<p>We have a 12 yr old shih tzu- they are wonderful pets! However, as I discovered and later read, they are very difficult to housetrain (and I was new to pet ownership, it was winter…didn’t do the crate training like I should have). It took ours 10 years to let us know when he needed to go outside (and now that the snow is finally gone there is an area of dead grass outside the garage…). Several years ago I used baby gates to keep him on the vinyl and once made a habit of putting a boot tray down in the laundry room for him when he was confined there overnight- easy to empty and rinse in the sink there (small dog amounts are manageable). Currently if he has to poop when we aren’t there to take him out he will go next to the first floor toilet- behind the rug- he knows what the toilet is for but can’t reach it! Years ago he got it in his brain that the then rugs at the back door and in front of the bathroom sink were the place to pee- different rugs and years later no longer a problem. Our dog also dislikes the rain/water of any sort- he jumps puddles and refuses to go into the rain, I drag/push him out the door during storms. As empty nesters it is like still having a child at home- except that I sometimes wonder who the master is.</p>