1 Yr Old Spayed Female Still Not Potty Trained - Help!

[bayancy87]

Hi, my female Shih Tzu just turned 1 yesterday and we are still having potty issues with her. She's my second dog and my male Shih Tzu is 2 years old and has been potty trained ever since he was 5 months old. We have tried to train her to use the potty bell but she rings it so softly that no one can hear her and I have also purchased a potty doorbell which seemed to work for her for 2 weeks but now she doesn't want to ring it.

 

She has to go to the bathroom constantly about every 45-60 min when she's not in her crate or playpen, which I know is not normal for a dog her age. I have taken her to the vet since I thought it may have been a medical issue but they said that all her tests came back negative. We thought she had the potty training down when she went almost a full month without any problems, but now she is starting to pee and poop again in the house while hiding in the corners and on some occasions eating her solid poop (she was doing this as a puppy but had seemed to grow out of eating it).

 

I'm honestly out of ideas at this point on how to make this stick for her. I'm still not 100% convinced that it's not a medical issue, but any suggestions you can provide would be greatly appreciated!

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hi there,

Welcome to forums,

Potty issues can be very frustrating to deal with. There can be a variety of causes for a dog of her age to not be yet potty trained.

 

Is your female dog spayed?

What have you been doing so far when you witness her having an accident?

Is she crate trained?

Does she ever show any anxious/stressed behaviors?

Is she scared of anything in the yard?

Do you have an invisible fence?

Any big changes in her life after that month she was doing well being house-trained?

Does she pee/poop out of your sight? Like under furniture, behind couches?

Is there a certain pattern as to when her accidents happen? When you are outside? When you pet her? When she sees other dogs walk by the window? When she greets you? When she's left alone at home?

 

Answers to these questions should help narrow down a few possibilities.

 

I know you mentioned having her see the vet, but perhaps she may need some more testing just to be on the safe side and rule medical causes out. Like has the vet ever done an ultrasound of the lower urinary tract to rule out stones? Has she been screened her for intestinal parasites? Checked her for any pain in the joints/back? She is very young for back/pain joint/pain but always best to rule everything out considering that it sounds like she was doing pretty well for almost a full month.

 

If nothing is medically going on, the other possible differentials leave us with some forms of possible anxiety peeing, excitement/submissive urination or just incomplete potty training, each of which may need a slightly different approach. I will be glad to cover more in depth these possibilities based on your additional info provided.

Thanks,

Adrienne

Edited November 25, 2019 by Adrienne Farricelli