Housebreaking Woes...

It took Toffee also a littke bit longer, since I am working and he was alone too long, until I employed a dog sitter... But by then he had already kinda learned the wrong behaviour... clearly my fault :)
As soon as I changed that, he was housebroken at a little over 6 months, and now at a year he hasn't had ANY type of accident since *knock on wood*
 
One thing I notice about your crate pictures is the small pan at the bottom. When she pees/poos does it ever go off the side into the carpet? The reason I am asking is she may be smelling the odors and think that yes this is the spot I am supposed to use. Even if YOU can't smell it, she still can. Google and you will be amazed at how sensitive a dog nose is. That is why people get so excited when dogs mark their bushes. It's not just that dog but every dog in the neighborhood will smell it and come along and leave their mark. Pretty soon the bush is dead from all the ammonia.

That said, I would wipe down her cage and pan with a bleach solution. Make sure and then re clean and dry. You don't want chemicals around your pup's sleeping area. The carpet area, if ever marked, also needs to be cleaned with some kind of smell/odor solution. If sometimes you are getting stuff on the carpet you might find a larger cardboard box, cutting down the sides, to set the cage into. Obviously if she messes up and get something on the cardboard you would need to get a new box.
 
Heres a little tip that might help you...
Keep a little journal on her potty times...If you feed her at the same times every day...her "poop" times will become predictable...so take a small note of what time she poops everyday for a few days and you will see a pattern.
That will atleast help with those clean ups!!

I agree with every one else..shes way too young to be real reliable on her own..I call this time period "puppy potty hell" LOL

I took mine out every hour and had them tethered to me if they weren't in their crates...they can be really quick to sneak and pee somewhere!! LOL

It seems that if you can catch them in the act of going..and interrupt it and get them outside..they seem to get it then...and if shes tethered to you...alot easier to catch and get her outside...

woofs

Julie
Clancy & Abby
 
thanks guys. Yea i don't expect her to be fully potty trained at this age. She just does some weird stuff.

For example: Yesterday, I feed her at her usual time. I took her outside, where she peed. We played for a little bit and then I took her back to her spot because she usually poops after she eats. After 10 minutes, she didn't make and kept lunging to go inside. I put her in crate. Not even 5 minutes later, I checked on her and she pooped in her crate.

I took her out of her crate at 4am to go potty. She ran out of her crate and jumped on her doggie pet. She laid down and then started digging in the bed like she was trying to make it comfortable. Then in the middle of digging, she squatted and peed. I sprayed the bed and underneath the bed with rug doctor urine eliminator. I plan to get her a new bed anyway, but I'm going to wait until she's housebroken.

So I went to the vet today for her last booster shot. He gave me a cup, so I can get a urinalysis. I'd like make sure it's not a UTI.
 
Weird...

Pierre will only go poo (when we are home - when we travel we are fortunate to have a much more easy going dog) in his 'rock garden.' We have a few empty lots next to our building - and it being Florida, much of it is sand. There is a part that has rocks (which is nice because then I don't sink into the wet sand) and there is the only place we can reliably get him to go.

And for Duncan (he is almost 11 weeks, so earlier in potty training), I pick him up out of his crate and carry him until I set him down outside. Then he only has to walk a tiny bit to a patch of grass he fancies. If I put him down before, he isn't reliable about holding it. Of course, I wait for him to whine to get out, so he already has to go.

I would restrict her water as well as feed very consistently. I had to do this for Pierre. He got it at meal times, right after playing, and when coming in (again, it is Florida - quite hot). After timing it a few times, I got a window of when he would go. It was a wide, somewhat sporadic window, but once I knew it, I could take him out to fit his needs. He did not go in his crate.

Instead of crating her while you are awake, I agree with the tethering thing. Just put her on her leash and tie it to a belt loop. I've seen 'umbilical' ones that do well. That way, you can get used to her signs and catch her before or in the act.

Perhaps she is going in her crate to get attention and out of the crate. What do you do after she goes? Do you let her out because you know she is on 'empty'? If so, you may be reinforcing the behavior. "Gee, if I go in here, I get to go out there!" Think about your routine and how it seems to her. You may be doing everything right, I'm not there. It is worth analyzing, though.
 
I let her play for an hour or two before she eats. Then I feed her, take her out to make and then put her in the crate to sleep for an hour or two. I don't want her to get bloat or anything, so I always let her nap after she eats.

She is definitely not in her crate all day. I only put her in the crate after she eats or if I have to do something. She's the kind of puppy where if she's not in her crate, she'll never sleep.
 
From my experience, Sadie was WAY harder to potty train than my parent's male Milo.

Females are definitely not potty trained for a MINIMUM of 6 months, Sadie took 1 year.

Your pup is still very young and is likely confused.

First I would clean out the crate thoroughly. I've found that the odor eliminating sprays you can get at petsmart to be really good. I've had success with this one, and it has a very pleasant smell that isn't strong:

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752005

I would also make the space in the crate smaller, if you can. Maybe even put her back in the smaller crate for a while. There should only be enough room for your pup to lie down and turn around. Any bigger is too big, she should not have the room to squat in a corner (at least while potty training). I've found those Rubbermaid rough neck container lids to be a good size for a makeshift divider.

Other than that, keep doing what you're doing and try to be patient. I know, easier said than done, but she WILL catch on eventually!
 
I feel really bad putting her back in the smaller crate. Her head is starting to touch the roof when she stands up.

I'm going to try and get a better odor eliminating spray.

Let me tell you, trying to collect pee in a cup from a puppy is not easy! I tried everything. I tried putting the cup under her, a bowl, a cup taped to a ruler...nothing worked. The second she saw something going under her, she stopped peeing. I had to settle for using a syringe to collect her pee off of a brick.
 
Lol - when I had to collect pee from Deska I lifted him up and put a bucket under him as soon as he started - then I just took the bucket to the vet!

Try wiping the crate over with white vinegar (1 part vinegar to 4 parts water) in the meantime.
 
Ya know I was going to ask the other day..how in the heck does one collect a urine specimine from a dog..let alone a female. It must be next to impossible.
i know this isn't funny,but somehow visualizing you with a ruler and a cup,trying to catch a dribble of urine. Gosh I wish you luck.hopefully what you got from the brick will be good enough.
 
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