Hi. I knew Shih Tzu's could be stubborn but ... We have a 9 year old male, and most of his life he's been out and about when he's done his business. We now need him to go in the garden, rather than walking him round the block. We've tried pretty much everything ... waiting for him to go, crating him for half an hour and letting him back out again, putting him on a lead round the garden, and when he HAS gone, rewarding him. However, he doesn't seem to be learning at all, and is retaining his poo/wee for more than a day. Right now it's 28 hours. Taking him out of the garden and round the block will work, I know. He'll pee straight away. But that means he wins. And we want him to go in the garden. It's not that he can't go ... he won't go. Tell me we're not alone. Any encouragement would be gratefully received. Thanks.
Is there a small part of the garden you can make private for him? Sometimes it works if they have their own space out of sight
There is. And he's proved that he will go in that one particular area. But even with encouragement he's point blank just sitting down and staring us out.
I would try making the garden fun. Right now, he'd rather go for a walk because it holds interest for him - all those smells, etc. He's also used to telling the world that he's there. So, you need a way to convince him that using the garden will be better. It sounds weird, but if you have a neighbor with a dog, ask them to bring it over and pee in the section you want your dog to go. That will give your dog a reason he can't ignore. If he starts to hold it again, invite the other dog back for a "potty visit". For poop, it's more difficult because it isn't as territorial. If he poops there, don't pick it up. Leave it for him to smell the next time he goes out and he'll be more likely to go again. You may play a bit with him first, get him active and he'll most likely "feel the need". I really encourage folks to teach their dogs to do their business in their own yard/garden from beginning, do it before play, and for the owner to use trigger words for it. I simply use "go pee" and "go poop". This gets them in the habit of going quickly on command. It takes more work up front than taking the dog for a walk, but it makes things much easier later on when there may be reasons you can't walk them (illness or injury, travel, etc). It also eliminates (no pun intended) any potential issues with neighbors.
If the garden is secure, try leaving him to decide. It's just the 'staring us out' part makes me think that he suspects you are watching so just won't 'go'. Toed's suggestions are good too. It starts them off just to get them scent marking and realising that it's OK to go
Update. After another long stretch of nothingness we invited a neighbour to bring their dog in for a sniff round. That worked! He's weed and pooed now, yesterday and this morning! We're all a lot happier! Thanks for your trouble, guys!
