Help with adult house training!

mzjazz2u

Hi! I just adopted a 6 year old Shih Tzu named Honey. She was used to having a doggy door and being able to go outside to potty whenever she wanted. I am not set up that way. I'm trying to figure out how to teach her that she needs to let me know when she has to potty. Or maybe I should control feeding times and then take her out after? Seems I take her out and she doesn't have a clue what to do. lol She's not used to being on a leash so I think that throws her. But then she also won't always go potty. She's had a couple accidents right in front of the door. I'm sure she will do fine eventually. Just looking for some ideas on how to get her used to not having a doggy door. Is it basically the same process? For my other dog, I say "potties" and she runs to the door and will go when I take her out. She was pretty well housetrained when I got her. I just added the command, "potties" to her routine.


Thanks!

cassied25

Here are just a few ideas- Definitely have scheduled feedings, and only leave the food down for so long (10-15 minutes, if she doesn't eat it right away). Let her out a little while later. If she has an accident before that, than you'll know the time in between eating and going outside needs to be shorter. Try to then create a potty schedule off of this. And smaller breeds like her need to go to the bathroom more than a larger dog.

Since she had a doggy door before, maybe you could teach her how to use a bell. This way, she can communicate better with you.

Good luck!

ldbritton

I have a two year old Springer who is not housebroken. I've had her since 5 months, and she has had her days that she does pretty well, but I think those are accidents. I can put her out for 4 hours and she will scratch the door down to get in and poop in the middle of the floor.