I have a 9 year old rescued shitzu. We have had her 2 weeks. Our problem is she poops and pees whenever we leave her to work. We have gated her off in a bathroom with a pee pad, then made the area even smaller, tried letting her in the dining room and kitchen, and today put her in a crate with her bed. She still goes poop and pee. On weekends she can go 10-12 hours without any accidents. She is very loveable and well adjusted to us other than pooping when we leave. Does anyone have any suggestions that will work? I was told she is litter box trained, paper trained and loves the crate. Obviously, none of those statements are true.

ummm...why is the dog having to what 10-12 hours to get a potty break when you are (presumably) home on the weekends? Do you only go potty twice daily?

Generally speaking, dogs will not soil their beds--meaning they should not want to soil in the crate if the crate is the right size. If the crate is properly sized (she should be able to stand up, turn around, but not a lot more than that) and she is soiling it, then she probably spent excessive time in a crate prior to your adopting her.

You will need to work diligently on teaching her to do her business outside--lots of rewards and praise and lots of trips outside daily. It will take time.