potty training issues

[Cherokee256]

Did the pup come from a pet store where it was kept in a small cage for most of it's life until you got it? You mentioned that it urinates in a very small area that it is kept in. We have had serious issues with our now 13 yr. old shit zhu since the day she arrived in our home. After trying every training method know to mortal man, we still have a dog that both urinates and defecates in the floor or her bed. She was checked out numerous times by our vet and then another vet just to be sure when she was a pup and for several years afterward. Finally, we consulted a doggy shrink. Yea, I know, but I was desperate after she peed on my sofa and my bed. I was told that because she was in a pet shop for so long as a pup, that she thought she was suppose to pee where she slept or ate. It made sense to me after I thought about it because our little Joy was almost 4 months old when she came to us. She had been in the pet store since she was 2 months old and in a small cage at the breeders before that. No matter what we tried, it just never worked. I could take her outside and walk for two hours, stay with her, tie her out on a line outside the door, nothing worked. She would not use the bathroom until she came back in the house. The minute she started to go, I would grab her and carry her out, trying not to upset her. She would finish using it that time outside and then when no one was looking, she would use it again inside. Paper training was the closest we came to housebreaking. She would put her front feet on the paper and potty on the floor. Ok so then we tried two pup pads and then three or four. Good Heavens, we should have just covered the whole house with pup pads and maybe we could have saved the carpet in my new home. I have had pets and wild things in my home my entire life and have never had such an issue with any one of them. It has been the most frustrating thing I have ever had to deal with. For a little over a year, she and my poodle lived in the horse barn office where I was daily, but I went back to work and felt guilty for leaving them there without their human family around more often than twice a day. So back into the house they came and there went the carpet! My poodle did not come from a pet shop or a breeder. She is from a local lady that just likes to raise sweet babies for families. She is well trained and would burst before she would potty in the floor. Thank goodness! Our little Joy (shit zhu) is now 13 and probably won't make it to 14. she is deaf, blind, and almost hairless now. She still eats like a horse and poops like one too. Since she is blind, the only place she travels is to the kitchen from her bed in the laundry room where it is always warm and out of the drafts. Hard to believe, but now is the best we have had it with her as far as going outside to potty. She waits to be carried out after eating. She still gets around good and the vet says she isn't in pain, so she will live out her days as long as I know she is not suffering. The way she enjoys her food, I cannot think she is suffering. I don't want to discourage you, just to let you know that not all dogs can be changed. Or if so, we just never found the correct method. It sure wasn't from lack of trying though. Keeping her here has at times almost caused a divorce. I am sorry for the long post here, but felt I had to share. If you cannot change her, it just may not be your fault. Many have health issues, but then some have mental issues as well. I think ours was the latter. For a long time, I thought I was just not handling it the correct way and felt guilty. I did my best and I know that I did. I finally decided I either had to live with it or get rid of her and I could not do that. I chose to live with it and handle it the best I could.
Linda