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I recently brought a Shih Tzu dog; he's so adorable, we love him so much. We usually leave him alone at least 8 hours a day while I am at work.

Every time I come back, I find he has peed on the carpets and defecated on the couches. The house smells bad and he's not learning to relieve himself in one spot. I bought him special pieces of tissue to go on, but to no avail.

My question is, if I buy him a big crate, would it help?

I would need to leave him in the crate at least 8 hours a day. I can provide food and toys for him in the crate, but if he wants to urinate or defecate, how is he supposed to do so while he's in his crate?

We love him and we don't want to give him away so any quick advice would be greatly appreciated.

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    Take him out before you go to work, have someone come at lunch, and take him out immediately when you get home. You're leaving a puppy in a huge space by themselves, they are most likely getting anxiety. You should have started with a crate, then gate, then whole house. Get them a crate, it is their home and safe place they don't poop where they sleep, but if you go this route you need to ensure they are very well exercised physically and mentally before you crate them! Please read more on how to care for a dog.
    – AM_Hawk
    Commented Dec 20, 2015 at 19:14

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Step one:

Don't leave a puppy unattended for long periods of time.

  • A puppy can't hold it for too long (this is why there's pee and poo around your house)
  • You can't train him if you're away for so long
  • Crate won't help, unless you're there to train him, which you're not.

Step two:

Try to be committed to the dog; having a dog is a HUGE responsibility, he is under your care. You are held accountable for this dog's behavior. Loving a dog is not only being there to give him belly rubs and treats, it's also being able to provide him with a healthy and stable lifestyle; this goes through training and sometimes disciplining the dog.

If there's really no workaround with your schedule (visiting at lunch time, "daycare", helpful neighbors), I really recommend you to consider re-homing your puppy, it's more frustrating/stressing for the dog than it is for you all the amount of time he is spending alone as a pup.

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    Thanks for your advice! My little daughter needs him! and I work from 8 am until 4 p.m, I am facing a hard decision after we already adopted him and get used to him, She loves it so much and I have no neighbors or even can check on him in the mid of the day! I must keep him at house 4 days a week from 8 - 4 p.m! Help me find a solution, please!! Crate doesn't work? any alternative solution :( ?
    – Sam Atia
    Commented Dec 1, 2015 at 22:04
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    What about dogcare? @SamAtia
    – Just Do It
    Commented Dec 1, 2015 at 22:09
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    If you can't get home to look after him, and you don't have neighbours who can do it, then a petsitter may be your only choice, if you want to keep the dog. But to be honest, I'm not sure you will get a solution that doesn't involve rehoming the puppy. It's like adopting a young baby and leaving him alone for 8 hours, he is never going to learn to change his own nappies, and it's really not good for him.
    – Victoria
    Commented Dec 2, 2015 at 20:15

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