# Having a breakdown over potty training (lack of) progress



## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

Hi all,

I am at my wit's end and very, very frustrated and discouraged. I have also had severe COVID for the last 2 weeks, am still very ill, and sleep deprived, and this situation is making me miserable. Please help - tensions in the house are high, and I've had some crying breakdowns recently due to feeling so defeated

I have a 5.5 month spayed female that I have adopted since 1 month ago. I have raised other puppies in the past (Rottweilers), and potty training never took more than ~2 weeks. However, my current pup doesn't seem to be able to stop having pee accidents inside the house - never poop. It happens once every 3-4 days. She is crated overnight ~9 hours, and never has an accident in the crate. She was cleared of an UTI, but was _also_ on antibiotics for it just in case, so this is not a medical issue.

When she is out of the crate during the day, she is always confined to the room I am currently in, and I have active eyes on her at all times. She seems to have a general idea of pottying outside, as she pees immediately after we leash up and go into the backyard. I take her outside every 2 hours. But 1-2x a week, 30-45minutes after we come back inside, she pees inside. I interrupt her during by saying "ah ah!", shuffle her outside immediately, then clean with enzyme cleaner. She doesn't have any circling, sniffing cues - just when she squats. So she often gets a few drops to a few seconds of peeing before she is startled enough to stop peeing. I am so tired of watching her like a hawk, going outside every 2 hours, and scrubbing with enzyme cleaner. At her age, she should be able to hold it for longer than 2 hours, right?

When she does pee outside, I try to mark it by saying "good potty!" and give her a high value treat when she's done. As mentioned, I think she has a general idea of peeing outside, but she never seems to try much to hold it when she's inside and needs to go.

What should I be doing? I feel so tired and so, so, so frustrated as I have been doing this a month now. I feel like I am doing all the usual - confined in crate, or eyes on her with me ALL the time, praise, interrupting, etc. Isn't taking her out every 2 hours at 5.5 months, _very_ often? I thought she could go at least 4-5 hours between potty breaks by now.

I read members on here and the rest of the internet having potty trained their dogs in 1-2 weeks, fully trained by 3 months, and I am just _so_ tired and discouraged and angry. And sick. And sleep deprived.


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

Wow! I'm sorry to hear you're sick and feeling horrible. All I can think of is sometimes she's not quite emptied out and it would help to walk her around for a while and see if she can go again. I do understand that's probably the last thing you feel like doing.


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## Sonny1984 (Oct 25, 2021)

Those hours you spend watching her - crate her. She’ll hold it for longer than 2 hrs in the crate, and you can get some rest. Hope you feel better soon


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

Sonny1984 said:


> Those two hours you spend watching her - crate her. Sounds like she is close to figuring it out once and for all. Hope you feel better soon


Thanks - I hope I feel better soon, too  COVID has hit me _hard_ 

I apologize, I don't really know what you mean by crating her for the 2 hours? I take her outside to the backyard to potty every 2 hours, and I am watching her like a hawk when she is inside between potty breaks (if she is not crated, like when I am cooking etc). Do you mean that she should just be crated 100% of the time?


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

dogma13 said:


> Wow! I'm sorry to hear you're sick and feeling horrible. All I can think of is sometimes she's not quite emptied out and it would help to walk her around for a while and see if she can go again. I do understand that's probably the last thing you feel like doing.


She actually has never peed twice in one outing before - from short "boring" 10 min potty breaks in the backyard, to 60 minute fetch sessions, to longer hikes. I also do not bring her inside right away after she pees outside, I let her sniff around, sometimes we play fetch, etc because I don't want her to think that peeing immediately ends the fun outdoor outing. Thus, I _think_ she is emptied out, but then perhaps drinks too much water when she returns inside. But, I was told not to withhold water during the day so I let her have as much as she wants. Should I stop doing that? 

Even so, it doesn't seem like an excessive amount where she is needing to have accidents inside... argh. I'm at my wit's end.


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## sprenger4life (8 mo ago)

tinkerbelle898 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I am at my wit's end and very, very frustrated and discouraged. I have also had severe COVID for the last 2 weeks, am still very ill, and sleep deprived, and this situation is making me miserable. Please help - tensions in the house are high, and I've had some crying breakdowns recently due to feeling so defeated
> 
> ...


Larry with some good tips.


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## Bearshandler (Aug 29, 2019)

A few questions. Have you tried taking her back out after 30 minutes for a quick potty break? What is your living situation like? Is there something preventing you from giving her access to the outside? Where I am now, I can leave the sliding door to the yard open so if the puppy needs to go out, they can. Is it the same place every time? If it is, you could take away her access to it entirely. One thing that I’ve seen make a big difference in potty training is carpet vs hard floors. It’s been much easier training young dogs on hard floors than carpet in my experience. I wouldn’t compare my dogs progress or where they are to the next. That’s an easy trap to fall into and it only sets you up for failure.


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

Bearshandler said:


> A few questions. Have you tried taking her back out after 30 minutes for a quick potty break? What is your living situation like? Is there something preventing you from giving her access to the outside? Where I am now, I can leave the sliding door to the yard open so if the puppy needs to go out, they can. Is it the same place every time? If it is, you could take away her access to it entirely. One thing that I’ve seen make a big difference in potty training is carpet vs hard floors. It’s been much easier training young dogs on hard floors than carpet in my experience. I wouldn’t compare my dogs progress or where they are to the next. That’s an easy trap to fall into and it only sets you up for failure.


I usually do not take her out any sooner than 90 minutes, I aim for 2 hours between pee breaks - admittedly because I am trying to extend the time between breaks to 3, then 4 hours. I recognize that it sounds like a stupid idea typing that out now, as she can't even make it at the current intervals. If we have been playing hard or I see her gulp down more water than usual, I do take her out more frequently than the 2 hours. The accidents that she's been having, have always been "chill" days, no extra play/water, and only about 30 minutes after her last pee.

My living situation is a home with yard. I am not able to let her "free roam" to the outside as I have other indoor-only animals, and we have a large insect problem if we leave windows/doors open. So unfortunately, I can't give her constant free access to the outdoors

It is not the same pee accident spot every time. Though, she only has "free" access to one room of the house (and only when I am in there with her watching her) and the room isn't huge, so there surely has been overlap at this point. It has happened on carpet more than hardwood, but it has happened on both

Thank you for the reminder about not comparing. it is surely so discouraging. That, and I am simply tired - both with COVID, and with taking her out so often yet feeling like I am not having any process. I am looking forward to not having to take her out every two hours _and_ watching her like a hawk... its been an entire month and I feel like a failure of a pup parent

Is it typical that an almost 6 month old still needs pee breaks every 2 hours? It seems so frequent given her large breed and age - but maybe I am expecting too much


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## Buckelke (Sep 4, 2019)

It can be very difficult, especially if she was in a situation where she never was housebroken before. All she knows is 'I go wherever I am and it's okay". Except it's not. Ellie was the twit that drove us up the wall. With her it was just dominance. "I poop in the house to drive you crazy and show you who is in charge around here". You know what broke her? She left a steamy pile right in the doorway to daddy's office. He yelled and chased her down the stairs. She'd been yelled at before, didn't mean a whole lot. BUT he ignored her for 3 days. Didn't bother with her at all. I had to feed her and take her out. When she went to him, he turned around and walked away. No more daddy treats. On the 3rd or 4th day they made up and she never went in the house again. She was a shelter adoptee with a troubled past. She must have been kept in a garage and bathrooms because that's where she wanted to be. She just had to recognize she would rather be a daddy's girl than a twit. With Duke he was just dumb, it took him 6 weeks to figure out who Duke was and another 2 to figure out you do THAT outside. It's just persistence and repetition. Be patient, take it one puddle at a time. DO NOT use ammonia based cleaners to clean up, ammonia is a component of urine so it makes it smell like that is the place to go. Lysol NO, Pine Sol YES. Try and remain calm so she doesn't come to see it as a way to get your attention. This too shall pass. We also bought some pricey clearer at Petsmart (Extreme stain and odor remover - helps prevent repeat marking) that helped with Duke. I hope you feel better soon and both of you enjoy your time together a whole lot more. Welcome to the forum! when you feel better we LOVE pictures.


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

Buckelke said:


> It can be very difficult, especially if she was in a situation where she never was housebroken before. All she knows is 'I go wherever I am and it's okay". Except it's not. Ellie was the twit that drove us up the wall. With her it was just dominance. "I poop in the house to drive you crazy and show you who is in charge around here". You know what broke her? She left a steamy pile right in the doorway to daddy's office. He yelled and chased her down the stairs. She'd been yelled at before, didn't mean a whole lot. BUT he ignored her for 3 days. Didn't bother with her at all. I had to feed her and take her out. When she went to him, he turned around and walked away. No more daddy treats. On the 3rd or 4th day they made up and she never went in the house again. She was a shelter adoptee with a troubled past. She must have been kept in a garage and bathrooms because that's where she wanted to be. She just had to recognize she would rather be a daddy's girl than a twit. With Duke he was just dumb, it took him 6 weeks to figure out who Duke was and another 2 to figure out you do THAT outside. It's just persistence and repetition. Be patient, take it one puddle at a time. DO NOT use ammonia based cleaners to clean up, ammonia is a component of urine so it makes it smell like that is the place to go. Lysol NO, Pine Sol YES. Try and remain calm so she doesn't come to see it as a way to get your attention. This too shall pass. We also bought some pricey clearer at Petsmart (Extreme stain and odor remover - helps prevent repeat marking) that helped with Duke. I hope you feel better soon and both of you enjoy your time together a whole lot more. Welcome to the forum! when you feel better we LOVE pictures.


Thanks for the well wishes! In terms of cleaner, I use Nature's Miracle and then afterwards, I have a wet vac to make sure I clean everything out. 

I am not 100% about her housebreaking prior to coming to me, but even with 4 weeks with me and strict rules (as described above), I thought she would "get it" by now. 

I am thankful I don't have to get up in the middle of the night to let her out as she _never_ eliminates in her crate, but, I am so tired of watching her every second of her being out of her crate - I feel like I can't even enjoy time with her because I'm just anxiously staring at her haha! Not literally - but it sure feels like that sometime!


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## tim_s_adams (Aug 9, 2017)

It's not so much a matter of her physical ability, as it is her perception. Take her out as frequently as it takes for her to not pee inside. Praise success, and make failure much less comfortable; not with punishment, just immediately and quickly interrupt and take her out (that's plenty to get the point across).

As other have said, stay outside with her for a bit, if she doesn't go again, go out in 30 minutes, or 20 minutes, or whatever ot takes!

She'll come around if you're consistent... And best wishes on a speedy recovery yourself! Being sick makes everything worse! I second pictures when you're up to it.


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## Bearshandler (Aug 29, 2019)

tinkerbelle898 said:


> I usually do not take her out any sooner than 90 minutes, I aim for 2 hours between pee breaks - admittedly because I am trying to extend the time between breaks to 3, then 4 hours. I recognize that it sounds like a stupid idea typing that out now, as she can't even make it at the current intervals. If we have been playing hard or I see her gulp down more water than usual, I do take her out more frequently than the 2 hours. The accidents that she's been having, have always been "chill" days, no extra play/water, and only about 30 minutes after her last pee.
> 
> My living situation is a home with yard. I am not able to let her "free roam" to the outside as I have other indoor-only animals, and we have a large insect problem if we leave windows/doors open. So unfortunately, I can't give her constant free access to the outdoors
> 
> ...


I’ve never done every 2 hours and I don’t think you need to. What I am telling you is you see the pattern and you need to break the pattern. If on your current schedule you have noticed that accidents happen 30-45 minutes after the initial potty break, then add another short 5-10 minute break 30 minutes after the first. If she doesn’t go, just crate her. I’ll also say if you can’t trust her outside the crate and you don’t want to watch her, you can always put her back in the crate. She doesn’t need to be out 24/7. You can also tether her to you, though I’ve never used that method.


tinkerbelle898 said:


> I am not 100% about her housebreaking prior to coming to me, but even with 4 weeks with me and strict rules (as described above), I thought she would "get it" by now.


This is the problem with making comparisons. You train the dog based on where the dog is at and what they are showing you. You don’t base it on how someone else’s dog is doing or some schedule you made up. That just leads to furstation.


tinkerbelle898 said:


> feel like I can't even enjoy time with her because I'm just anxiously staring at her haha! Not literally - but it sure feels like that sometime!


Again, crate her if you don’t want to watch her.


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## peachygeorgia (Oct 5, 2021)

I struggled with Charlie when he was young as well, I swear he'd go out and pee a gallon, only to come back on and pee another gallon 10 minutes later, luckily I have linoleum flooring all throughout my house, carpet is impossible with 8 dogs, lol

I thought something was wrong with him, but the vet said he was a normal, healthy pup, so I had to batten down get him on a pretty strict crate schedule whenever we weren't outside or actively doing something together. Id tire him out well, make sure he pottied, and in the crate he went; sometimes taking him out 15 minutes later to make sure. that way he didn't have a chance to slip up, when not in the crate he was on a leash, tethered to me.

Another thing that helped, as others have said, was taking him to the same spot every time and adding a command, mine is "go Potty" id say it a couple times, wait for him to potty, then have a treat party. He's the only one of my dogs who will go potty right on command now

As soon as we got back inside, he went to the crate until play or eating time. I tried to do lots of things outside, slow walks down the street so he could empty his tank and tire himself out so he could rest in the crate. Finally, after about a month, he stopped having accidents, most relief ive ever felt 😆

Im sorry you're feeling bad, I hope you feel better soon and can get this issue resolved!


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## Biscuit (Mar 24, 2020)

Firstly, I hope your feeling better soon. I completely understand the frustration and hopeless feeling. Puppies are hard work, even when your firing on all cylinders. 

I recommend waiting around longer outside during potty breaks, encourage them to move around as it stimulates potty. My pup would frequently do 3 separate pees, often just getting distracted and not emptying. So try waiting outside a while longer after the first pee.

Agree with others. Use the crate more to give yourself a break. Remember exercise, waking up and eating will all lead to potty time. 

Best of luck and hang in there. Your pup likely learned some bad habits before getting to you so just stick with it. 

Oh and please a puppy picture?!


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

Here is a photo of the little stress causer that we love so much! It is 4am and I am up sick with COVID, and the puppy blues are seeming worse than they are due to the illness, I’m sure 

Thank you everyone for the suggestions so far. It’s a bit tiring to think about how often I’ll have to start taking her outside - I thought every two hours was a lot for her age! But I will try to increase it further. Open to any and all advice… desperate to make some progress here!


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

peachygeorgia said:


> I struggled with Charlie when he was young as well, I swear he'd go out and pee a gallon, only to come back on and pee another gallon 10 minutes later, luckily I have linoleum flooring all throughout my house, carpet is impossible with 8 dogs, lol
> 
> I thought something was wrong with him, but the vet said he was a normal, healthy pup, so I had to batten down get him on a pretty strict crate schedule whenever we weren't outside or actively doing something together. Id tire him out well, make sure he pottied, and in the crate he went; sometimes taking him out 15 minutes later to make sure. that way he didn't have a chance to slip up, when not in the crate he was on a leash, tethered to me.
> 
> ...


I have been saying “go potty” right as she pees outside, then praising her “good potty!” with treats when she finishes. I have been doing this a month (ever since adopting her), and sometimes when she doesn’t pee outside right away I tell her “go potty” - and no reaction 😂 I don’t think she knows or cares…


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## SMcN (Feb 12, 2021)

First, my deepest sympathies on having a bad time with Covid. NOT fun!!! Having to deal with your illness in addition to housebreaking a new puppy...OMG, I don't even want to imagine.

Second, what jumped out at me from your initial post is this is a 5.5 month old pup who was already spayed. That is really young, IMHO. And from what I have read, and what I have experienced in another breed, early spaying of females can cause incontinence. We, unfortunately, followed vet suggestions of when to spay and ended up with one that could not last the night....ever. She lived 10 years. The other female we had spayed early took well over a year to "fully" housebreak. And that "fully" was never trusted. She, also, had a hard time making it through the night. So, I understand your frustration and helpless feeling of wondering why this is happening.

Another point is I am amazed you can crate her for 9 hours at her age. Ilita is now almost 9 months and STILL gets us up after 5 hours of sleep max. We also have a 4 month old (different breed) who may also influence that arousal. I remember when we knew we were going to get him, Ilita was 7 months and it felt like we had JUST gotten her reliably housebroken where, for bits of time, you could relax the vigilance. 

We also use a verbal 'cue' for going. Our's is "Hurry Up!" This often cues them to go on command, even if it is an obvious 'courtesy' amount. I swear, sometimes we also get a "look" with virtual rolled eyes. But it is handy to be able to cue them when they are in a strange place and easily distracted. A suggestion I read from a reliable trainer was take them out to potty, if they don't go in a given time (I believe he said as short as 3 minutes), take the pup back in, crate for 20 minutes and take out again. This is to let them know their first task at hand is to go potty. Getting distracted with their environment or playing comes after the business is taken care of. 

You have only had her one month. I know with all that is going on in your life, this seems an eternity. But for her, she is just getting accustomed to her new life and rules.

Good luck, hang in there, and take care of yourself as best as possible.


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## Sonny1984 (Oct 25, 2021)

tinkerbelle898 said:


> Thanks - I hope I feel better soon, too  COVID has hit me _hard_
> 
> I apologize, I don't really know what you mean by crating her for the 2 hours? I take her outside to the backyard to potty every 2 hours, and I am watching her like a hawk when she is inside between potty breaks (if she is not crated, like when I am cooking etc). Do you mean that she should just be crated 100% of the time?


If you take her outside she’s not crated 100% of the time


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

SMcN said:


> First, my deepest sympathies on having a bad time with Covid. NOT fun!!! Having to deal with your illness in addition to housebreaking a new puppy...OMG, I don't even want to imagine.
> 
> Second, what jumped out at me from your initial post is this is a 5.5 month old pup who was already spayed. That is really young, IMHO. And from what I have read, and what I have experienced in another breed, early spaying of females can cause incontinence. We, unfortunately, followed vet suggestions of when to spay and ended up with one that could not last the night....ever. She lived 10 years. The other female we had spayed early took well over a year to "fully" housebreak. And that "fully" was never trusted. She, also, had a hard time making it through the night. So, I understand your frustration and helpless feeling of wondering why this is happening.
> 
> ...


I agree, 5 months to be spayed is very early and not ideal. My previous Rottweiler was from a breeder so I was able to spay her much later. But this GSD was a rescue/adoption, so she was already spayed when I got her - I would’ve preferred later as well. I hope this hasn’t set her up to be incontinent!!

Im very thankful she lets me sleep through the night. I should count my blessings. It’s hard not to compare sometimes, as I hear many puppies at 3 months thst sleep through AND are bulletproof house broken. I will continue with the cue, maybe someday she will listen and execute 😂


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

Sonny1984 said:


> If you take her outside she’s not crated 100% of the time


I see you edited your reply for clarity, thanks. And I meant 100% of the time other than potty breaks - as in, zero freedom indoors


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## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

It is pretty much impossible to get all the urine smell out of a rug. I'd ditch the rug. 
When I moved to my current house a couple of years ago, the living room had wall-to-wall broadloom. Within 30 seconds of entering the room for the first time, one of my dogs peed on the rug. The previous owner had dogs, and since this was very unusual for my dogs to do, I'm convinced they were smelling urine from the previous owner's dogs, which made them think it was an okay place to go.

I couldn't WAIT to get rid of that rug, and replace it with interlocking flooring! Even though I did my best to keep the dogs out of the room there were still several more 'accidents' before I was able to take the carpet out. Usually, neither of my dogs would pee in the house unless they were absolutely desperate and just couldn't hold it any more.

Other advice: crate her when you can't have eyes on her, or some people leash the dog to their waist.


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

I do crate her unless I’m watching her -she has no cues to pee like circling or sniffing (only poo) and I’ve interrupted and caught her in the act for every accident, but usually she does get at least some pee out before she responds to my interruption. I don’t be scary, per some things I’ve read, so maybe she just kind of takes her time to stop. She’s slow in general, a sit isn’t immediate slamming butt to ground, but a slow lowering of her behind. She’s just a pet and not in competitive obedience so I don’t mind her tempo, but… I wish she’d just stop peeing inside. Ha!


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

Sunsilver said:


> It is pretty much impossible to get all the urine smell out of a rug. I'd ditch the rug.
> When I moved to my current house a couple of years ago, the living room had wall-to-wall broadloom. Within 30 seconds of entering the room for the first time, one of my dogs peed on the rug. The previous owner had dogs, and since this was very unusual for my dogs to do, I'm convinced they were smelling urine from the previous owner's dogs, which made them think it was an okay place to go.
> 
> I couldn't WAIT to get rid of that rug, and replace it with interlocking flooring! Even though I did my best to keep the dogs out of the room there were still several more 'accidents' before I was able to take the carpet out. Usually, neither of my dogs would pee in the house unless they were absolutely desperate and just couldn't hold it any more.
> ...


Oh no, I do love this rug. But if it’s causing accidents, I will have to be rid of it


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## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

Do you make it very plain to her that she's doing something wrong when she pees inside?
I was having a hard time with my male breaking housetraining after I moved to a house where there had been other male dogs. The problem was, I never seemed to be able to catch him in the act. He seemed to deliberately wait until I was out of the house for a few minutes. (If I was leaving for a long period of time, I'd crate him.)

Then, one day, I caught him lifting his leg to a living room chair. BINGO!! Grabbed him by the scruff and read him the riot act! 
That was the LAST time he had an accident in the house!


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

Sunsilver said:


> Do you make it very plain to her that she's doing something wrong when she pees inside?
> I was having a hard time with my male breaking housetraining after I moved to a house where there had been other male dogs. The problem was, I never seemed to be able to catch him in the act. He seemed to deliberately wait until I was out of the house for a few minutes. (If I was leaving for a long period of time, I'd crate him.)
> 
> Then, one day, I caught him lifting his leg to a living room chair. BINGO!! Grabbed him by the scruff and read him the riot act!
> That was the LAST time he had an accident in the house!


I may not be making it clear enough. I catch her every time since I’m always watching her when she’s not crated. I say “ah ah!” Which she understands to be “I’m doing something wrong” (also used when she chases our cat, sniffs the food on the dining table, etc) and during those circumstances, she does stop what she is doing wrong. So I thiiiiink she gets it but maybe a “human prefers j don’t do this” vs “I must stop”

I didn’t want to scare her so she is scared to pee in front of me, but she does take her time stopping - another 1-2 seconds to stop after I say it. Should I be doing more? Scarier? I do shuffle her outside immediately as well but she rarely finishes her pee outside. Then I crate her and give her another chance to finish later


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## Sonny1984 (Oct 25, 2021)

tinkerbelle898 said:


> I see you edited your reply for clarity, thanks. And I meant 100% of the time other than potty breaks - as in, zero freedom indoors


Yeah, zero freedom indoors. At least until she’s potty trained. And it’ll give you a nice break while your sick…a loose puppy is a full time job

The crate gives you more control over the bladder. You can more easily set things up so the next 100 times she goes, its always outside. In the crate, she also will learn to hold her bladder when she has the urge to go. That’s the big thing I think a crate teaches. Between knowing how to hold it and knowing where to go - you’ll be set.


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

Sonny1984 said:


> Yeah, zero freedom indoors. At least until she’s potty trained. And it’ll give you a nice break while your sick…a loose puppy is a full time job
> 
> The crate gives you more control over the bladder. You can more easily set things up so the next 100 times she goes, its always outside. In the crate, she also will learn to hold her bladder when she has the urge to go. That’s the big thing I think a crate teaches. Between knowing how to hold it and knowing where to go - you’ll be set.


Got it! I fed her this morning and took her outside, and usually now I am watching her, but instead I popped her back into the crate for a couple hours. I feel bad, but it is nice to have a break and she never does potty inside her crate.


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## peachygeorgia (Oct 5, 2021)

I think thats the right plan for you, thats how I had to manage Charlie, he had no more freedom indoors, always in the crate if we weren't outside, until he learned not to pee inside, now he's perfect.


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## Springbrz (Aug 13, 2013)

When house training training all or pups over the years whenever they were caught in the act they got the "ut ut" along with being rushed outside all the while I was saying to the pup "potty outside". When they were small enough to pick up I did so. As they got larger we made getting to the door an urgent issue continuing the outside...outside mantra. Once outside and pottying was complete we praised and had a party (no party in the late night hours). I think this helped with establishing the route to the door with the task of going out to potty. I didn't matter how many times a day pup went by the door to outside we went outside. I wonder if your pup hasn't yet associated the door to going outside to pee yet so there is no indicator yet.
Being ill while house training a pup is probably making you feel like it's going much worse than it really is. It's only been 4 weeks and the accidents aren't daily so I think it's going well.


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

Springbrz said:


> When house training training all or pups over the years whenever they were caught in the act they got the "ut ut" along with being rushed outside all the while I was saying to the pup "potty outside". When they were small enough to pick up I did so. As they got larger we made getting to the door an urgent issue continuing the outside...outside mantra. Once outside and pottying was complete we praised and had a party (no party in the late night hours). I think this helped with establishing the route to the door with the task of going out to potty. I didn't matter how many times a day pup went by the door to outside we went outside. I wonder if your pup hasn't yet associated the door to going outside to pee yet so there is no indicator yet.
> Being ill while house training a pup is probably making you feel like it's going much worse than it really is. It's only been 4 weeks and the accidents aren't daily so I think it's going well.


that all makes a lot of sense. She’s too big for me to carry, but I do rush her outside on leash (she always has the leash dragging inside for control) 

regarding a dog indicating by the door and you bringing him outside - how often did that realistically happen? I feel like mine would ask to go outside every 10 minutes, just to go outside. Even if it’s boring and no playing is allowed. If mine asks to go outside multiple times an hour, do I still allow her out every time?


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

I just want to say I feel for you.
I have had Covid, and I have had a (non GSD) dog that was difficult to housebreak, but not both at the same time.
You are correct, at this age, this isn’t the norm. You are doing everything right, so I understand your frustration.
I haven’t had this happen, and I can only offer advice I have read here: back to basics, meaning, whatever was being done at 8 weeks.
Best of luck to you!


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## Carter Smith (Apr 29, 2016)

Has anyone mentioned monitoring water intake? If she’s a fairly new dog to the home she may be anxiously drinking more water than she needs? When I house break puppies I restrict water to certain times.


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

Carter Smith said:


> Has anyone mentioned monitoring water intake? If she’s a fairly new dog to the home she may be anxiously drinking more water than she needs? When I house break puppies I restrict water to certain times.


She does drink a lot of water. I have thought about restricting it, but google says you should always provide water for the dog so whenever she isn’t crated she has access to water. Should I not allow that?


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## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

I would not restrict water in hot weather. 
My current GSD is, of course, an adult. Every morning, she drinks more than half her water bowl, then does not need to pee until more than 12 hours later. I put her outside, and she just hangs out with me on the back deck!!

Wish my bladder control was that good! 😁

Edit: the ad software is tracking this conversation. Ads for incontinence pads are popping up on the right side of my screen! 🤣


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## Springbrz (Aug 13, 2013)

tinkerbelle898 said:


> that all makes a lot of sense. She’s too big for me to carry, but I do rush her outside on leash (she always has the leash dragging inside for control)
> 
> regarding a dog indicating by the door and you bringing him outside - how often did that realistically happen? I feel like mine would ask to go outside every 10 minutes, just to go outside. Even if it’s boring and no playing is allowed. If mine asks to go outside multiple times an hour, do I still allow her out every time?


Ah, it's been 9.5 yrs so my memory isn't exactly good with frequency visiting the door. Not as often as you might think a pup would. She would go to the door more frequently if I was in the kitchen cleaning, cooking etc. as the door to the back yard is in the kitchen. I've always talked a lot to our dogs to develop verbal ques. Pup at the door..."Do you need to go potty?" and outside we would go. Taking pup out for a potty break..."Let's go potty (pee, poop whatever word you want to use)". Going out for play..."Let's go play". I will say more often then not accidents happened until fully house trained when playing inside. We had to make a conscious effect to remember to stop for an outside break after about 10 minutes of inside play or there would be an accident. Movement stimulates things...lol! 
Honestly, I think if your pup starts going to the door I would go every time for a couple of days just to establish the relationship with going outside to potty and the door. And your pup learning and understanding you are seeing it's cues. After that I would follow the cue the first time, If pup goes to the door very soon (say less than 30 mins.) of being out and actually going to potty I might say "you just went out" and hold off for a bit just so the in/out constantly doesn't become a bad habit. 
As someone has mentioned, you really do have to forget about your pups age and work through this like you are starting with an 8 week old pup. The up side is progress will likely come quicker with your pup being older and you are already 4 weeks in working on the routine. You'll get there.


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## Benny's Mom (9 mo ago)

tinkerbelle898 said:


> Here is a photo of the little stress causer that we love so much! It is 4am and I am up sick with COVID, and the puppy blues are seeming worse than they are due to the illness, I’m sure
> 
> Thank you everyone for the suggestions so far. It’s a bit tiring to think about how often I’ll have to start taking her outside - I thought every two hours was a lot for her age! But I will try to increase it further. Open to any and all advice… desperate to make some progress here!
> 
> View attachment 590342


She is a beauty


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## Carter Smith (Apr 29, 2016)

tinkerbelle898 said:


> She does drink a lot of water. I have thought about restricting it, but google says you should always provide water for the dog so whenever she isn’t crated she has access to water. Should I not allow that?


I wouldn’t recommend cutting back or restricting water unless you knew exactly what your dog required to be healthy, but it’s worth monitoring when she guzzles a bunch of water to maybe help you with timing of accidents


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## debr1776 (Feb 4, 2018)

Have you taken her to the vet? My sister had pretty much the same problem with her Rottweiler pup and it turned out to be a urinary tract infection. She was housetrained quickly once the infection was treated. I hope you both feel better very soon!


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

debr1776 said:


> Have you taken her to the vet? My sister had pretty much the same problem with her Rottweiler pup and it turned out to be a urinary tract infection. She was housetrained quickly once the infection was treated. I hope you both feel better very soon!


yes, she’s been tested and cleared of a UTI, and also was on a round of antibiotics just in case as well - so it’s not a medical issue


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## dojoson41 (Oct 14, 2018)

welcome to female dogs, I have had this problem with all my female dogs over the years- it seems to be a girl thing but it will get better in time. This last one took a year to stop it in the house and make sure you clean it up with a good cleaner that leaves no smell from her. Every dog is different but a lot of good suggestions but it all boils down to when will click with her to stop in the house and it will. Spaying does nothing to stop it either that is just some rumor started to get you to spay your dogs


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

I had been trying all the above suggestions, and today she peed in a new spot inside - I feel at the end of my rope


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## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

dojoson41 said:


> welcome to female dogs, I have had this problem with all my female dogs over the years- it seems to be a girl thing but it will get better in time. This last one took a year to stop it in the house and make sure you clean it up with a good cleaner that leaves no smell from her. Every dog is different but a lot of good suggestions but it all boils down to when will click with her to stop in the house and it will. Spaying does nothing to stop it either that is just some rumor started to get you to spay your dogs


I had 4 female GSD in a row and none ever had accidents in the house beyond about 3-4 months.
Even today though, I'm out with them from short forest visits to long hikes 5-6X a day.


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## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

OP I keep thinking you've only had the dog 1 month and she likely came to you with some semi-ingrained bad habits. Plus you're COVID exhausted and likely not thinking 100% straight.

It's not easy but personally, I'd have that pup tethered to me in one room and take her out every hour on the hour, basically give her little to no opportunity to mess up. If I caught her squatting, it's likely time to up both the consequences for going inside and the party for going outside IF you are absolutely there is no overriding medical condition beyond UTI.


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

When she is out of her crate, she is only allowed in one room, and it’s quite a small room, so being tethered wouldn’t make a difference as the radius of my leash would extend to the edges of the room

she squatted and peed most of her bladder today and I “ah ah!!”-ed her and rushed her outside, where she finished a couple of dribbles and then I gave her hot dogs

I am still sick, and I am increasingly frustrated. I take her out every 60-90 minutes unless it’s overnight (60-90 min depends if she’s sleeping), she is crated most of the time now, and only out of it for about four hours total a day, in 30 minute increments. She’s confined to one room with me watching her for the full 30 minutes. She was cleared of medical issues AND put on antibiotics just in case. I tell her to “potty” when she pees outside to try and mark it. I clean with natures miracle. I set up potty bells at the door with some training, but understandably she doesn’t know what they mean yet. It has been 5 weeks of this now, and I feel it’s not getting any better.


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## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

I get it and I feel your frustration loud and clear. 

The leash isn't just for keeping them in the room but a physical attachment that reminds them of your control. Make it 4 feet for awhile if you have to. You appear to be doing everything right so "ah-ah" is clearly not enough; she's not TRYING to displease you, she's not getting it. 

Does she cower and look embarrassed when she pees inside and you catch her? In other words, clearly understand she shouldn't go there? I'm still thinking undiagnosed medical issue but what do I know.

Personally, I'd whisk her up and get her butt outside in a hurry, leaving no mistake I was displeased by tone and body language. Then over the top party it up for success. She has to want to do anything but pee inside because the result is uncomfortable.


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

WNGD said:


> I get it and I feel your frustration loud and clear.
> 
> The leash isn't just for keeping them in the room but a physical attachment that reminds them of your control. Make it 4 feet for awhile if you have to. You appear to be doing everything right so "ah-ah" is clearly not enough; she's not TRYING to displease you, she's not getting it.
> 
> ...


thanks. I’m sorry I sound so frustrated. I just… am.

I can try tethering her to me. She does have a leash dragging on her at all times she’s not crated, but it’s not usually attached to anything on the other end

She has another vet visit tomorrow… again. I have spent $3k on her this month alone in vet bills including these diagnostics (among other things unrelated to her urinary health) and I’m not excited to spend more doing another urinalysis

She looks a bit startled when I ah ah! Her. I have started running towards her while saying it more loudly than I usually do, and she does seem a little scared, but I think it’s more that I’m stomping towards her and raising my voice now. I used to just curtly and loudly say it, then walk her outside immediately using the dragged leash. Now i somewhat drag her outside using the leash - it’s not something that I’m sure positive only folks would endorse at this stage.


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## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

You can only try to change little things until it works. There's nothing wrong with a little raised voice or leash pop to get the message across. You're not having to get really angry or abusive. You want them to really not want to pee inside if they have a choice because there are undesirable consequences

Again, I'm glad you're really ruling out something medical and I wish I could be more help.


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## Springbrz (Aug 13, 2013)

tinkerbelle898 said:


> thanks. I’m sorry I sound so frustrated. I just… am.
> 
> I can try tethering her to me. She does have a leash dragging on her at all times she’s not crated, but it’s not usually attached to anything on the other end
> 
> ...


Ouch! 3K is a lot in a month for vetting a puppy. Vaccines, wellness checks, heartworm and flea meds are pricey for sure but is there something else she is being tested/treated for that isn't usual other than ruling out UTI? Just trying to help put the pieces together.


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

Springbrz said:


> Ouch! 3K is a lot in a month for vetting a puppy. Vaccines, wellness checks, heartworm and flea meds are pricey for sure but is there something else she is being tested/treated for that isn't usual other than ruling out UTI? Just trying to help put the pieces together.


the 3k was for her spay, along with a hernia fix and a prophylactic gastropexy. That was about 2.2K. The remainder was for wellness visit, medications, puppy vaccines, Heartworm testing, uti testing, etc. Each UTI test is $300. I live in SF - very expensive

Ouch indeed. Financially, emotionally, just struggling a lot right now


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## Springbrz (Aug 13, 2013)

tinkerbelle898 said:


> the 3k was for her spay, along with a hernia fix and a prophylactic gastropexy. That was about 2.2K. The remainder was for wellness visit, medications, puppy vaccines, Heartworm testing, uti testing, etc. Each UTI test is $300. I live in SF - very expensive
> 
> Ouch indeed. Financially, emotionally, just struggling a lot right now


Ah that makes sense of the cost having all that done.


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## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

tinkerbelle898 said:


> the 3k was for *her spay, along with a hernia fix and a prophylactic gastropexy*. That was about 2.2K. The remainder was for wellness visit, medications, puppy vaccines, Heartworm testing, uti testing, etc. Each UTI test is $300. I live in SF - very expensive
> 
> Ouch indeed. Financially, emotionally, just struggling a lot right now


Does the bold potentially have anything to do with the peeing?


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

WNGD said:


> Does the bold potentially have anything to do with the peeing?


No, the rescue required I spayed her to finalize her adoption, and I figured as she was sedated anyway to do the gastropexy. The hernia was present already when I got her - I don’t think it affected her urinary health but I am also not too well versed in medicine


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## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

tinkerbelle898 said:


> No, the rescue required I spayed her to finalize her adoption, and I figured as she was sedated anyway to do the gastropexy. The hernia was present already when I got her - I don’t think it affected her urinary health but I am also not too well versed in medicine


Me either but it complicates the story/possibilities


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## Hopps (Dec 5, 2021)

Is she for sure squatting to pee or are there times where you find spots of urine? Spaying/neutering can eventually lead to incontinence. Your dog sounds young but it could be possible. Bring up trying proin to the vet? Sounds a lot less invasive and expensive compared to the other alternatives. She might be confused and frightened because she doesn’t know she’s peeing.

@Magwart have you ever seen a dog develop incontinence at this age from being spayed that young?


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## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

WNGD said:


> Me either but it complicates the story/possibilities


You are confusing an umbilical hernia with an inguinal hernia (the type that happens in males, due to the testicles descending from the abdomen through the inguinal ring.) The umbilical hernia, the type that is easy to fix during a spay, has absolutely NOTHING to do with the urinary/genital system, nor would the gastropexy (tacking of the stomach to prevent bloat.) 

I would be so frustrated that I'd leave absolutely NO doubt in her mind that she'd made a mistake! There is NO WAY this should be happening, with her going outside so frequently, and being able to hold it all through the night.  She's been getting away with this far too long!

My philosophy of training is, if you correct a dog for a mistake, and it repeats the mistake, the correction wasn't firm enough. I'd yell at her, probably scruff her, and hustle her out the door. If picking her up was the only way to stop the pee mid-stream, I'd do that too, but I'm used to hoisting full grown GSDs into the grooming tub, from back when I had the kennel...


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## tim_s_adams (Aug 9, 2017)

In a little over 1 months time this puppy has been uprooted and sent to a new home with new people and new environment and new rules, AND had major surgery!

I think a little set back in potty training is absolutely warranted and understandable...


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

Sunsilver said:


> You are confusing an umbilical hernia with an inguinal hernia (the type that happens in males, due to the testicles descending from the abdomen through the inguinal ring.) The umbilical hernia, the type that is easy to fix during a spay, has absolutely NOTHING to do with the urinary/genital system, nor would the gastropexy (tacking of the stomach to prevent bloat.)
> 
> I would be so frustrated that I'd leave absolutely NO doubt in her mind that she'd made a mistake! There is NO WAY this should be happening, with her going outside so frequently, and being able to hold it all through the night.  She's been getting away with this far too long!
> 
> My philosophy of training is, if you correct a dog for a mistake, and it repeats the mistake, the correction wasn't firm enough. I'd yell at her, probably scruff her, and hustle her out the door. If picking her up was the only way to stop the pee mid-stream, I'd do that too, but I'm used to hoisting full grown GSDs into the grooming tub, from back when I had the kennel...


correct, this was an umbilical hernia - looked a bit like an “outtie” belly button that was fixed during her spay

She has a vet visit in about five hours, where I will once again… ask for a urinalysis for $300 😭

I did some potty bells training with her this morning. She’s learning to touch them now, but haven’t connected it with opening the door yet

she seems to be regressing. Usually she can go average 90 min between pees, now she’s going every 30 min. She is also now splitting her pees into two or three pees during the same outing, which she never did before. I am even hoping she has a UTI to explain this. But she holds it in her crate and overnight.

i also purchase some “zesty paws” brand bladder supplements. I’ll keep the community updated on the vet - though it will take a few days for the culture.


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

If she had some spay related incontinence, I would see more accidents overnight or in the crate, right? Her ability to keep her crate clean indicates this is a behavioral and not medical issue…?


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## BdeAngelo (Dec 13, 2021)

I agree with @Sunsilver. Make it good to be good and bad to be bad. 

From what I've read, it seems the communication isn't clear. Personally, I would use markers to make things even clearer. You are using "ah ah', but the dog doesn't know what that means. As soon as you see the dog start to pee inside, mark that behaviour with the word "NO!" and deliver a consequence: that could be many things such as spatial pressure, voice tone, leash pop, etc., but there has to be consequence and then you take her outside. When she pees outside mark with a "yes"/ "good potty" and as soon as she finishes praise her heavily and reward with high value treat too.
Show her the contrast of doing good and bad. Timing is very important and that is why markers are your friend.

Here are a few videos that discuss markers and hopefully help you.






Watch how Haz uses the marker "NO" versus "ah ah" - this is exactly how I use it.





Another good video on why most dogs don't understand "NO" - most people intuitively know how to apply a reward marker but fail when using punishment markers.


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## Hopps (Dec 5, 2021)

tinkerbelle898 said:


> If she had some spay related incontinence, I would see more accidents overnight or in the crate, right? Her ability to keep her crate clean indicates this is a behavioral and not medical issue…?


I’m not a veterinarian so I wouldn’t be able to tell you. It may be the beginning of incontinence. Incontinence gets worse when there is more stress. Your aggravation maybe to stressing her out, which leaves more urine during the day. I would mention it to the vet, there’s no harm in it. I would keep an open mind instead of just ruling it out. The dog had major surgery at a young age, there is absolutely no way of knowing if something happened during surgery, they may have nicked something.


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

Just got back from the vet, and completing a urine sample collection (via needle). The vet says that though the early spay could lead to incontinence, it would likely not have kicked in so soon - and I checked my potty logs, and she was already “regressed” before her spay (I had her for one week prior to her spay. Her spay timeline was not dictated by me, but by the rescue unfortunately). 

I am really hoping she has a UTI to explain this. In other news, she rang the bell for the first time to go outside! Maybe it was a fluke, but I hope she’s starting to connect the dots. I’ll find out the results from her urinalysis in 3-5 days


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## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

Hopps, the thing about incontinence is it's involuntary - the dog has no control over it. This is a dog deliberately squatting to pee. If this truly were incontinence, she'd be going in her crate at night.


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

Sunsilver said:


> Hopps, the thing about incontinence is it's involuntary - the dog has no control over it. This is a dog deliberately squatting to pee. If this truly were incontinence, she'd be going in her crate at night.


This makes me feel better. I would hate for it to be spay incontinence. I have been checking her crate throughly and it’s always dry from overnight and naps 🤞🏼

she is acting more oddly - every single time now that she goes out to potty, she squats at least twice, sometimes three times. Up until a week ago, she never squatted more than once per outing. The first squat is a regular sized pee, the second is a tiny splash, the third usually just dribbles. I have noticed it smelling more strongly, but maybe I’m just rationalizing. It doesn’t smell off or fishy, just a very concentrated urine smell. If this isn’t a UTI, then I am baffled - I only give her treats on her first pee, so I don’t think it’s behaviorial?

what a mystery. I can’t wait for uti results and for the zesty paws bladder support treats


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## Hopps (Dec 5, 2021)

Sunsilver said:


> Hopps, the thing about incontinence is it's involuntary - the dog has no control over it. This is a dog deliberately squatting to pee. If this truly were incontinence, she'd be going in her crate at night.


I’m well aware that it is involuntary, my dog is taking meds for it. I do not see where I said it is not involuntary. That’s why I asked op if they were seeing the dog squat 100% of the time or if they were sometimes finding puddles. In the beginning Fern was not peeing all the time while sleeping. It started slow and was exasperated by stress. The incontinence could also be caused by accidental damage during spay surgery as well (which I also said). It’s good to go through every option possible since it’s not financially feasible for OP to get a UA repeatedly. From OP’s description, the dog looks like it doesn’t really understand what’s going on.


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## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

tinkerbelle898 said:


> This makes me feel better. I would hate for it to be spay incontinence. I have been checking her crate throughly and it’s always dry from overnight and naps 🤞🏼
> 
> she is acting more oddly - every single time now that she goes out to potty, she squats at least twice, sometimes three times. Up until a week ago, she never squatted more than once per outing. The first squat is a regular sized pee, the second is a tiny splash, the third usually just dribbles. I have noticed it smelling more strongly, but maybe I’m just rationalizing. It doesn’t smell off or fishy, just a very concentrated urine smell. If this isn’t a UTI, then I am baffled - I only give her treats on her first pee, so I don’t think it’s behaviorial?
> 
> what a mystery. I can’t wait for uti results and for the zesty paws bladder support treats


Okay, that sounds like a UTI, or possibly some sort of blockage in the urethra or bladder. Maybe it's NOT just behavioural! Make sure the vet is made aware - he/she may want to do an ultrasound of the bladder.


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

Sunsilver said:


> Okay, that sounds like a UTI, or possibly some sort of blockage in the urethra or bladder. Maybe it's NOT just behavioural! Make sure the vet is made aware - he/she may want to do an ultrasound of the bladder.


The ultrasound was quoted as $450, so I truly hope I don’t need to go that route, after almost $4k in bills this month for her 😭 I just bought her a probiotic as well for overall health 

im Hoping it’s also not a blockage as she is able to pee, her first pee is “strong”’and seems normal? I don’t know.. I’m no vet or course, I’m so anxious and waiting for results

in human news, I’m still so very I’ll and went to the doctor again. No relief in sight for me


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## Hopps (Dec 5, 2021)

tinkerbelle898 said:


> The ultrasound was quoted as $450, so I truly hope I don’t need to go that route, after almost $4k in bills this month for her 😭 I just bought her a probiotic as well for overall health
> 
> im Hoping it’s also not a blockage as she is able to pee, her first pee is “strong”’and seems normal? I don’t know.. I’m no vet or course, I’m so anxious and waiting for results
> 
> in human news, I’m still so very I’ll and went to the doctor again. No relief in sight for me


So what does your vet think? Are they giving you any suggestions? are they actively working with you or is it mostly you asking? Vets can be a real hit and miss, regardless of how nice they are. The first month I had my dog, I went about 2k so I know your pain. The first vet dragged me around and siphoned all the money out of my pocket. Found a new place and they are extremely honest and very much into their practice. That sounds like a lot of money, even for SF. I used to live around South Bay so prices are somewhat similar. 

and as for COVID, there isn’t anything a doctor can do after the initial treatment. The fatigue can carry over a month after you test negative. Are you vaccinated+both booster shots? If not I would ask the doctor when you can get all that done. Reinfection with COVID is fairly high and the boosters will help boost your counts. A family friend of ours got COVID twice in two months despite being vaccinated. Spooky stuff.


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

Hopps said:


> So what does your vet think? Are they giving you any suggestions? are they actively working with you or is it mostly you asking? Vets can be a real hit and miss, regardless of how nice they are. The first month I had my dog, I went about 2k so I know your pain. The first vet dragged me around and siphoned all the money out of my pocket. Found a new place and they are extremely honest and very much into their practice. That sounds like a lot of money, even for SF. I used to live around South Bay so prices are somewhat similar.
> 
> and as for COVID, there isn’t anything a doctor can do after the initial treatment. The fatigue can carry over a month after you test negative. Are you vaccinated+both booster shots? If not I would ask the doctor when you can get all that done. Reinfection with COVID is fairly high and the boosters will help boost your counts. A family friend of ours got COVID twice in two months despite being vaccinated. Spooky stuff.


My vet is mostly responding to my asks. The first time I brought it up, she said it sounded behaviorial and I agreed with her. The second time was when she started squatting multiple times and she agreed we should get a culture done. She doesn’t appear to be pushing for testing. Not sure when you lived in South Bay, but if you have any South Bay vet recommendations I’m happy to hear it. At this stage, I’m happy with my vet, there isn’t much else to do other than do a culture 

I am vaccinated and boosted. I couldn’t breathe after two weeks of covid so I got a rescue inhaler and today got steroids and the steroids seem to finally help.

as for my dog, she stopped the multi squatting. No accidents since the last post, but of course I’m not letting my guard down. She usually sleeps 8 hours overnight and whines in the morning to be let out to pee. Last morning she slept in for 10 hours and I had to convince her to leave her crate to potty (otherwise acted normal). She’s a mystery, haha


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## Hopps (Dec 5, 2021)

tinkerbelle898 said:


> My vet is mostly responding to my asks. The first time I brought it up, she said it sounded behaviorial and I agreed with her. The second time was when she started squatting multiple times and she agreed we should get a culture done. She doesn’t appear to be pushing for testing. Not sure when you lived in South Bay, but if you have any South Bay vet recommendations I’m happy to hear it. At this stage, I’m happy with my vet, there isn’t much else to do other than do a culture
> 
> I am vaccinated and boosted. I couldn’t breathe after two weeks of covid so I got a rescue inhaler and today got steroids and the steroids seem to finally help.
> 
> as for my dog, she stopped the multi squatting. No accidents since the last post, but of course I’m not letting my guard down. She usually sleeps 8 hours overnight and whines in the morning to be let out to pee. Last morning she slept in for 10 hours and I had to convince her to leave her crate to potty (otherwise acted normal). She’s a mystery, haha


Hope you feel better soon, COVID is such a pain!!! I can’t imagine being that sick and then dealing with all of this 

I lived in South Bay for the most of my life minus the past three years. I took my pets to The Whole Pet Vet on Los Gatos. They were incredibly understanding, kind and just genuinely love animals. But that’s a bit far from SF. I like clinics that are more about being a team to help the dog vs just being a doctor. 

When I got my dog she would randomly pee in the house. No sniffing around or anything. I would get the stinkiest and most yummy treats and party hard when she would pee outside. My dog loves American cheese slices. I also put in a verbal cue “go potty”.


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

Hopps said:


> Hope you feel better soon, COVID is such a pain!!! I can’t imagine being that sick and then dealing with all of this
> 
> I lived in South Bay for the most of my life minus the past three years. I took my pets to The Whole Pet Vet on Los Gatos. They were incredibly understanding, kind and just genuinely love animals. But that’s a bit far from SF. I like clinics that are more about being a team to help the dog vs just being a doctor.
> 
> When I got my dog she would randomly pee in the house. No sniffing around or anything. I would get the stinkiest and most yummy treats and party hard when she would pee outside. My dog loves American cheese slices. I also put in a verbal cue “go potty”.


I looked up the whole pet vet and their reviews look great. They’re only about 30 min from me, I think I’ll switch over for my next appt. Thank you!

she started double - squatting again BUT she’s been sitting by the door to go outside and hasn’t had an accident yet! She sometimes rings the bells, but I don’t think she’s connected the bells yet. Just accidental boops for now

but the big news! These last two days she’s gone 2-4 hours outside of her crate without accidents!!! And indicating by the door! From the 30 min - 60 min range before, this is huge


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

I never thought I’d be so happy about a puppy’s bowel movements.


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## Springbrz (Aug 13, 2013)

tinkerbelle898 said:


> I looked up the whole pet vet and their reviews look great. They’re only about 30 min from me, I think I’ll switch over for my next appt. Thank you!
> 
> she started double - squatting again BUT she’s been sitting by the door to go outside and hasn’t had an accident yet! She sometimes rings the bells, but I don’t think she’s connected the bells yet. Just accidental boops for now
> 
> but the big news! These last two days she’s gone 2-4 hours outside of her crate without accidents!!! And indicating by the door! From the 30 min - 60 min range before, this is huge


The double squat might just be simple peeing then marking. She is starting to feel comfortable and safe in her new home and may be just marking her territory on the subsequent squats. Totally normal for many dogs. Your persistence and patience is paying off. Keep up what you are doing. She is getting it if she goes to the door. She may never ring the bell unless you insist and train her that she must. It does sound like she is connecting the dots that the door is to the outside and outside is where she is to potty. 
I do hope you feel better soon. Happy to hear that new meds are giving you some relief.


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## Hopps (Dec 5, 2021)

Yay congrats on the victories! Honestly sometimes venting about the issues can help you feel less stressed about it. Maybe she noticed hehe! 
The Whole Pet Vet people are a balanced practice, modern practices mixed with holistic ones. I was thoroughly impressed by their level of care. I hope they treat you with kindness, especially during these times!


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

tinkerbelle898 said:


> I did some potty bells training with her this morning. She’s learning to touch them now, but haven’t connected it with opening the door yet.


Are the bells always on the door? When I've trained with bells, _I_ jiggled them, said something like "let's go outside", and then opened the door. You can teach her to touch the bells herself separately, but I want the sound of the bells to be associated with the door opening right from the very beginning. And I think it's helpful to have a cue like "outside" associated with going out, whether you use bells or not, in addition to a "go potty" cue once we get out there.


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

Cassidy's Mom said:


> Are the bells always on the door? When I've trained with bells, _I_ jiggled them, said something like "let's go outside", and then opened the door. You can teach her to touch the bells herself separately, but I want the sound of the bells to be associated with the door opening right from the very beginning. And I think it's helpful to have a cue like "outside" associated with going out, whether you use bells or not, in addition to a "go potty" cue once we get out there.


They're on the door maybe 85% of the time. I tried just leaving them on the doorknob so the sound of bells happened every time we opened the door to go outside, but she didn't seem to notice. I then trained her to "touch" them and tried a few games where I showed her I put a treat right outside the door, and tried to teach her to touch the bells, which I would then open the door and she could get the treat and then go outside. The bells are not on there 100% of the time because sometimes I feel like she is tricking me (kidding.. sort of.) and rings the bells incessantly to go outside, even though we just got back inside. But other times, she doesn't seem to know what they mean. So if she rings them like, 3 times in 10 minutes, I put them away to give us a break

That's a good idea about the "outside" cue, she does not have that currently, just the "go potty" as she is peeing.


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

Update from the vet -

Her urine culture/testing (not sure of the medical terms) came back negative for bacteria, but did note that her urine was a bit dilute. Vet offered to try her on Proin to see if that would help in case it was caused by the early spay, but I declined (at least for now) as I think it may be behavioral, and the last week has gotten a lot better, as mentioned in previous posts. I'm going to continue monitoring her closely - as if I wasn't already! - over the next 1-2 weeks, and see how it goes. I'd like to keep her off Proin, if possible.


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## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

Congrats on the progress!


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

Maybe I spoke too soon, she had another accident today - last one was 8/4… thought I could make it at least a week. She didn’t go to the door, just squatted and peed in front of me with no warning. Admittedly it was over two hours since I last took her out. I popped her leash, said NO!!! And brought her outside where she did finish peeing, then gave her lots of treats and came inside and gave her a beef cheek

😞


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## Hopps (Dec 5, 2021)

tinkerbelle898 said:


> Maybe I spoke too soon, she had another accident today - last one was 8/4… thought I could make it at least a week. She didn’t go to the door, just squatted and peed in front of me with no warning. Admittedly it was over two hours since I last took her out. I popped her leash, said NO!!! And brought her outside where she did finish peeing, then gave her lots of treats and came inside and gave her a beef cheek
> 
> 😞


Compared to before this is huge progress. Don't get discouraged, it's easy to focus on the "failures". Just a few days ago you had issues multiple times a day. You got this


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

Hopps said:


> Compared to before this is huge progress. Don't get discouraged, it's easy to focus on the "failures". Just a few days ago you had issues multiple times a day. You got this


Thank you, I needed to hear this


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## BdeAngelo (Dec 13, 2021)

tinkerbelle898 said:


> I popped her leash, said NO!!!


You "mark" the bad behaviour with "NO!" first. Then you pop the leash.

That is how you communicate clearly.

Watch the video again that I posted on page three.


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## Vern Henry (9 mo ago)

I had a similar problem with my boy. I was convinced he knew I wanted him to pee outside but just didn't care one bit. I noticed some of the time he would pee while walking toward the door and sometimes get to the door and pee without waiting for me to get there. We had been giving him a cranberry powder in his food that the so called "expert" at the pet store convinced my wife we needed. It was supposed to prevent urinary tract problems. when that jar ran out, I quit giving it to him because I didn't want to keep paying for something I didn't really believe in. Next day not one accident and since then on he may have only had one or two more. Coincidence? Maybe, I don't know. Are you giving her any urinary supplements she doesn't absolutely have to have?


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

Vern Henry said:


> I had a similar problem with my boy. I was convinced he knew I wanted him to pee outside but just didn't care one bit. I noticed some of the time he would pee while walking toward the door and sometimes get to the door and pee without waiting for me to get there. We had been giving him a cranberry powder in his food that the so called "expert" at the pet store convinced my wife we needed. It was supposed to prevent urinary tract problems. when that jar ran out, I quit giving it to him because I didn't want to keep paying for something I didn't really believe in. Next day not one accident and since then on he may have only had one or two more. Coincidence? Maybe, I don't know. Are you giving her any urinary supplements she doesn't absolutely have to have?


Yes, she's on the Zesty Paws urinary supplement, that was cranberry something in it. I am about two weeks? into it. I don't plan on buying more after I finish the amount I purchased - but I did purchase about 3 months worth. Probably excessive, but I was desperate

In potty update land: 
Good news - she has not had any accidents in almost two weeks, and sits by the door to indicate she wants to go outside
Bad news - she asks to go outside quite frequently, every 1-2 hours. she always _does_ potty when i let her out, and the potty breaks are leashed, quick, and boring. she also has not really picked up on ringing the potty bells, but that's minor for me


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## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

tinkerbelle898 said:


> Yes, she's on the Zesty Paws urinary supplement, that was cranberry something in it. I am about two weeks? into it. I don't plan on buying more after I finish the amount I purchased - but I did purchase about 3 months worth. Probably excessive, but I was desperate
> 
> In potty update land:
> Good news - she has not had any accidents in almost two weeks, and sits by the door to indicate she wants to go outside
> Bad news - she asks to go outside quite frequently, every 1-2 hours. she always _does_ potty when i let her out, and the potty breaks are leashed, quick, and boring. she also has not really picked up on ringing the potty bells, but that's minor for me


This is huge progress for you, celebrate!
Sometimes that's how you potty train a young dog; out way more often than you think is necessary until they're bullet proof. It can take a few weeks to a few months, keep it up!


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

WNGD said:


> This is huge progress for you, celebrate!
> Sometimes that's how you potty train a young dog; out way more often than you think is necessary until they're bullet proof. It can take a few weeks to a few months, keep it up!


I should had added that overall, I am THRILLED! I apologize if that update came off negatively. Not having to clean up pee every other day is great

Of course, I do still wish that she could go 2-3+ hours without needing to go outside... that is my next task * If anyone has any suggestions on how to extend it, that would be great. *My vet said she should be able to go 2.5-3 hours out of crate without a potty break, which has not been the case most days. And the trainer I have spoken to also said at 6.5 months, she should be able to hold it about 3 hours uncrated as well. She has been cleared medically, multiple times - including bloodwork, urine culture, etc.

But as mentioned, until she's bulletproof - I follow her lead and let her outside whenever she indicates. She does always pee or poo, so... this is my life for now, haha!


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## Bearshandler (Aug 29, 2019)

tinkerbelle898 said:


> Yes, she's on the Zesty Paws urinary supplement, that was cranberry something in it. I am about two weeks? into it. I don't plan on buying more after I finish the amount I purchased - but I did purchase about 3 months worth. Probably excessive, but I was desperate
> 
> In potty update land:
> Good news - she has not had any accidents in almost two weeks, and sits by the door to indicate she wants to go outside
> Bad news - she asks to go outside quite frequently, every 1-2 hours. she always _does_ potty when i let her out, and the potty breaks are leashed, quick, and boring. she also has not really picked up on ringing the potty bells, but that's minor for me


If it works it works. For the bells, I would condition her to what the sound means first. I’d do that by ringing it before I take her out every time. You can test to see if it’s successfully conditioned by ringing it. You should see her react as if she expects to go out. The next step is getting her to hit it on her own then taking her out. There’s a few different ways to do that part. You can do it similar to teaching shake, paw or high five. I’d expect her to pick that up fast once you get her to ring it.


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

Bearshandler said:


> If it works it works. For the bells, I would condition her to what the sound means first. I’d do that by ringing it before I take her out every time. You can test to see if it’s successfully conditioned by ringing it. You should see her react as if she expects to go out. The next step is getting her to hit it on her own then taking her out. There’s a few different ways to do that part. You can do it similar to teaching shake, paw or high five. I’d expect her to pick that up fast once you get her to ring it.


She's learned to hit the bells with her paw when I say "ring!" but it seems like she just sees it as another command. As in, human says the word, dog does the motion. 

I ring the bells myself when we're about to go outside, and then tell her to "ring!" and she does. Sometimes I don't ring them myself and just tell her to "ring!" as we're going outside. But she doesn't seem to be able to connect that she can do it herself without a command, in order for the door to open... yet.


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## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

That is NOT normal to have to go every few hours. There must be some sort of irritation causing this.

When I put Eska outside in the morning, after being in her crate for up to 10 hours, she often won't even venture off the deck unless she really has to go. I've never actually timed it, but I know she can go for at least 12 hours without having to pee or poop. 

Yeah, this is pretty exceptional. Wish I had that sort of control...  

Cranberry juice is very acidic. I wonder if the cranberry based extract is actually causing irritation because of this. Yes, it helps kill bacteria, but it may have its downside as well. I had a friend who was hospitalized due to kidney stones. He had been glugging cranberry juice, because he thought he had a bladder infection. The cranberry juice irritated his bowels to the point where he also had severe diarrhea...


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## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

tinkerbelle898 said:


> I should had added that overall, I am THRILLED! I apologize if that update came off negatively. Not having to clean up pee every other day is great
> 
> Of course, I do still wish that she could go 2-3+ hours without needing to go outside... that is my next task * If anyone has any suggestions on how to extend it, that would be great. *My vet said she should be able to go 2.5-3 hours out of crate without a potty break, which has not been the case most days. And the trainer I have spoken to also said at 6.5 months, she should be able to hold it about 3 hours uncrated as well. She has been cleared medically, multiple times - including bloodwork, urine culture, etc.
> 
> But as mentioned, until she's bulletproof - I follow her lead and let her outside whenever she indicates. She does always pee or poo, so... this is my life for now, haha!


Most dogs with out-of-the-house working owners go ~10 hours left at home as grown dogs without a potty break just fine. You'll work up to that.

I work from home 4 days a week and my dogs are out 5X over the ~15 hours that I'm up.....so every 3 hours. I need the stretch time too so no big deal. As males, they always pee/mark every single time and poop twice a day avg. but never ask to go out, we have a schedule that works for all of us.


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

Sunsilver said:


> That is NOT normal to have to go every few hours. There must be some sort of irritation causing this.
> 
> When I put Eska outside in the morning, after being in her crate for up to 10 hours, she often won't even venture off the deck unless she really has to go. I've never actually timed it, but I know she can go for at least 12 hours without having to pee or poop.
> 
> ...


I know this is not normal, and it's been upsetting me, which is why I brought it up. She had been doing this prior to starting the cranberry supplements, so I don't think the pills are causing irritation - at least, not enough to justify the potty timing


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

WNGD said:


> Most dogs with out-of-the-house working owners go ~10 hours left at home as grown dogs without a potty break just fine. You'll work up to that.
> 
> I work from home 4 days a week and my dogs are out 5X over the ~15 hours that I'm up.....so every 3 hours. I need the stretch time too so no big deal. As males, they always pee/mark every single time and poop twice a day avg. but never ask to go out, we have a schedule that works for all of us.
> In the 15 hours we're


I looked at my potty log. She poops 3-5x a day, and pees 7-10 days a day... writing that out, it seems so excessive. I feel like I'm jumping from one problem (peeing inside) to another (peeing/pooping a LOT!)

To be clear, shes always peed and pooped this many times, its not something new. But it's just ... bothersome (to me, heh)


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## Sonny1984 (Oct 25, 2021)

If you crate her can she hold it for 3-4 hrs during the day? Dog’s bladders are designed to hold some urine and pee in little spurts (they don’t pee it all out at once). She probably likes going outside and naturally will pee a bit. She may just need to learn to hold it inside, which could be as simple as setting up a situation so she has to do just that (crate).


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

Sonny1984 said:


> If you crate her can she hold it for 3-4 hrs during the day? Dog’s bladders are designed to hold some urine and pee in little spurts (they don’t pee it all out at once). She probably likes going outside and naturally will pee a bit. She may just need to learn to hold it inside, which could be as simple as setting up a situation so she has to do just that (crate).


Yes, when she’s crated she holds it no problem. At least, no visible signs of distress. I crate her during the day for 3-4 hours and she’s fine. She’s also crated overnight for 9 hours also with no issue

The problem is when she’s out of crate. And I’m talking about normal days, where her out of crate time is generally calm. Just walking around, chewing on a bully stick or beef cheek. Nothing crazy rigorous


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## Sonny1984 (Oct 25, 2021)

tinkerbelle898 said:


> Yes, when she’s crated she holds it no problem. At least, no visible signs of distress. I crate her during the day for 3-4 hours and she’s fine. She’s also crated overnight for 9 hours also with no issue


Do more crate time. As she proves herself house trained you can do less crate time. Building restraint around the urge to urinate is a learned behavior. It’s not all about going outside when they want to go - it’s also about learning to wait when they want to go.


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

Sonny1984 said:


> Do more crate time. As she proves herself house trained you can do less crate time. Building restraint around the urge to urinate is a learned behavior. It’s not all about going outside when they want to go - it’s also about learning to wait when they want to go.


Her typical schedule is: wake, out of crate for 2 hours, crated for 3-4 hours, out for 1 hour, crated for another 3-4, then out for the remainder of the day (4 or so hours)


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## Sonny1984 (Oct 25, 2021)

tinkerbelle898 said:


> Her typical schedule is: wake, out of crate for 2 hours, crated for 3-4 hours, out for 1 hour, crated for another 3-4, then out for the remainder of the day (4 or so hours)


It can be flexible. She goes to the door when she just peed two hours ago - ok this is a good chance to practice holding it - into the crate for a couple hours then immediately outside.


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

Sonny1984 said:


> It can be flexible. She goes to the door when she just peed two hours ago - ok this is a good chance to practice holding it - into the crate for a couple hours then immediately outside.


I have considered this, but my worry is that she recently learned how to stop peeing inside the house, mostly by indicating she needs to pee by sitting by the backyard door. I don't want her to "unlearn" that and think that when she sits by the backyard door, she now gets put into her crate. Her crate isn't a punishment and she goes in herself when she's tired in the evenings, but certainly she would prefer to be uncrated during the day rather than shut in. So I worry she will begin to associate her sitting by the backyard door to "boring crate time" and then it will undo the potty training indication signals. What do you think?


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## Sonny1984 (Oct 25, 2021)

tinkerbelle898 said:


> I have considered this, but my worry is that she recently learned how to stop peeing inside the house, mostly by indicating she needs to pee by sitting by the backyard door. I don't want her to "unlearn" that and think that when she sits by the backyard door, she now gets put into her crate. Her crate isn't a punishment and she goes in herself when she's tired in the evenings, but certainly she would prefer to be uncrated during the day rather than shut in. So I worry she will begin to associate her sitting by the backyard door to "boring crate time" and then it will undo the potty training indication signals. What do you think?


I would make crate time fun and out of crate a little less fun while she is doing this training. Give a bully sticks only along with crate time for now for instance. Crate time can definitely be associated with a good time.


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## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

tinkerbelle898 said:


> I have considered this, but my worry is that she recently learned how to stop peeing inside the house, mostly by indicating she needs to pee by sitting by the backyard door. I don't want her to "unlearn" that and think that when she sits by the backyard door, she now gets put into her crate. Her crate isn't a punishment and she goes in herself when she's tired in the evenings, but certainly she would prefer to be uncrated during the day rather than shut in. So I worry she will begin to associate her sitting by the backyard door to "boring crate time" and then it will undo the potty training indication signals. What do you think?


Yah I wouldn't "unreward" a need-to-go-out indication (going to the door) by crating her ...... and you're already crating a lot. Keep doing what you're doing and just elongate the time between pees from 2 hours to 3 and four over a few more weeks. jmo

This pup is 5+ months but newish to you. Do you know if she even had any house training prior to you, I can't remember


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

WNGD said:


> Yah I wouldn't "unreward" a need-to-go-out indication (going to the door) by crating her ...... and you're already crating a lot. Keep doing what you're doing and just elongate the time between pees from 2 hours to 3 and four over a few more weeks. jmo
> 
> This pup is 5+ months but newish to you. Do you know if she even had any house training prior to you, I can't remember


Do you have advice on how to elongate the time? Like, should I prevent her physically (with a leash) from getting to the backyard door to prevent her from indicating? I worry that if she indicates and I ignore her, she will stop indicating/peeing inside again. She just gets up from whatever she is doing and indicates by the door every hour or two. 

She _kind of_ had house training? She lived with two grown GSDs that were housebroken. Their house had a doggy door, so she had free access to in/outside. I don't know too much beyond that though, including if she had accidents inside, or how often she took herself outside to potty


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## Sonny1984 (Oct 25, 2021)

tinkerbelle898 said:


> Do you have advice on how to elongate the time? Like, should I prevent her physically (with a leash) from getting to the backyard door to prevent her from indicating? I worry that if she indicates and I ignore her, she will stop indicating/peeing inside again. She just gets up from whatever she is doing and indicates by the door every hour or two.
> 
> She _kind of_ had house training? She lived with two grown GSDs that were housebroken. Their house had a doggy door, so she had free access to in/outside. I don't know too much beyond that though, including if she had accidents inside, or how often she took herself outside to potty


You can’t tell if she’s indicating to go out for fun or indicating to pee. You’re rewarding both, and she’ll probably pee in either case anyways. Using a leash would almost certainly be more frustrating than a crate.


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

Sonny1984 said:


> You can’t tell if she’s indicating to go out for fun or indicating to pee. You’re rewarding both, and she’ll probably pee in either case anyways. Using a leash would almost certainly be more frustrating than a crate.


I truly don't think she's indicating to go out for fun, I have a front door that we go out of when we go into the car for trips and for park/normal walks, and a backyard door that only goes to our backyard, where we never do any "fun" things for. It is always a 4 ft leash, no sniffing, 5 minutes max outside. I go to the same pee/potty spot and she gets a 4 foot radius and 5 minutes to do whatever she needs to do. If she does it under 5 minutes (usually the case), I give her a treat, go back inside, then give her a toy to play with inside. She only indicates by the backyard door 

Agreed that her outing on a leash into the backyard is less fun than her crate, though.


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## Sonny1984 (Oct 25, 2021)

If she’s indicating at the backdoor and that’s the routine, just give it time. Sounds like she’s doing great. She’ll get more confident holding indoors slowly but surely. It sounds like she’s really trying to go outside.


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## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

tinkerbelle898 said:


> Do you have advice on how to elongate the time? Like, should I prevent her physically (with a leash) from getting to the backyard door to prevent her from indicating? I worry that if she indicates and I ignore her, she will stop indicating/peeing inside again. She just gets up from whatever she is doing and indicates by the door every hour or two.
> 
> She _kind of_ had house training? She lived with two grown GSDs that were housebroken. Their house had a doggy door, so she had free access to in/outside. I don't know too much beyond that though, including if she had accidents inside, or how often she took herself outside to potty


No, if she's indicating and you have to take her out every two hours, that's a huge leap over where you were two weeks ago. I'd accept that for now and run with it. I'm not a fan of the bells though for that reason; wouldn't be the first dog to figure out that constantly ringing that little bell thing gets you let out to the interesting place ....

I'd bet she wasn't as house trained as you were told or minus the open access to the outdoors (doggy door) she was a bit confused as to how to exit and started going indoors. You treat her like a puppy since she's relatively new to you and take her out more often than you think she needs to. Then she starts indicating at the door that she wants/needs out. That should naturally lengthen as here potty regimen settles in. I'd look at here as a few months younger than she is as far as house training is concerned but with the ability to catch up quick and act her age.

I'm actually pretty thrilled for you compared to reading the early thread. How's the COVID treating you?


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## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

If she's indicating at the door...DO NOT, absolutely DO NOT put her in her crate!! You don't want to undo what you've achieved, which is her doing that instead of peeing on the rug!

The time to crate her might be after she comes back inside from a successful trip outdoors - including praise, treats, party time for doing what she was supposed to.

And agree with giving her something to keep her busy in her crate - bully stick, toy stuffed with treats, etc.


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

WNGD said:


> No, if she's indicating and you have to take her out every two hours, that's a huge leap over where you were two weeks ago. I'd accept that for now and run with it. I'm not a fan of the bells though for that reason; wouldn't be the first dog to figure out that constantly ringing that little bell thing gets you let out to the interesting place ....
> 
> I'd bet she wasn't as house trained as you were told or minus the open access to the outdoors (doggy door) she was a bit confused as to how to exit and started going indoors. You treat her like a puppy since she's relatively new to you and take her out more often than you think she needs to. Then she starts indicating at the door that she wants/needs out. That should naturally lengthen as here potty regimen settles in. I'd look at here as a few months younger than she is as far as house training is concerned but with the ability to catch up quick and act her age.
> 
> I'm actually pretty thrilled for you compared to reading the early thread. How's the COVID treating you?


Thanks for asking  I am about 80% better from COVID, but do have residual headaches, and cough. That said, I am still on some pretty heavy steroid drugs to keep my lung inflammation down, so I do not feel _good_, but I am functional now. Able to take her on walks, drive, cook, etc. 

I totally agree, she has done a lot better than before! Though I anticipate she will have some more accidents, this is the longest stretch she's gone without peeing inside, and that is great. I will take this over the annoyance of taking her outside every 1-2 hours. But - shooting for the stars here - I would like my goal to not have to take her outside this frequently. Ideal for me would be every 4 hours under non-vigorous out of crate time. 

I just don't know how to extend her time from 1-2 hours to 3-4. She holds it fine in the crate, and I've come to realize she ONLY likes peeing in our backyard. Today she was crated for 4 hours. Usually, I take her right into the backyard to pee. Today instead, I took her straight to the front door and onto our park walk for an hour. I was shocked she didn't pee during the park walk, I even told her to "go potty!" and nothing. She waited until we came back into the backyard. So, physically, it appears she can hold it fine 

I agree, it's hard to figure out how potty trained she was, both with and without dog door access.


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## tinkerbelle898 (5 mo ago)

Sunsilver said:


> If she's indicating at the door...DO NOT, absolutely DO NOT put her in her crate!! You don't want to undo what you've achieved, which is her doing that instead of peeing on the rug!
> 
> The time to crate her might be after she comes back inside from a successful trip outdoors - including praise, treats, party time for doing what she was supposed to.
> 
> And agree with giving her something to keep her busy in her crate - bully stick, toy stuffed with treats, etc.


Yeah... I'm worried about un-doing this cue, and going back to her peeing on the carpet again. But I want to learn how to not "give in" to her every time she indicates by the door, if I want her to learn to hold it a bit longer inside. I crate her for 4 hours at a time and she doesn't seem distressed (to potty), so this problem seems solely when she is outside her crate. Even if her time outside the crate is sitting on the floor, watching tv with us. No running, playing, etc - which I do understand makes them potty more.


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## Springbrz (Aug 13, 2013)

What I would do at this point is take her out to pee. Bring her in and set an alarm for you for 1 hr 45 minutes. Crate her when the alarm goes off for 30 minutes. Let her out of the crate and take her outside or see if she goes to the door on her own. That has her going 2 hrs and 15 minutes between pee breaks. I would do this for a few day to a week. Then I would up adjust the timing. Set your alarm for 2 hrs then crate for 30 minutes then outside. Now you are up to 2.5 hours between pee breaks. Does that make sense. If it works out eventually you practice phasing out the crate time if you don't need or want to crate her. It will take time. I think so far you are doing fantastic!


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