Hey all.. I'm pretty new to this forum, however I did spend some time looking around for an answer before actually posting my situation.
First, let me give you the "short" history of my dog. Maybe it'll help distinguish what's wrong.
My dog Lilo is a year and a half old Shithtzu. She's very hyper, but very sweet and commands a lot of attention. When I got Lilo (about 8 months ago), she was only semi-potty trained. Her previous owner worked all day, so the poor thing stayed in the cage all day and even most of the evenings, and only taken out to eat, go potty, and once in a while play with the previous owners 10 yr old son. The dog was actually a gift for him (hence the Disney character name), but like most kids he soon got bored with this "toy," he stopped playing with Lilo, which resulted in her being caged up probably 20 of the 24 hours in a day. Very sad, I know. And it's the reason she acts like she's so attention starved now. Will she ever grow out of this?
Anyway, I adopted Lilo and right away (with the help of my parents) started training her on how to go outside on her own (in my tiny fenced in townhouse backyard). My parents also have an old Pekinese who is 100% very well trained and will let out a little bark at the back door when she needs to go. She goes out, does her business, and comes right back in. I was hoping Lilo would watching and learn from her, but no such luck.
For the most part, she is now 99% potty trained when it comes to peeing. She has only recently had an accident in the house here or there when no one has been able to let her out. Pooping, however, is another story. Regardless of how many times we take her out in a day, she will poop in the house 50% of the time. She always does it someplace where you can't see her. If I'm in the family room, she'll do it around the corner, at the bottom of the stairs. If I'm in my bedroom, she'll do it right outside, at the top of the stairs. If we're near the stairs, she'll go around to the hall. You get the picture...
Well, now I have moved to another state and have brought Lilo with me. It's just the two of us. The last couple of months, she turned into a little jealous nipping machine when it came to my parents' Pekinese and Persian. She had to be the center of attention at all times and if she wasn't, she would actually start nipping at the other two if they were getting attention from someone. My new home is a house with a concrete backyard with inground pool, all screened in. If you're from Florida, you know what I'm talking about. There is a door leading to the back, where there is a small grassy area, but I have to leash her to take her out there. It's a pain. A real pain. So my 3rd day here, I had this brilliant idea to make one of those grassy puppy potties. I went to Lowe's and purchased a large square tray (the kind that you slide under washing machines to catch drips) and a few pieces of sod. When I got home, I carefull cut up and arranged the sod in the tray, so that it was like a large square of grass. I pulled it to the back and inside the screened in deck and placed it in a perfect corner. I brought her out and she went on it almost right away! I was elated! The grass is about half the size of the grassy area she had to go on back at the townhouse, so she's probably reminded of that, right? The next day, it was a bit harder. She started walking around doing the whole sniff and explore thing. I was tired, so I picked her up, placed her on the grass and told her "Go Potty." She walked off. I did it again. She went. Yayy! At this point, I'm getting excited. Well, that was about 3pm yesterday afteroon. Last night, I took her out one last time before bed and she wouldn't go. Everytime I tried to place her on the grassy area, she would walk off. I did it 3x. The third time, she just sat there. So, I came in, took a quick 10 min shower, got out.. and what do I find on my bathroom floor but a huge puddle of pee. Obviously, I was very disappointed.
This morning she woke me up at 5:30 am, so I took her out, but she didn't want to pee, she wanted to play. I couldn't fall back asleep, for fear she would pee all over the carpet, so I stay awake. Every two hours today I have taken her out and she has done NOTHING. I've tried moving the grassy area, I got desperate and took her for a walk about an hour ago, but still nothing. She has not peed since about 8pm last night (26 hours ago)! She's been drinking, as I've filled her bowl up in the morning and again a little bit ago. And she's not constipated, as she left me a little smelly pile earlier today.
I don't know what to do! I'm tired, but I'm afraid if I fall asleep she'll pee all over the house and my landlord will kill me! I'm also afraid she's sick. If anyone hasn't fallen asleep from this terribly long story by now and has any advice they can offer, I would certainly appreciate it! ANYTHING from how to make her START peeing to how to make her STOP pooping in the house, would be appreciated! I just feel like I constantly have to watch her, like she's a two year old or something and I don't know how much more I can take, between the constant watching and the worrying about ruining these carpets. But she's the sweetest dog I've ever met and I don't think I could bare to live without her! [
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