Frequently Asked Questions

This is a collection of questions we have received in the past regarding issues of shelter health and management. We will post interesting new questions and answers as we receive them from you (Ask a Question), the users of this website. So be sure and check back often, and we hope you find this helpful.

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Question # 1055	Can we save money by testing only the mother cat and not all the kittens for FeLV/FIV, and assume we are getting an accurate result? I did read where pooling is not recommended. Is this what you are referring to?
Answer	Thank you for your question.  There are two related FAQ's on our website that should help you: http://www.sheltermedicine.com/portal/faq.php#top3 Find #961 and #265. "Pooling" means mixing blood samples from more than one cat/kitten for one test; this is generally not recommended as it could significantly decrease test accuracy.  Usually FeLV negative queens will have negative kittens.  So testing only the mother can save money to start (and it is important to know whether she is infected) but her test status is no guarantee that her kittens will be the same.  It is very important that the kittens be tested individually at some point.  One can also just use the FeLV test for youngsters as it is unlikely that kittens will be FIV infected. Shelter/rescue strategies for FeLV testing include: .    All cats and kittens upon admission or prior to being placed for adoption - This strategy is most practical for shelters that rarely euthanize adoptable cats.   .    At the time of adoption - This can be offered as a service with or without a fee. May be more practical than testing all cats in shelters where significant numbers of cats are euthanized rather than adopted. Risks heartache when adopters and staff have already become attached.  It is very important to advise new adopters to have the test done by their private veterinarian if the shelter/rescue group decides not to do any testing. .    Prior to placement in group housing - This is a must for shelters/rescue groups/foster homes that mix cats from different litters in group housing rooms. .    Prior to investment such as foster care, treatment for URI, spay/neuter surgery - This is always ideal, but especially important in populations where FeLV is relatively common. It is heartbreaking to foster a kitten or treat for URI for weeks only to find out the cat is FeLV infected.
Question # 1051	Should recently adopted animals be re-vaccinated when returning to the shelter?  example:  1.5yo basset, healthy at adoption is returned after 3mo in the home d/t unaddressed behavioral issues.  the dog received DA2PP in 12/2007 and was returned in 04/2008.  our facility is new and we have been fortunate not to have had infectious disease problems within our canine population. The vax protocol on the website says all animals should vaccinated unless previous documentation of vaccination is provided- can i safely assume this means if an animal has recently received vax we can bypass this step?  And should cats receieve an additional booster even if current vax history is provided?
Answer	It is not necessary to vaccinate adult animals admitted to the shelter with documentation of a current DHPP, Bordetella, or FVRCP vaccination.  However, it would be very important to ensure that the vaccine records are reliable.   Also, some careful analysis may be required in order to determine if a vaccine history can truly be considered "current."   For example, for DHPP and FVRCP vaccines, it is important that the final vaccine was given at 16 weeks of age or older.   If the animal received killed vaccines, (e.g. for panleukopenia in cats, or for Bordetella in dogs) there must have been a series of two vaccines given at appropriate intervals.  For Bordetella vaccines, the vaccine should have been given within the last 6 months.  If there is any doubt - vaccinate.  Also, it is probably best to vaccinate rather than devote any significant amount of staff time obtaining and/or analyzing documentation of vaccine history. So, if an animal returns to the shelter, and you know that the animal was vaccinated during a previous shelter stay, and the timing of the previous vaccine is such that it can still be considered "current," it is fine to not vaccinate the animal again.  In the case you mentioned, it should not be necessary to re-vaccinate the dog. In general, it is not necessary to give adult animals booster vaccines, as long as modified-live vaccines are used.  There is a previously-answered FAQ on our website addressing this:  #428.  Animals who were sick or injured at shelter intake should receive repeat vaccines 2 weeks later. Also, please remember that kittens and puppies do require repeat vaccines every 2 weeks while in the shelter - my statements above about adults not requiring boosters does not apply to animals under 4 months of age!  For more information on this, see this previously-answered FAQ:  #814 and this section of our Vaccination Information Sheet.
Question # 1050	If an adult animal has proof of a current distemper -parvo vaccine would you still vaccinate on entry ? I'm trying to save on expenses, but still maintain an adequate vaccination protocol.
Answer	It is probably not necessary to vaccinate adult animals admitted to the shelter with documentation of a current DHPP, Bordetella, or FVRCP vaccination.  However, it would be very important to ensure that the vaccine records are reliable.   Also, some careful analysis may be required in order to determine if a vaccine history can truly be considered "current."   For example, for DHPP and FVRCP vaccines, it is important that the final vaccine was given at 16 weeks of age or older.   If the animal received killed vaccines, (e.g. for panleukopenia in cats, or for Bordetella in dogs) there must have been a series of two vaccines given at appropriate intervals.  I think it's unlikely that not vaccinating animals with a current vaccine history would provide you much savings, particularly if any significant amount of staff time must be spent obtaining and/or analyzing documentation of vaccine history.
Question # 1033	What day do you attempt to read the P-score when culturing on Sab duets for dermatophytes. I have the impression it's on the 5th day? What about cultures that grow after that?
Answer	Thank you for your inquiry. First, I want to make sure that you have reviewed the website on ringworm that Dr. Newbury and Dr. Moriello have put together. Ringworm cultures should be evaluated and P-scores recorded at 1 week, 10 days, 2 weeks and 3 weeks. It is important to point out that use of P-score technique relies on the use of both consistent sampling techniques for each cat (e.g. approximately equal numbers of toothbrush strokes) and a consistent inoculation pattern on each culture plate. We have done most of our P-scores on petri dish-style DTM plates; consistent inoculation patterns will be more challenging on the sab duets because the area of the plate is smaller. Be sure to establish, post and carefully follow consistent sampling and inoculation techniques, including a diagram and step-by-step instructions on how to inoculate the culture media for each and every culture. For cats that are not under treatment at the time the culture is collected, our experience (again, in petri dish-style DTM plates) indicates that the final culture result can usually be accurately predicted within the first 10 days. In other words, the P-score doesn't usually change from whatever is observed after 10 days of incubation. You should still evaluate all cultures and record P-scores for the full 3 weeks (and keep records to make sure your experience is the same as ours), but you don't necessarily have to hold the cats that whole time. So, for example: If a culture is negative at 10 days, and the cat from which the culture was collected was not under treatment at the time the culture was collected, you can treat the cat as if it's truly negative, unless there is a strong suspicion for exposure. If a culture has a P-score of 1 at 10 days, and the cat from which the culture was collected did not have any visible lesions and was not under treatment at the time the culture was collected, you can carefully re-examine these cats, and, if lesions are still not found, treat them as a "Dip and go", as described on the above website. If a culture has a P-score of 2 at 10 days, and the cat from which the culture was collected did not have any lesions and was not under treatment at the time the culture was collected, you should really carefully re-examine these cats (including a Wood's Lamp exam.) If lesions are still not found, you can treat them as a "Dip and go". Remember that all 3 examples above are for cats that were not under treatment at the time of sample collection. In cultures collected from cats who are already under treatment, the growth may develop more slowly, so it's best to always finalize wait the full 3 weeks before taking action based on P-scores. Also, any P-score in a cat that has visible skin lesions should be treated as a true positive (requiring topical and systemic treatment.) Because of the possible challenge of relying on P-scores on the smaller sab-duets, I recommend being particularly thorough when re-examining cats that were non-lesional but had P-scores of 1 or 2. If any lesions whatsoever are seen, I'd recommend erring on the side of caution. Also, remember that microscopic identification is necessary in order to confirm microsporum canis. Always do a microscopic exam before basing any decision on culture results!
Question # 1028	How long do we need to keep parvo recovered cats in isolation for potential shedding of the virus? How strict would this isolation need to be? We plan to use disposable litter boxes and no contact with other cats at the shelter. How long do we have to be concerned about fomites? And, research tells us that recovered cats are immune to FPV for the remainder of their lives. What would a vaccination protocol be for a recovered FPV cat?
Answer	I'm sorry to hear that your shelter is dealing with feline parvo as this can really devastate the population.  The bad news is that the virus (panleukopenia) is very hardy and difficult to kill; the good news is that one can institute an effective quarantine for exposed cats, if done correctly. If you have not done so already I recommend looking at our website's panleukopenia information sheet as it will supply the answers to many of your questions: http://www.sheltermedicine.com/portal/is_panleukopenia.shtml#top3 Also see FAQ #799. First, parvo/panleukopenia virus can survive in the environment for months or up to a year in optimum conditions.  There are only two proven disinfectants: 1:32 bleach and potassium peroxymonosulfate (Trifectant). Bleach must be applied to a clean surface to be fully effective whereas Trifectant can also be a cleaner.  This time saving aspect often justifies its increased cost.  You will need strictly followed cleaning and disinfection protocols in place to deal with parvovirus.  Our website has copious information on this in addition to outbreak control advice: http://www.sheltermedicine.com/portal/is_cleaning.shtml#top3 http://www.sheltermedicine.com/portal/is_panleukopenia.shtml#cleaning Cats that become infected with panleukopenia can shed virus up to 14 days. This means that post-exposure quarantine must be for 2 weeks for high risk cats that have been exposed to panleukopenia. Since the maximum incubation period for both parvo and panleukopenia are 14 days, that quarantine period should allow you to identify any animals that are going to become sick. However, you also have to make absolutely sure that exposure to the disease of concern does not occur during quarantine, and start the quarantine over again if it does. So, effective quarantine is easier said than done! Improperly done, quarantine may only serve to increase the risk of disease and stress-related problems. It can also help to assess and assign risk to all the exposed cats.  This can allow a well vaccinated adult cat to avoid quarantine and be adopted. Please see the following information on risk assessment: http://www.sheltermedicine.com/portal/is_panleukopenia.shtml#quarantine Although research does indicate that a recovered parvo-cat is immune to re-infection for a long time, possibly for life, the FVRCP vaccine also protects against respiratory viruses.  Therefore, it is recommended that any recovered cat be vaccinated with FVRCP as per AAFP guidelines (see our vaccination protocols: http://www.sheltermedicine.com/portal/is_vaccination.shtml#cat. The panleukopenia part of the vaccine won't hurt the cat.
Question # 1026	We are planning to build a new shelter in our county.  What software program(s) do you recommend?
Answer	Thank you for your inquiry.  Best of luck with planning and building a new shelter! We aren't really in a position to "officially recommend" any particular software program, but, in our experience, PetPoint, Chameleon, and ShelterBuddy seem to be most user-friendly and reliable. This question has been discussed at length on the Association of Shelter Veterinarians (ASV) email list - do you have access to that?  If not, I would suggest that you sign up for it.  You'd have to become a member of the Association of Shelter Veterinarians (ASV) first - I think dues are around $30 per year.  There is a link to the email list on that same page.  The email list on Yahoo Groups has a bit of  a learning curve; be sure to contact Dr. Julie Dinnage if you have trouble using it (her contact info is on the website). We have lots of information on shelter design on our website, which you might find helpful, including a Shelter Design Information Sheet.  Be sure to check out the Suggested Resources listed at the bottom, including an online presentation (webinar) I gave on shelter design. Also, there are many FAQs on our FAQ page regarding shelter design.  To review these, enter "shelter design" in the search box, select the "All words" button, and click "Search FAQ".
Question # 1021	We had a cat in our shelter come down with the wet form of FIP.  What should be done with the other cats at our shelter.  We have already disinfected everything.  Should we wait to adopt any more cats out? If so how long?
Answer	It is not unusual for shelter cats to occasionally develop Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP).  We consider a "normal" incidence to be around 1-2% of the total population over a period of time.  In those situations the disease probably has more to do with an individual cat's immune system than the causative feline coronavirus itself. However, when groups of cats are experiencing a higher incidence of disease then it is possible that the virus has become more virulent.  This appears to happen more commonly when cats, and especially kittens, become crowded. Unfortunately, there are many aspects of FIP and the causative virus (FCoV) that are still not understood.  I will give you some background information first and then try to specifically answer your question below. I do recommend you listen to my PetSmart charities FIP webinar - look in the recorded sessions. This webinar gives background information, diagnostic tools and control measures that may help to decrease the risks of FIP in a group of cats. http://petsmartcharities.webex.com/mw0304l/mywebex/default.do?siteurl=petsmartcharities Some things about FIP are known which can help formulate a risk assessment for kittens, foster homes and shelters.  The main point is that FIP is largely a disease of cats that are housed in groups and that transmission is via the fecal-oral route. This means that the main source of contamination is the litter box and cats can carry virus on their fur then to us; hence spread is generally not stopped by a door. It is unlikely (virtually impossible except in research settings) that a housing situation with more than 5 cats will ever eliminate coronavirus. FCoV is very common and contagious among cats especially when several are housed under one roof.  Once they become infected, they can mount an immune response, clear the virus but are then susceptible to reinfection.  This results in a continuous cycle which is why multiply housed cats tend to have endemic (more or less constant) infection rates.  The VAST majority of the time this is of no consequence as most coronaviruses do not cause any obvious problems.  It is not known exactly why these viruses occasionally cause FIP. The disease does seem to be the result of a combination of mutated coronavirus, the dose of virus, the cat's immune system, genetics and stress.  Most of the time, this combination of events occurs in kittens. The disease is very rare in adult cats (those over three years of age) although is occasionally seen in geriatrics.  Although I don't know the age of the cat at your shelter that developed FIP chances are it was less than 9 months of age.  If this is the only cat that has gotten FIP then chances are the other cats in your shelter are not at increased risk of the disease (isolated cases don't necessarily spread the disease the way panleukopenia does); the exception being the cat's littermates.  The best thing you can do for the remaining cats is to adopt out the completely healthy ones i.e. decrease crowding; decrease stress and manage concurrent illnesses (diarrhea, URI).
Question # 1019	We have an 8000sqft new facility 3 times larger than what we had with same size staff. We are struggling with getting the cleaning done between 8-12noon open 12. Have your protocol for cleaning. we have 3 large community rooms, kitten, cat and resident cat. they used to just bleach/h20 walls and floor. We started detergent then rinse then bleach,every Wed. they are saying that this takes up to much time and cannot get done. Daily we mop floors and clean cages as used. We stress importantance of cleaning and then disinfecting. Can you help us with cleaning protocol. Kitten room does have wire crates double stacked for pm housing/feeding, all 3 have cat trees and gyms. ISO rooms we do clean/detergent (dawn) then disinfect bleach walls, and stainless steel cages banks. Ideally same should be done for community rooms, but if we absolutely just cannot what is the next best thing? combo detergent and disinfectant would do the trick and save extra step do you have one that works best?
Answer	I am sorry to hear that you are struggling with getting cleaning tasks done in a timely manner. When the new larger facility was built, did the average number of animals housed at any given time in the shelter also increase? I am assuming it did, but wanted to check, as facilities might be expanded in order to provide more space per animal, without actually increasing capacity (the total number of animals the shelter can house.) However, in most cases, at least one of the reasons that expanded facilities are built is to house more animals, and unfortunately, many agencies make the serious mistake of assuming that the same number of staff can adequately care for an increased number of animals. This is, of course, incorrect, unless there happened to be a surplus of staff before the expansion (very unlikely!) Increases in animal housing capacity should always be accompanied by commensurate increases in animal care staffing. There is a worksheet, available online, called "General Staffing Recommendations for Kennel Caretaking", created by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). It is probably easiest to use this formula starting about halfway through, with the average number of animals in the shelter per day (the average daily population.) So, if your average daily population were 300, your calculations would be: 300 x 15 minutes per animal = 4,500 minutes 4,500 minutes / 60 minutes per hour = 75 hours 75 hours / 3 hours per person = 25 staff members required. This model assumes that staff should only spend 3 hours out of every day cleaning cages and feeding animals; it assumes that staff would be doing other tasks for the rest of the day. That is why the total number of feeding & cleaning hours is divided by only 3 hours per person. In your inquiry, you wrote that your shelter staff does cleaning from 8am-noon. So, if your agency allows 4 hours of staff time for cleaning and feeding, instead of only 3, the last calculation could divide by 4 hours per person rather than 3, making the number of staff required slightly lower: 75 hours / 4 hours per person = 19 staff members required. I encourage you to do these calculations using your shelter's average daily population. If you are seriously understaffed, lobby hard for more help! And remember that these calculations only account for cleaning and feeding, and only for 3 (or 4) hours out of each day. All other tasks, including animal intake, laundry, washing dishes, walking dogs, adoption counseling, behavior assessments, medical care, socialization and training, etc. are not included in this calculation. I am glad to hear that you are emphasizing the importance of cleaning first, then disinfecting. When bleach is used as a disinfectant, this is crucial, since bleach has no detergent activity and is inactivated by organic matter (e.g. feces, dirt, saliva, food, fur, snot, litter, etc.) There are some combination detergents/disinfectants, such as potassium peroxymonosulfate (Trifectant) and quaternary ammonium compounds (Kennel Kare, Parvosol, KennelSol, Triple Two, Roccal, others.) These agents have detergent as well as disinfectant activity, and maintain their disinfectant activity in the presence of organic matter better than bleach does, so surfaces can be cleaned and disinfected at the same time, rather than cleaned first, then disinfected. So, it is possible to use one of these disinfectants alone as both a detergent and disinfectant, but this should only be done in areas that are relatively lightly soiled, and/or environments where the germ burden is relatively low. The "germ burden" will depend on the health of the animals housed in the area (higher in iso areas), the age of the animals (higher in kitten areas, plus kittens tend to more heavily soil their housing areas and are more susceptible to infection from contaminated environments.) Deciding which of these combination detergent/disinfectants to use, if any, depends on the type of infectious diseases that you typically contend with in your shelter. If you never see cases of panleukopenia, then cleaning with a quaternary ammonium compound in cat areas may be fine. Quaternary ammonium compounds, despite their labels claims, are not effective against panleukopenia virus - see previously answered FAQs 239, 459, and 1015. If you do see panleukopenia with any regularity, you would need to use a different disinfectant, one that reliably inactivates that virus (Trifectant or bleach). Quaternary ammonium compounds also do not reliably kill calicivirus, one of the most common causes of URI in shelters. Trifectant does kill calicivirus. So, many shelters find that using Trifectant is a better option for cat housing areas, especially in isolation areas of shelters that see a lot of suspected calicivirus. In order to provide more comprehensive advice on your situation, it would be helpful to get some additional information from you. I apologize in advance for the grilling! Here goes.... Do you have any cats that are housed in cages, other than just at feeding time? Is there cage housing only your isolation rooms? How many iso rooms do you have, and what type of illnesses are they for? Are those cats housed in cages (or dogs in runs) kept in the same housing cage/run from day to day, or moved from one cage to another each day, when cages are cleaned? Are all 3 of your community rooms "cageless" - i.e. free group housing? If so, how many cats or kittens are in each group? Are these rooms used in an "all-in/all-out" manner (i.e. group of cats put in & no more added until all of current group are gone), or on a "some-in/some-out" basis (i.e. new cats being added and other cats being removed on a regular basis)? Does the "resident cat" community room house stable group of healthy adult cats? Or are cats frequently added and/or removed from that room? Do kittens roam free together in a room together during the day, and are only put into cages at night? When you say wash or disinfect "walls", do you mean the walls of group housing rooms, or walls of cages? If you mean walls of the room, do cats have contact with walls (e.g. are there shelves against the wall that cats frequently rest on?) What are cat trees and gyms disinfected made of, and how are these disinfected? Are you open to the public 7 days a week, always opening at noon? Or are there other days of the the week when you are closed to the public? Currently, you are trying to clean and disinfect walls of cat group housing rooms once weekly, on Wednesday mornings, is that correct? How are floors in the group housing rooms (i.e. floors that cats actually walk on) mopped -with detergent first, then followed by bleach, using a different mop? How often are mop heads laundered? Are there separate mops for each room? Does your shelter house dogs as well as cats? If so, is cleaning and disinfection of dog housing areas efficient, or are staff also having difficulty getting that done in a timely manner? Here are some of the reasons why I'm asking all of these questions: If you have ringworm isolation areas, bleach at 1.5 cups per gallon (1:10 dilution) is the only disinfectant that will work. So, for ringworm isolation areas, it is always necessary to clean before disinfecting (the only choice for cleaning & disinfection of those areas is detergent followed by bleach.) Animals housed in cages or runs should generally be kept in the same cage from day to day, rather than being moved to a different enclosure each day. This reduces the reliance on thorough daily disinfection. Cages that house the same animal from day to day really only need to cleaned. Thorough disinfection is required once the cage is vacated, before a new animal is placed in the cage. A daily spot-cleaning approach can be used for cats remaining in the same cage. When done correctly, spot cleaning saves time, reduces disinfection cost and chemical use, lowers potential for staff injury, is less stressful for cats, and reduces disease transmission from results from handling during cleaning or transfer to incompletely disinfected cages. This is appropriate for healthy cats, and may also be used for sick cats except those infected with pathogens of significant concern for environmental contamination (e.g. ringworm, panleukopenia). A suggested procedure for spot cleaning cat cages is: Have a carrier or hiding box in each cat cage, and gently coax the cat into this hiding place. Clean gently around cat, including wiping walls and any spilled litter, food, or water. Do not spray disinfectant in the cage - use a small squirt bottle or pre-moistened rag. As long as detergent or disinfectant is used at a correct dilution, it is not necessary to rinse. Replace or refill litter pan and dishes, and leave bedding in the cage, unless very soiled. For more info on spot-cleaning, read this article from Animal Sheltering Magazine. Spot cleaning can also be used on a daily basis in all-in/all-out group housing, with thorough cleaning and disinfection only done when the room is emptied, before the next group is added. This can greatly decrease demands on staff time. I am not sure that walls of a group housing room necessarily need weekly cleaning or disinfection, unless cats have contact with the walls (e.g. portions of the walls they can reach from the floor or from resting on shelves or other structures.) Also, disinfection of walls may be less important than disinfection of cat trees and gyms, since cats are more likely to climb and rest on these structures. For stable groups of permanent residents, frequent disinfection is not usually required, as long as population density is not excessive and all members of the population are healthy. Careful disinfection in these areas becomes more important when illness occurs, and/or when new members are introduced to the group. Excessive population density should always be avoided, as it increases cat stress as well as the risk of disease. We don't generally recommend group housing for kittens, except for co-housing of littermates and stable pairings-up of any singleton kittens. Group housing of kittens greatly increases the risk of FIP. If there is a day when the shelter isn't open to the public, could the weekly disinfection you are trying to do be done more easily on that day, rather than trying to get it done on another day before noon? A potentially major disadvantage of mopping is the potential for the cleaning solution to get heavily contaminated by organic matter over the course of cleaning a large or multiple floor surfaces, rendering the disinfectant ineffective. When this happens, the mop serves only to spread disease through the contaminated water. This can be reduced by using a "double bucket system", in which the mop is rinsed in a clean water bucket between each application of disinfectant. In addition, different mops and buckets should be used for different rooms, and mop heads should be laundered on a regular basis. In shelters that rarely or never see cases of parvo in dogs, one-step cleaning & disinfection of dog runs using a quaternary ammonium compound should be fine, especially if dogs generally stay in the same run from day to day. If one-step cleaning & disinfection in dog areas saves significant time, that might help with the struggle to get cleaning done before noon. Finally, here are some links to some additional previously-answered FAQs on our FAQ page. You may find the answers to these helpful. # 558, #951, #871, #758, #856, #544, #511, #775 Also, you may wish to view an online recorded presentation (webinar) that Dr. Hurley gave, through PetSmart charities. Go to the PetSmart Charities webinar website. On the left side menu click on "Recorded Sessions," then on the recorded sessions page enter "sanitation" into the search field. You may also want to review the handout that goes with this webinar: available for download from the Cleaning & Disinfection page of our website. I hope this is information is helpful. Please let me know if it is - your feedback is valuable. Also please get back in touch with some additional information, so I can try and provide you with more comprehensive advice. And, of course, please let us know if we can be of further assistance.
Question # 1018	We had a yound pup left at our door this week who is giardia positive (profuse liquid diarrhea). I am treating him with panacur and metronidazole and bathing.  We currently use trifectant. I can't find anywhere where it says that trifectant is effective against giardia (though I can't find where it says it is not either). Is there something else we should use? Is it okay to have this dog walked normally if they are told to keep stools cleaned up? We do not have an "iso" area currently open (though...I might be able to find one if I need to get creative, but I did not know if that was necessary or not. Any other advice? Should we be screening via giardia test or is it okay to just check float/smear?
Answer	Sorry to hear about your giardia problem.  First giardia is, thankfully, fairly easy to kill. Most disinfectants including Trifectant will do so. Make sure to finish the full course of treatment.  You can re-test him in 2 weeks.  Be aware that the SNAP test is very sensitive so may not be negative.  If his stools are normal I would consider him "cured".  I would not recommend walking him where other dogs are exercised to lessen the chance of having more infected. I would not screen for giardia i.e. testing healthy dogs.  There's more information about giardia on our website at: http://www.sheltermedicine.com/portal/is_parasite_control.shtml
Question # 1017	I am a vet student who is fostering a shih tzu from a puppy mill situation.  We have not been able to make any progress with house training.  She refuses to eliminate outside and only eliminates in the crate.  Do you have any advice on how to train a puppy mill dog to urinate outside rather than in the crate?
Answer	Housetraining problems are very common in dogs adopted from facilities (puppy mills, research laboratories, some breeders and some kennels) where they are housed in conditions where they do not have an elimination area separate from their living space. Dogs develop location and substrate preferences for elimination at an early age- seven to eight weeks of age. The most common reasons for housetraining problems in adult dogs are: previous housing conditions and substrate preferences, improper housetraining, previous punishment (which occurs when the owner comes home and finds urine/feces) which teaches the dog that they should NEVER eliminate in front of their owner, and medical problems. Please read our ‘Housetraining the Difficult Dog’ document for step by step advice and instructions, and let us know how your dog does! Sheila Segurson, DVM Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Behavior Koret Shelter Medicine Program UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine