admitted.
He is not scolded or admonished in any way when re-admitted.

It seems as if he might be unhappy because we left the house because
he doesn't make mistakes when we are home.

It could also be that he was inadvertently taught that the bad thing
is to go in front of humans, not to go in the house per se. This is
common when dogs are punished for peeing or pooping in the house.
They get that the humans don't like to see their pee or poop, but not
why or what they do want. The way you are correcting the dog would
reinforce that you don't like the poop, but does nothing to teach the
dog that you don't want it outside. Keep an eye on the dog and stop
it mid pee or poop to take it outside and then praise when it finishes
outside. If you find a pee or poop spot in the house after the fact,
just let it go. The dog can't connect past acts with present
displeasure, so there is no point. In the meantime, keep the dog
confined in a small space, such as a kennel, when you are not around.
Dogs have a natural tendency not to soil their dens, so you can use
this to have the dog hold it until you can come home and take him out
and praise him for pooping outside. If you could baby gate a small
area that allows access to the doggie door, that would be great.
Slowly allow access to more of the house as the dog gets better at
going outside every time. You need to make sure that the dog does not
have access to anything other than a clearly delineated "den" area and
a clearly delineated potty area. When the lines are too blurry for
the dog, you get pottying in your den, or dining room, as the case may
be.

Good luck! I adopted a dog who had this same tendency and it took a
long time just to get her to understand that she didn't need to sneak
off to another room to stealth poop before we could even begin on the
proper place to poop issue. I don't know what her prior owners did,
but I would be willing to bet she saw them upset over finding her poop
or finding her pooping. She very respectfully and obediently made
sure nobody saw her pooping, which I hope your dog doesn't learn to
do!


--
Paula
"Paula talks tough, and she wears vicious lipstick, but she lacks the
depth of hate that I have spent many years cultivating." The Avocado Avenger

On Tue, 20 Jan 2004 00:10:20 GMT, Mike Jr mrd no
wrote:

About 5 weeks ago we adopted a 3 year old Shih Tzu. We were told he
was housebroken but the first thing he did when he came into our home
was urinate. He would also defecate as well in the house.We have no
idea what took place in his previous homes.

We have housebroken him by pointing out the "errors" of his ways and
then taking him outside. I might add, we taught him to use the doggy
door we have which gives him access to an 80' by 80' yard. No longer
does he soil in the house and he has the run of the house at night.

So what is the problem? Well, when my wife and I leave the house even
for an hour or so, he defecates in the living room. He has been shown
the "errors" of his way repeatedly but to no avail.

It would show you the errors of your ways, but a dog can't figure that
out. He has not seen the error of pooping in the house. He may well
have seen the error of letting you see poop somewhere, but that is not
the same thing and can actually sabotage housetraining.

His correction has been in all instances as follows: Once we see where
he has soiled, he is picked up and quietly taken to the scene of the
crime. He is then told sternly ""No", "No", "No" and then taken
outside. We don't rub his nose in his "error" nor have we struck him.
He is kept out of the house for 15 minutes or so and then re-admitted.
He is not scolded or admonished in any way when re-admitted.

It seems as if he might be unhappy because we left the house because
he doesn't make mistakes when we are home.

It could also be that he was inadvertently taught that the bad thing
is to go in front of humans, not to go in the house per se. This is
common when dogs are punished for peeing or pooping in the house.
They get that the humans don't like to see their pee or poop, but not
why or what they do want. The way you are correcting the dog would
reinforce that you don't like the poop, but does nothing to teach the
dog that you don't want it outside. Keep an eye on the dog and stop
it mid pee or poop to take it outside and then praise when it finishes
outside. If you find a pee or poop spot in the house after the fact,
just let it go. The dog can't connect past acts with present
displeasure, so there is no point. In the meantime, keep the dog
confined in a small space, such as a kennel, when you are not around.
Dogs have a natural tendency not to soil their dens, so you can use
this to have the dog hold it until you can come home and take him out
and praise him for pooping outside. If you could baby gate a small
area that allows access to the doggie door, that would be great.
Slowly allow access to more of the house as the dog gets better at
going outside every time. You need to make sure that the dog does not
have access to anything other than a clearly delineated "den" area and
a clearly delineated potty area. When the lines are too blurry for
the dog, you get pottying in your den, or dining room, as the case may
be.

Good luck! I adopted a dog who had this same tendency and it took a
long time just to get her to understand that she didn't need to sneak
off to another room to stealth poop before we could even begin on the
proper place to poop issue. I don't know what her prior owners did,
but I would be willing to bet she saw them upset over finding her poop
or finding her pooping. She very respectfully and obediently made
sure nobody saw her pooping, which I hope your dog doesn't learn to
do!


--
Paula
"Paula talks tough, and she wears vicious lipstick, but she lacks the
depth of hate that I have spent many years cultivating." The Avocado Avenger

On Tue, 20 Jan 2004 00:10:20 GMT, Mike Jr mrd no
wrote:

About 5 weeks ago we adopted a 3 year old Shih Tzu.


So what is the problem? Well, when my wife and I leave the house even
for an hour or so, he defecates in the living room. He has been shown
the "errors" of his way repeatedly but to no avail.

His correction has been in all instances as follows: Once we see where
he has soiled, he is picked up and quietly taken to the scene of the
crime. He is then told sternly ""No", "No", "No" and then taken
outside. We don't rub his nose in his "error" nor have we struck him.
He is kept out of the house for 15 minutes or so and then re-admitted.
He is not scolded or admonished in any way when re-admitted.

It seems as if he might be unhappy because we left the house because
he doesn't make mistakes when we are home.

Don't bother trying to 'show him the error of his ways'. It's not
going to do anything.

Short answer is to confine him in a smaller area when you leave, a
crate or an x-pen. It won't be forever, just until he gets used to
you coming and going. You can even try putting the pen or crate right
up against the dog door so he still has access to the outside, but not
to the rest of the house.

You can check the FAQs for more information

Ludwig Smith

Dog FAQS
http://www.k9web.com/dog-faqs/

rec.pets.dogs.info

On Tue, 20 Jan 2004 00:10:20 GMT, Mike Jr mrd no
wrote:

About 5 weeks ago we adopted a 3 year old Shih Tzu.


So what is the problem? Well, when my wife and I leave the house even
for an hour or so, he defecates in the living room. He has been shown
the "errors" of his way repeatedly but to no avail.

His correction has been in all instances as follows: Once we see where
he has soiled, he is picked up and quietly taken to the scene of the
crime. He is then told sternly ""No", "No", "No" and then taken
outside. We don't rub his nose in his "error" nor have we struck him.
He is kept out of the house for 15 minutes or so and then re-admitted.
He is not scolded or admonished in any way when re-admitted.

It seems as if he might be unhappy because we left the house because
he doesn't make mistakes when we are home.

Don't bother trying to 'show him the error of his ways'. It's not
going to do anything.

Short answer is to confine him in a smaller area when you leave, a
crate or an x-pen. It won't be forever, just until he gets used to
you coming and going. You can even try putting the pen or crate right
up against the dog door so he still has access to the outside, but not
to the rest of the house.

You can check the FAQs for more information

Ludwig Smith

Dog FAQS
http://www.k9web.com/dog-faqs/

rec.pets.dogs.info

On Tue, 20 Jan 2004 00:10:20 GMT, Mike Jr mrd no
wrote:

About 5 weeks ago we adopted a 3 year old Shih Tzu.


So what is the problem? Well, when my wife and I leave the house even
for an hour or so, he defecates in the living room. He has been shown
the "errors" of his way repeatedly but to no avail.

His correction has been in all instances as follows: Once we see where
he has soiled, he is picked up and quietly taken to the scene of the
crime. He is then told sternly ""No", "No", "No" and then taken
outside. We don't rub his nose in his "error" nor have we struck him.
He is kept out of the house for 15 minutes or so and then re-admitted.
He is not scolded or admonished in any way when re-admitted.

It seems as if he might be unhappy because we left the house because
he doesn't make mistakes when we are home.

Don't bother trying to 'show him the error of his ways'. It's not
going to do anything.

Short answer is to confine him in a smaller area when you leave, a
crate or an x-pen. It won't be forever, just until he gets used to
you coming and going. You can even try putting the pen or crate right
up against the dog door so he still has access to the outside, but not
to the rest of the house.

You can check the FAQs for more information

Ludwig Smith

Dog FAQS
http://www.k9web.com/dog-faqs/

rec.pets.dogs.info