HELP! My dog refuses to be house broken!

[Zephie]

I have a lovely sweet wolfdog named Pandora whom I've owned for a year and a half now. In that time she's been only semi-house broken and I'm at my wits end. I adore her and can't (won't) part with her, however I desperately need advice for how to rectify this.

Currently she gets taken out on a walk every two hours
Is crate trained, but will pee (not poop) in her crate without a second thought
Will pee outside and go poop SOMETIMES... But usually will wait to go number two until we're back inside.
When she goes in the house, my husband and I place her nose in it, then put her in time out.

I have been told that the way to encorage dogs to go outside is to just wait and walk around longer, but I'm now spending almost a half an hour outside every two hours or so - and even though I'm a housewife I still have other duties in my day. It's not that I'm just getting her at a bad time because the second I come back in and she's out of my sight she will defaecate in the hall.

She is praised extensively when she goes potty outside, and rewarded with toys and treats. My other dog, a beagle/taller hound? mix has no problem with his house training at all and has been raised exactly the same way, so it's not that the methods I use don't work. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm getting ready to move into a place with carpet (she's always lived in places with tile so while it's been annoying it was a simple mop job), and I'm very, very worried about losing my sweetie.

[BrklynLiberal]

1. When one Google's that, there are hundreds of hits. Not sure what would be good for you.

Are therer any dog trainers near you? I have heard that the nose in the poop is not such a good idea.

If you are doing all that you describe, I cannot think of a suggestion.

Perhaps feed 2x a day, and walk afterward until she poops.

I hope that you find a solution to this.

Perhaps paper training her, and the moving the paper outside???

[Behind the Aegis]

2. There are some great sites to check out.

One thing I did notice is your baby, Pandora (interesting name, guess she is letting out the bad when hidden. :)), is a wolfdog. I have been watching specials and "The Dog Whisperer," and what I have gathered is there IS a difference in some training issues with hybrids as opposed to dogs. You may have to be more creative and actually appeal to her "wild" side in training her to potty at the correct times.

Though your training worked on your other dog, and may work on most dogs, I am sure as a dog owner, you know dogs have their own personalities, which means they also have their own learning curves and limitations. Observe her behavior outside when she goes poop. What is happening around her? Where does she go? It may be a "privacy" issue, thus the "out of your sight and potty in the hall" situation. Also, I am sure you do this, but be certain to eliminate the odor of the poo in the hall with enzymatic cleaner. You could (this makes me ill thinking about it) scoop it up and place it in the yard in a specific place and when you take her outside take her to the area and let her get the scent and praise her for a good job. She may start to associate the place, smell, and being outside with #2.

Good luck!

[Zephie]

3. Thank you!

Thank you all for the suggestions both posted here and PMed to me. I'm getting Pandora a new smaller crate with a better bottom to retain fluids more should she have in crate accidents, and will be better about a consistent feeding time in the day instead of having an hour or two variable between them.

She has been to a trainer a few times and I will be taking her back as soon as I can afford it.

Thank you all again for your kind support!

[TorchTheWitch]

4. You have to start from scratch

First, get her checked at the vet to make sure there are no physical underlying issues that cause her to not be able to control bladder and bowel function since she is going to the bathroom in her crate.

However, this is most probably a training issue. If she's going to the bathroom in her crate she probably has too much room in her crate. Dogs won't go to the bathroom where they sleep unless there is some physical problem or they're young and can't hold it as long as an adult dog can. There can only be just enough room in the crate for the dog to stand, lie down and turn around comfortably - NO more. You have to go back to crate training as if she were a puppy and just starting to learn where it's acceptable to go to the bathroom. Feeding her meals in her crate will also go a long way in stopping her from going to the bathroom in there since dogs REALLY don't want to "shit where they eat" (that is after all where that saying came from). But it's essential to have the correct size crate for her.

Everywhere the dog has gone to the bathroom in the house MUST be cleaned with the special enzyme cleaner that eliminates the odor that the DOG can detect whether it's carpeting or tile. Just because you can't smell it doesn't mean they can't and they have amazing power of scent. Dogs are always drawn back to those spots they have gone to the bathroom before and they do that by sense of smell. Since she's gone to the bathroom in her crate, the crate will have to be completely cleaned with the enzyme cleaner as well.

Time when the dog eats and drinks to make it easier to know when they will need to go to the bathroom. About 15 or 20 minutes after a meal the dog will likely want to poop. Same thing if they have a big drink of water. Dogs can hold their urine comfortably FAR longer than people can. Typically, an adult healthy dog only needs to go to the bathroom about every 8 hours and can easily conform to twice a day as long as they completely empty their bladder at those times.

The dog needs to learn what is expected of them when taken outside to go to the bathroom. Bathroom breaks are not the same as fun outside time. When taking them out to go to the bathroom, take them out when they are likely to need to go, totally ignore what they're doing outside so you don't make them anxious, and bring them right back inside when they've done their business. Taking the dog outside every two hours at her age is overkill, and the dog isn't figuring out that these are bathroom breaks and not fun outside time. She only needs to go out for a bathroom break when it's likely she needs to pee or poo... going out for bathroom breaks when she doesn't need to do that is keeping the dog from understanding what she's going outside for. Every four hours AT FIRST is plenty.

Every single time you take the dog out of the crate take them immediately to the outside for a bathroom break. After the bathroom break - as long as they've done all their business - they can be out of the crate for awhile.

Pay close attention to the signals the dog gives you that they're trying to let you know they need to go out to go to the bathroom. Typically, they'll get fussy, and if not in the crate will come to you and try to get your attention which might look like "I love you" or "play with me" but very well may mean "I need to go out!"

Potty training is a whole lot easier when the dog has a more regimented schedule of sleep time, play time, exercise/walk time, eat time, drink time, pee/poo time, etc.

It's not scolding or praise the dog needs, she needs to learn what bathroom breaks are for, when they are, how to tell you they need a bathroom break, where going to the bathroom is acceptable and where not, etc. Dogs naturally don't WANT to go to the bathroom in the house, which is why they do it when you aren't paying attention, try to hide it, etc.

Don't rub her nose in her messes. It's counterproductive and they don't know what you're trying to tell them anyway. Since dogs decide where to go to the bathroom with their sense of smell by rubbing her nose in it guess what you're doing? Putting the scent on her nose so she smells it everywhere! All this is going to do is cause massive confusion for her. Just give her a firm "no" only when you catch her IN THE ACT of going to the bathroom in the house... after the fact doesn't mean anything to them. And of course then take them immediately outside to go to the bathroom if you're telling them no makes them stop. But it's likely that you will rarely or never catch them in the act.

Fortunately, potty training doesn't take long even for a puppy. Dogs can pick up new tricks very quickly as long as they understand what it is that you want of them. The important thing is to train them in such a way that a dog can understand. They think like dogs, not people. Effusive praise/scolding, time outs, etc. isn't how a dog thinks. That may work with people, but it isn't likely to work with a dog.

For a little while you have to watch her like a hawk so she never has the opportunity to go to the bathroom in the house. As long as you have the right sized crate that she can't detect any urine scent from and time her eating/drinking and bathroom breaks she won't even need to spend much time in the crate at all. You're just going to have to start the potty training from scratch as if she was a puppy.