# Adopted a new dog from a shelter....need help!



## tammyC79 (Aug 2, 2013)

Hi everyone. We've recently adopted an 8 year old female shih tzu from a shelter. She is SUPER sweet and affectionate, we love her. She's only been with us a few days and she of course is having accidents all over the house, which we expected. I decided to try crating her. She went in there without any hesitation and basically spent the day sleeping in there (she was just fixed so is recovering). I decided to leave the door open on the first night and when I woke up in the morning I noticed she actually peed in the crate and was just sleeping in it! It makes sense because from what I am told, she came from a home where she was more or less neglected and when they removed her she was covered in urine and feces. Clearly it's what she's used to (or even comfortable with!?). So I've been working with her trying to bring her out often, reward her right away with treats etc. The bigger issue though is that she slept in her urine....and she has an incision that was surely soaked in her pee. She keeps licking it as well. I'm worried she's going to get it infected. Not to mention she stinks of pee and I know I can't bathe her for 10 days after surgery.
The other issue we've encountered is that she is refusing the food that i am giving her. But since I am trying to potty train her, I'm worried she's just living off treats (the ones I'm giving her after she pees outside)! I don't want to start changing her food etc....our other shih tzu who is the same age loves that food and of course I'd rather not have to buy two different types of food.
So we have a few challenges, as you can see! I'm just not sure what to do about the crate. Should I even bother with it!? 
Thanks for your help


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

If she is licking her incision a lot, you might want to get her a cone. The "soft" cones that are inflatable and look like the neck supports for people to sleep on airplanes are pretty comfortable and don't bang into your walls and shins like the plastic "lampshade" types.

You can wipe her down with a washcloth to clean up the pee since you cannot bathe her yet. Depending on what kind of stitches she has, you can call the vet and ask what you can wipe her incision with. Pee is sterile though unless the dog has a UTI/other illness so I wouldn't think it a major infection risk (but I am NOT a vet).

You can potty train with her kibble instead of treats if she'll take them. Or you can take a baggie of the kibble and mix in some super yummy and smelly treats like cheese and hot dog bits. Then for potty treats, she will get randomly awarded with either super yummy treat or kibble that has taken on the scent of the good stuff (which ups the value usually).

I'd say try continuing with the crate for a little while at least but take her outside once in the night to reduce the chance of her peeing in the crate. If her nighttime accident was 1-2 days after her spay, it could have been from the surgery. Sometimes they get lots of fluids during surgery and add in being groggy and in pain and that can mean accidents even in house trained dogs.


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## spikey287 (Aug 1, 2013)

oh man i know what its like to worry about that. is she only peeing in the crate at night? im trying to potty train now as well and im finding it unproductive!


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