# Toilet training shih tzu pup (apartment)



## Mabby (Jun 2, 2007)

Hi I'm new to the forum and have read previous posts about this issue but have some more questions. 

I have a 9 week old female shih tzu pup, I live in a high rise apartment and do not have access to the balcony as I have two house cats who would more than likely jmp off th balcony if I was in and out with the pup every few minutes. 

I have been using puppy pads for since I got her...just over a week now. She has good days and bad days, sometimes she'll wake up and run over to the pad and pee, but other times she goes anywhere. I always praise her when she goes in the correct place. However when it comes to poops she doesnt use the pad, but when I see her running round sniffing I move her to the pad.

My questions are: In the day I have her in a room with myself and the cats, they use a litter box in the kitchen and she has a pad in the main room we use, but at night time the cats go in the kitchen and the pup comes in my bedroom where she has another pad. 

Am I confusing her by having pads in two rooms? I know the pup is really young and I cant expect much from her at this stage, but it anyone can offer me some advise on what to do so I dont make matters worse by confusing her. I do intend to take her for walks when she's old enough, but until then we're confined the the house. 

I would like her to be litter box trained for use while we're home, and for her also the be able to do her business whilst out for a walk is this possible at all? 

I do have a crate but she constantly whines and barks...so havent been using it.

Would I be better setting up one place within the apartment for her to go potty?

Sorry I have so many questions, I just dont want to confuse the poor little thing. Any advise or suggestions would be really great as I'm a first time dog owner, I'd really appreciate any help 

Thanks


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## briteday (Feb 10, 2007)

Personally, I would have one potty spot in the house. And just like someone who is training their dog to go outside, when she is with you and showing signs, you need to get up and take her to the spot. 

No pup likes the crate initially. If you can't have your eyes on her then she needs to be in the crate or in a gated room that you don't mind cleaning an accident. As far as the crate, you don't get all sappy when you put her in. Just put her in, little pat on the head, and close the door. If you have to close the door to the room with the crate if she is noisy. No big greetings when you return either. A crate is a good thing for a small dog. If you have a dinner party or small children visit a crate is a safe place for a small dog to be. And there is just too many things a pup can get into at night if she's loose. Dogs will chew on electrical cords, get into drawers, chew things, etc. Much safer in a crate. I would keep the crate in the bedroom initially (or get more than one if you need to crate her elsewhere in the house during the day or if leaving the house, we keep one in the family room because it is closer to where we go in and out). At night they will usually settle down if you just ignore them. If she won't settle down then the crate can go at the other end of the house where you can't hear her. 

Be sure you are feeding 3 times/day and picking up the water 2 hours before bedtime. Feeding on a schedule will help your pup establish an elimination pattern so you will know when she is most likely needing to go. Some people even keep a little notebook handy to mark down the times when the dog goes, right place or wrong, and after a week or so you can see exactly the pattern. 

If you have her with you during the day and don't want her wandering the house then attach her to you with a leash. That way she can be with you but not out of your sight. When you see her circling and sniffing, take her to the potty area.

If you train to pads indoors, I would wait until she is completely reliable before expecting her to understand going outside. It may be too confusing for a young pup.


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## skunkstripe (Oct 28, 2006)

Hi Mabby,
At 9 weeks your pup is not going to have much bladder and bowel control-at best they can hold it for about 3 hours.
Expect setbacks, or more accurately, don't expect your pup to "get it" and suddenly do it right forever after. There will be days when she goes where you want her to and days when she will make a mistake. All you can do is to praise her lavishly when she does what you want and quietly move her or stop her if it looks like she is going to do it where you don't want.


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## Renoman (Mar 20, 2007)

I agree that more than one pad in the house is confusing to your pup at this time. 

If you want to litter box train her, once she's going consistently on the pads it will be easy to do. You'll just take a used pad and place it in the doggie litter box so she gets the idea. You might have to use pads in the box for a while until she's sure of what she's doing then slowly transition to doggie litter.


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## Ameskie (May 15, 2007)

I would say to just put one pad, because a friend of mine had that same problem. He tried taking one out, and his pup got better. Not perfect though. Strangely enough, my pup at 9 weeks could hold it for like...9 hours. i was kind of surprised.


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## Mabby (Jun 2, 2007)

Thanks for all the replies, have removed one of the pads and am not letting her out of my sight. Hopefully things will improve.

Thanks again


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