Eats his poo and goes in the house:( even a couple of times!

[itmustbepuppylove]

ok, i have a fabulous puppy - he's one year old and a few days. he has a great personality, is very loving, whines a bit and barks a bit to get attention, but likes to sleep and can handle being alone pretty good (just not for super long amounts of time)

the problem is, pooping in the house:( he KNOWS to pee outside. and he needs to pee first thing in the morning (after playing a few two or three times in the past 6 months.

but he poops in the house almost daily. if i catch him in the act, i yell at him in a deep voice and say "no no no!" and then clean it up right away. i can tell he knows he's done something wrong b'c then he acts a bit meek and then wants me to just pick him up and hold him. some times he even EATS it:( also, MANY times, he has gone number 2 outside, but then comes in the house and five minutes later ( when i'm not looking b'c i think he's all done) he GOES AGAIN! i'm not sure what to do. i live in an apartment (on the ground floor) so going to the bathroom has been very convenient. but i'm moving in two months and will be on the THIRD floor which leads me to the next problem (two-pronged)

he doesn't do #1 and #2 at the same time. in fact he's only done them at the same time once:( so i have to make two trips - minimum - and he doesn't always want to go anyway. (i usually give him 2-3 minutes to see if he's interested, we don't spend a lot of time outside anyway, so when we do go outside, he knows it's for the potty only).

AND, he won't go at all when it's raining. i have to bring a pee pad outside and get him to go on it b'c (i figure) he doesn't want to get his feet wet.

so, i'm not sure what to do. he's a WONDERFUL dog and i love him and i'm not gonna get rid of him or anything like that, but he's so frustrating and it really is unacceptable to have him pooping on the floor so much:(

i do praise him big time when he goes outside like he's supposed to. i give him several treats when he does #2 outside (and only one when he pees) so he knows that i want him to do #2 outside and not inside.

he's crated during the day and most of the time when he sleeps. he loves his crate and is very happy in it, i want him to eventually have the house during the day but i can't have him pooping willy nilly and maybe even peeing, so i'm not sure what to do. he is also anxious and unhappy when i leave and he's not in his crate (if i put up a baby gate and give him the kitchen).

i'm thinking of trying to get him to go while on a walk - but he doesn't like walks all that much, he'd rather play fetch inside and chase his toys, which is all fine and dandy with me, but maybe he'd do better if i tried to get him to do #1 and #2 while on walks?

thanks so much if you've read this far and please, PLEASE give me all the advice you can.

also, how do i post a picture (without paying)? bentley is soooo cute and i want you guys to see him:)

thanks so so much,
itmustbepuppylove

[DeLaUK]

Has he been tested for intestinal parasites?
Giving him 2-3 minutes is not even close to the amount of time he might need to poop outside, often the peeing comes first, often that happens within the first minute or 2, then it can take 20 or 30 minutes for him to poop, he'll get distracted with scents, want to have a good sniff around before decided on where he wants to poop. Whats likely at this point, as its been going on for a while he's now in the habit of going in the house, when he gets in the position to go in the house, tell him NO as you have been doing and get him outside immediately,...dont give him chance to actually start the process inside, if he does he will most likely stop when you 'yell' at him....dont bother cleaning it up until you come back inside (personally I also dont let them see me cleaning it up) , take him to the same place outside each time, give him the treat and a LOT of prasie when he goes outside, keep in mind he's now been distracted and has probably forgotten what he's out there for, you have to be parient and give him long enough to continue eliminating....if he's already finished a full bowel movment inside then he wont need to go....you need to be more vigilant though. Does he go in his crate?
As for 'he knows he's done something wrong' because he acts meek after youve told him off.... he's responding to your tone of voice and your body langauge, the only way he will connect this to pooping inside is when you do actually catch him in the act....if hes already done it...even if it was 30 seconds before you respond, he probably doesnt relate the pooping to you being angry at him.
I would start a couple of regular walks daily, morning, early evening/afternoon and later in the evening....if later is not possible then at least make time to spend about 20-30 minutes outside letting him sniff around. I know you said he doesnt like walks but if he has the energy and is healthy enough to play fetch for a while inside then you need to put your foot down and make him go for walks....dont start him out on a long hike or anything...
It sounds like theres some miscommunication going on....be patient with him and be consistent.

[itmustbepuppylove]

thanks! yeah, he's seen me pick it up, so i'll stop that. i do take him to the same place everytime and no, he never goes to the bathroom in his crate. i will however give him more time (20 minutes seems to long to stand with him at his potty place) but i've been fooled many times thinking he doesn't need to go since he won't go and then he'll do it in the house.

what should i do about him going outside and then when we get inside again and i don't watch him as closely (because he just went) and he goes again.

he has a check-up coming up soon, so they'll test him for that when i bring in a sample.

also, any advice on how to eventually let him be out during they day?

itmustbepuppylove

[coppersmom]

I won't even freak you out by telling you how old my dog is and still eats poo..Anyway, there are a few food additives you could try since yours is still a puppy. Dis-taste and For-bid are a few I know of. Dis-taste is by Drs. Foster and Smith and you can order it on-line.

And my only other advice is to definately keep him out longer. My Brie has to "warm up" before she poos. And maybe secure him to you with a leash when you come back in so you can watch him.

You can post pictures by first uploading them to a site like photobucket.com. Then you copy and paste the url. There are better directions somewhere on here...you could probably search the site and find them. (I'm sorry, I'm not very good at posting pictures LOL) But definately show us your little guy!

[itmustbepuppylove]

yeah, i want to try one of those products, thanks!

i feel bad i haven't been patient enough! i just thought he was being sneaky by acting like he didn't need to go and then going in the house!

itmustbepuppylove

[coppersmom]

What a cutie!!

[WinniPoo]

If your little cutie stays small, have you considered a litter box? My maltipoo is about 8 lbs and is litter box trained. works great for us

[itmustbepuppylove]

i've thought of that. and i really like the idea of it... my "little" cutie (thanks!) is about 15 lbs!!! he's a sturdy little guy:)

how expensive is it? where do you get your supplies? how will i train him to do it now that he's a year old? (he uses pee pads fairly well if i leave him in the kitchen, and he uses them perfectly if it's raining outside and i he won't go on the grass so i put down a pee pad on the patio)

do you think it can be done at his age?

he's a pure shih tzu, a calm guy, pretty easy going, i think if he COULD learn it, then he wouldn't mind it - i just read somewhere that much smaller dogs are ok with it (chihuahuas, etc)

thanks for the advice
itmustbepuppylove

[WinniPoo]

It can be a little expensive, I don't use litter b/c Winnie like to play in it. I use pee pads instead. She tends to pee more than most dogs b/c she can go anytime she needs to. She sometimes using up to 3-4 pads a day. But the expense is worth it to me. I just recently purchased a new system called a wizdog. They say you can train an older dog to use it, I'm sure if you put your mind to it, you could. If you want to check it out you can find it at www.wizdog.com

[lil96]

I'd say definitely walk him for a while, even if he doesn't like to. You are the owner, he is the dog. He doesn't care if you have to pick up his poo, he just expects you to do it. I don't know any dogs who only take a few minutes to go outside.
Also I wouldn't even consider letting the little booger out of his crate, when he still hasn't learned to rules of the house.
Oh yea, when I was watching The Newlyweds (nick and Jess) the other day their dog was having a problem with goiong poo inside, so they hired someone to come in and help. tha person would put one of those fence things (I can't remember the name) around the poo and leave the dog in the fence for a few minutes and said that would help. I don't know anything about this method.

[TeddysMom]

[WinniPoo]

Sorry for the delay, the wizdog is supposed to be delivered today......I'll let you know how everything goes!! I'm so excited to see if Winnie takes to it.

[itmustbepuppylove]

i'm interested to hear how winnie takes to it too! get back to us when you can:)

[pippi'smom]

My Shipoo male Pippi just turned a year old on August 3rd. He still does everything you can think of on my floor and now he's taking to chewing my couch cushions(not the throw pillows but the actual cushions )

I would like to start trying the crate for nite time and when I run errands. Is he too old to start the crate? Thanks so much for any and all replies.

~Pippi's Mom

[evansfmly5]

I have had this prob with my female shih tzu, Mitzy. I think that maybe she is embarassed cuz she knows it is a no no to go poopy in the house and then tries to clean it up... but always leaves some behind. Ewwww
Anyways, I have tried Forbid and she ate it too... what has seemed to work is making sure she goes... when we camp I sometimes have to walk and walk her forever before she will finish up... at least up to 30 minutes. My husband gets impatient and gives up, but she usually goes for me... when I let her outside in the back yard, I have to stay out there with her cuz then I KNOW that she went... even for pee pee... if I am not there, she looks around for me and if she doesnt see me, she will come right to the door... having NOT done anything. I have 2 shih tzus and my male always goes. They are almost 2 years old now... and SPOILED ROTTEN! LOL