I have crated him in a large crate and done half and half with blanket and pads, he just smears the poo everywhere resulting in bath time for puppy and washing bedding and cleaning crate, I have also tried a small crate with a blanket and he still soils that. During the day he has numerous puppy pads down but chooses to soil on the carpet at the side of the pad, occasionally he pees on the pad and I praise him but the very next time he pees it's back on the carpet!
I lift his food up at dinner time when I eat my last meal and it's a good 5-6 hours before we go to bed, I don't sleep long hours only 6-7 and I find he's barking after about 5 and he's already made a mess by then. I'm at a loss what else to do he is nearly 14 weeks old now and according to what I've read he should have more control by this age!
My shitzu is not responding to any of my potty training. He soils his crate at night, carpets in day
Responses (3)
Put those expanding gate things across the kitchen doors. Kitchen because there is almost always somebody there. Cover the floor with three layers of newspaper. Every day throw out the top two layers and put down two fresh layers using the old third layer for the new top layer. Feed puppy in one corner and he will eventually dump only in the opposite corner. Then you only have to paper that corner. Every time you see him dumping, tell him "Go potty" and praise him when he finishes. When this has gone on long enough, take him for a walk and take that third layer with you. Tell him "Go potty" and praise him when he is done. After that always take him for a walk at the same time and go to the same place.
14 weeks is really not an unusual time for a puppy to still need work on housebreaking. I had a similar issue with an adult dog who had lived outside for years. Here's the best advice I can give you. Don't let him potty in his crate. That might mean having to set an alarm and take him out every three hours at first. It will be worth it, trust me. Once he sees that he will have an opportunity to "go" outside, he will wait longer before doing it in his crate because dogs are clean and don't like laying in their business. You will slowly be able to go longer between bathroom trips until he is eventually potty trained and can go the whole night.
You need to get a dog trainer for help, clearly this is not going well at all and he will never be house trained if he is never taught! You should be taking him out for a pee and praising him for peeing in the house on pads is not good! He will learn to pee on pads for the rest if his life and that is not healthy! I think he might even have a health problem because at that age, almost 5 months old he should be able to control his bladder for up to at least 1 hour during the day. I have a golden retriever and we never taught her to pee on pads! We had them down for accidents but that's it. Now at 7 months she hasn't had a house accident in a couple of months now.
I forgot to mention that I have a gate across the kitchen doorway and that is where Alfie likes to poo, right in the doorway, he then proceeds to jump up and down at the gate barking for me and spreading his poo all over the floor, the open door, the gate, the fridge freezer and himself. But I will give it a go with the newspapers and move his food and water to the doorway, thank. You very much for your advice.