My partner and I moved to the country after living in the Dallas area with our 4 dogs (GSD, Small Pittie mix, Shitzu mix, and Chihuahua mix), that were sheltered with a wooden 8 ft fence. Now we have about 2 acres of yard that we share (with 4 other GSD dogs) on our family compound. It took about a week into the move to figure out that 2 GSDs on the property kill anything smaller than them (besides my pittie), which lead to the death of our shitzu, who loved being outside…. Now MY GSD took a while to warm up to the country, but it has done wonders for her after about 3 yrs now, my pittie loved it from the start. My chihuahua is an adult, and poops inside regularly unless we take her to work and she gets to be outside; we do take her for leashed walks on our property, but she simply doesn't have the safety to relieve herself. She's always been an inside dog, so I'm afraid that at this point we've let her poop inside so long that she won't respond to new guidance.
We have the freedom to build onto our existing house, or possibly create a 10 ft tall, fenced area specifically connected to the house with a doggy door (which is the current goal although it'll take the longest), or a bell for when we're home with her. I don't want to cage her when she's home alone, my partner is very against that, and I'm not too keen on it either. She's had the freedom to do as she pleases pretty much all the time, which includes pooping and peeing during the night and early mornings.
I've tried using potty pads, we keep a towel on the ground, I've tried indoor turf, or sectioning a place for her to minimize the "spread". I haven't tried leashing her and waiting because she'll refuse to go once she realizes she has to go outside on a leash or be micromanaged, even though she knows she prefers the leash ANY other time. (I think she realizes its more for protection) She's also super picky about her pooping habits; (i.e. once she pees or poops in one spot, (whether on the floor, potty pad, or towel) she won't use the area in about a foots distance in either direction, so she finds a new area (in the same room). The pee is sometimes hard to find if it's in a different spot than the poop.
Thankfully my partner is mostly great at cleaning up after her, as I've already told him that if he isn't interested in a solution, it's his chore. I prefer being barefoot so my feet are always dirty, I just don't want dog fluid residue to be the reason. She's a good girl a with a long life ahead of her, and I could live with her poop and pee if that's the case, I'm just reaching out to the internet for outside perspectives…
Edit: It's been 3 yrs already because I've been trying other temporary soltutions, to no avail, and otherwise no ways to be the problem solver by myself. My partner is happy to help me follow through with my ideas, but I am currently the only one bothered enough to care about having ideas or solutions. My partner is IN LOVE with our lil girl, and so am I, he's just not bothered at all by her habits, except when I tell him it's his chore alone. He still does it, he just thinks I should get over it and have a constantly dirty floor.
submitted by /u/Sure-Ad5262
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