# House Breaking Troubles



## MK1992 (Jan 9, 2021)

Hello everyone!
I'm new here, and new to owning a GSD and training a puppy for living inside, so forgive any ignorance for the duration of this post.
I'm having some major issues house breaking and I need some help from experienced owners.
We kinda stumbled into getting our puppy, a female we named Arya, when my wife and I went into a local pet store on the 22nd of December. Conditions for puppies in pet stores break my heart, and against better judgement we brought home a 15 week old GSD puppy. Now, after nearly 3 weeks, she is still going in the house. She showed alot of progression in the first 2 weeks, with accidents becoming less and less, but now, we still have 2 or 3 accidents a day. There's no warning, no whining, and the only way we know is when its happening is when she squats. It usually happens in a specific spot, and we do our best to scrub the area to remove scent. Here is all the pertinent info about her day I can think of.
-We feed 3 times a day. 7am, 12pm, 6pm
-Water is available all day long due to our older dog who is used to having it. (Our other dog is a 5yr whippet/pit who is house broken and hasnt had an accident in years)
-We take her out at wake up, 20 mins after meals, right before bed, middle of the night, and periodically throughout the day.
-Just this week, I started taking her around the house on the leash on the recommendation of a trainer, but she doesn't always want to go while on leash.
-We have had poop accidents too, though not as many as pee accidents, but the lead up is just as quiet.
-Sometimes she digs in the water bowl.

After 3 weeks of trying, I honestly thought she would be letting us know to take her out, but here we are. Today I removed the water bowl after breakfast in fear that I'm letting her have too much water and that was causing the problem, but now she's looking for it and whining. I need help, and I appreciate anyone who can guide me in this endeavour.


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

step one would be reviewing this chart...








House Training Flowchart







www.germanshepherds.com




the battle for you however is going to be substantially harder since acquiring her from a pet store where they essentially learn that it’s ok to relieve where they live and sleep due to the cramped quarters. not to mention these pups typically come from environments that are just as bad if not worse and those first lessons in hygiene come from the directly from dam herself.


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## MK1992 (Jan 9, 2021)

Fodder said:


> step one would be reviewing this chart...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I appreciate the chart, and even without it, we have followed that pattern pretty closely. And I agree with your assessment regarding the bad conditions at the pet store. Honestly, that was part of the pity problem that found her at our house that night. But now I'm not sure what to do to keep her focus on going outside and alerting us.


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## Buckelke (Sep 4, 2019)

We're still struggling with Duke so I hear you. There are a few things you can try. First would be putting her on a schedule. Get her up around the same time every day and take her out. Because that's usually a busy time, take her out an hour or so later when you have time to spend walking her. Eat your lunch, then take her out. She's still young and probably needs to go out frequently, probably every two hours. feed her at the same time every day. Scold her verbally when she goes in the house. immedicately take her out and praise her lavishly when she goes outside. At night she needs to be contained, either in a secure area or - as much as I hate them - a crate. It sounds like maybe you are making the most common mistake when you clean up her messes if she keeps going back to the same spot - DO NOT use products that contain ammonia. I'm using PineSol and a deterent spray. Ammonia just draws her back to the same spot - it smells like urine. There are products at the pet store to clean with that remove the smell. She does want to please you, she's just having a tough time learning what you want. And she is physically underdeveloped so perhaps she just can't hold it quite yet. Give her time and be persistant. Meanwhile, you have a puppy and cleaning up after them is part of the deal.


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## Buckelke (Sep 4, 2019)

yes, I liked the chart, too. But sometimes we don't speak 'dog' so we miss the signals. For example, Duke goes to the door and cries to go out. No problem. But he also goes to the door and cries because he's sure (the cat) (another dog) (a deer) (who knows?) is in the yard.


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## MK1992 (Jan 9, 2021)

Unfortunately she wont go to the door at all. Another issue is her drinking water constantly. Like she hasn't drank in days. Our other dog is twice her size and doesnt drink like that. It may be something to ask her vet about, but I wonder if anyone else has the same issue.


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

Buckelke said:


> yes, I liked the chart, too. But sometimes we don't speak 'dog' so we miss the signals. For example, Duke goes to the door and cries to go out. No problem. But he also goes to the door and cries because he's sure (the cat) (another dog) (a deer) (who knows?) is in the yard.


this is why i don’t teach or reward indicating... prefer to train the bladder, not the dog. dog at the door means diarrhea at my house.

anyway, one word of caution in regards to scolding dogs for relieving.... depending on the temperament of the dog, it could then make them anxious/reluctant/fearful to relieve in your presence which is problematic if you need them to go on leash.


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## Buckelke (Sep 4, 2019)

_anyway, one word of caution in regards to scolding dogs for relieving.... depending on the temperament of the dog, it could then make them anxious/reluctant/fearful to relieve in your presence which is problematic if you need them to go on leash. _

NOTHING bothers Duke. He's a big, silly, happy, tail wagging disaster area. He takes getting yelled at as attention. It think that's why its been so hard to convince him to go out. He just doesn't care, its all good. He's a real, "I pooped on the floor, lets's get a snack" kind of dog. And he certainly has no problem lifting his leg right in front of me. Then he gives me that, 'what? the chair needed marking' look and wags his tail. I'm afraid Duke is a VERY charming screw up.


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

@Buckelke 
general word of caution and food for thought for anyone else reading. i’ve seen it happen otherwise i wouldn’t have mentioned it. glad you’ve got an unflappable guy that you enjoy


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## JunoVonNarnia (Apr 8, 2020)

I had a really hard time training Juno. I got her at 11 weeks and she peed and pooped inside the house. I can't even describe it. It was crazy and I felt wholly inadequate: I mean how hard is it to housetrain a GSD? Right?

it took about 2 months, so I hear your pain. 

I eventually resorted to writing her pees and poops down, and I would take her out every hour, in addition to after every nap, feed, play session. So that means she would be outside for pee breaks about 16 - 18x a day!

I think it's because she was the runt, she was a bit delayed. She came from a reputable breeder. I suspect that she did not fully empty her bladder. She just went enough to take the pressure off.

So I put her on a schedule, which was pee, play, crate 45 minutes, outside for a pee. It helped. Things improved in about 3 weeks. First she was peeing everywhere, then she would move toward the door and not make it. We went from 7 accidents a day to three a day, only pee ones. Then I just kept at it with the schedule. She woke up one morning and decided she was housetrained. She's kinda like that, one morning, she wakes up and decides: ok, from now on, I know how to sit or crawl or whatever.

Juno also drank a lot of water, way more than my ACD/hound rescue. She is now 13 months and still drinks a lot. I think she drinks 5x as much he does. That may be normal, she is way more active than he is, seems to run hotter (pants more than he does), and eats at least 2x as much he does. My rule was no water after 8 pm when she was a puppy. About 2 weeks after I got her, she learned to sleep though the night in her crate. I kept her on a leash and trained her with go pee-pee and go potty. But she spent a lot of time sniffing around in the snow in freezing temperatures in the middle of the night. It was so annoying and sometimes, I said enough and went back inside and she would pee right inside the front door. 

I don't think what you're experiencing is that unusual. Some pups take longer than others. I was discouraged with all those stories of folks who had housetrained their puppy in a day. Some folks recommend leaving a bit of old poop lying around in the yard, so the dog knows it can go.

It may help to tether her to you and to feed her in different parts of the house, so Arya learns that all of the house is part of her den. You could also try a crate, so pee, followed by play, sometime outside the crate, then the crate and then outside to pee. I often made the mistake of looking at Juno, trying to figure out if she needed to go, and while I was thinking, she would go (!) When in doubt, take her out.

PS Juno also dug her water bowl (and my house plants) which was adorable. She doesn't do that anymore.


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## Xyla2020 (Jan 9, 2021)

JunoVonNarnia said:


> I had a really hard time training Juno. I got her at 11 weeks and she peed and pooped inside the house. I can't even describe it. It was crazy and I felt wholly inadequate: I mean how hard is it to housetrain a GSD? Right?
> 
> it took about 2 months, so I hear your pain.
> 
> ...


We have a female named Xyla who is almost 15 weeks. She seemed to learn potty training pretty quick.....maybe a couple lil pees in the bedroom (just out of excitement). One thing I noticed on your post (which I also practice faithfully) and find extremely helpful is writing down all pees and poos made throughout the day. This is beneficial and a helpful tool to learn the potty visits of your pup.


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

JunoVonNarnia said:


> So that means she would be outside for pee breaks about 16 - 18x a day!


This is what should be happening. Eyes on or in a crate at all times. Outside if there is any question.
The problem with house training is that people let accidents happen and then it becomes a habit that you need to un teach.
Puppies in my house have ample play and cuddle time but freedom is earned.


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## JunoVonNarnia (Apr 8, 2020)

@Sabis mom 
I know this now but I did not know it then. 

Sometimes I want to get a puppy just to see if I can housetrain better this time. (I'm not going to any time soon).


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## finn'smom (Oct 4, 2019)

They're all a little different, I housetrained a Corso puppy in a few days... he rang the bell on the door faithfully when he needed out until the day he died. He was always the dog who would sneak though, as a grown up with freedoms in the house if I was too far from the bell to hear it then I'd be cleaning up a mess. Follow up puppy, GSD.. that little **** raiser was not getting it, seemed like a battle I wasn't going to win ever. I tried the bell like with the Corso - GSD puppy thought it was a great play toy to try pulling a door off the hinges but never would ring it to get out. I simply kept at it, and considered buying shares in paper towel companies ... Then one day, seemingly out of nowhere, he knew the drill. Finn will try to physically pull me out of bed or off of a couch if he needs out now and I'm not moving as quickly as his bladder - never would ring a bell but will not make a mess in the house. I was simply consistent - always presumed if there was a mess in the house it was my fault so he wasn't ever punished but if I caught him I'd interrupt him and carry him to where he could finish and then we'd throw a party for him. We were in and out what seemed like a million times somedays. I'm also reasonably certain my neighbours think I'm crazy for all the dance parties in the yard when he got it right. He is a rockstar at house training now, we still have a small celebration anytime he asks to go out without my prompting - my neighbours now all know I have a "GOOOOOOOOOD BOOOOOOOIIIIIIIIIIII"...


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## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

OP you have an 18 week old puppy (could/should be house trained weeks ago) that spent the first 15 weeks of his life learning to go pee inside in a pet store cage....

As someone said, the pup needs to be in a crate for every hour you aren't directly playing/engaging with her. But play/engage with her a lot. Tether her to you when she's out. 

A dog that age can hold her bladder for 6 hours easy but now you need to take her out every hour, hour and a half at least. Make her go outside by default since your always out there lol. Set her up for success, celebrate her successes like she just cured cancer and understand that any accidents from this point on is your fault....

I'm one of those idiots that has a dog house trained in a few days/week tops and my latest only had three accidents in the house total (all my fault) and one was within 2 minutes of bringing him home.

It's seldom more than being very persistent and attentive.


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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

Here are tips from someone who had it all figured out, down pat, what a breeze, what are people complaining about and then along came dog #10, puppy #5. One year. It took one #45 year... yup it did.

So, if kiddo is drinking constantly that must mean kiddo has house freedom all the time. Stop it.
If kiddo doesn't go outside on leash, she comes in and gets put in a crate. If human persists in letting dog be free on toilet break, human needs to stay out until dog uses the toilet break for which it was intended. (yeah, if you're in the northern hemisphere that's just the news you want right now...)
In house, out of crate time needs to be limited and monitored.

And if you've been doing all that, see the first paragraph to this advise....  

[right now I am so happy to have something like this to talk about... yup. we all need dog issues right now.)


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## JunoVonNarnia (Apr 8, 2020)

@middleofnowhere 
Ok that makes me feel better. Thanks for sharing.

I struggled, sure I made a ton of mistakes and then we had to unlearn stuff.


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## Kathrynil (Dec 2, 2019)

When Kias was young I would take him out every 45 minutes to use the bathroom. Otherwise he was in his crate or right beside me. There was no room for accidents. The only two times he went inside I made a huge deal over it, ran him outside, and let him finish out there. Then I really praised him. He was house trained in a couple weeks with only two accidents in between. For the times he went inside, I used Rocco and Roxie stain remover, which completely removes every bit of the odor.








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## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

If you haven't stood outside half dressed in the dark, freezing cold in the middle of the night waiting for what seems like an eternity for your puppy to finally pee instead of wander off sniffing absolutely anything and everything, while avoiding the only thing you want him to do.....you're not doing house breaking properly


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## Jorski (Jan 11, 2019)

Okay, puppies need water. They do not need unlimited access to water.
They will need to pee within 10 minutes of drinking.
I never allow water after 8:00pm.
When my pups are learning house breaking, they get water with their meals. They get water after playing or when hot.
The minute they do drink, I know that the pee clock has started.
They also do not need to empty the water bowl. Some puppies just love drinking and haven't learned when they have had enough.


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## finn'smom (Oct 4, 2019)

WNGD said:


> If you haven't stood outside half dressed in the dark, freezing cold in the middle of the night waiting for what seems like an eternity for your puppy to finally pee instead of wander off sniffing absolutely anything and everything, while avoiding the only thing you want him to do.....you're not doing house breaking properly


That is so true... few nights ago .. winter and snow and ice, in flip flops, pj shorts and hoodie standing on my front step with a long line for the last pee break of the night.. I see a police car go by the end of my street, brake and reverse then drive toward my house .. "uh hi, no he's not loose or alone sorry but he has to pee and I'm not really dressed" at least they were going to try and catch the stray


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

finn'smom said:


> That is so true... few nights ago .. winter and snow and ice, in flip flops, pj shorts and hoodie standing on my front step with a long line for the last pee break of the night.. I see a police car go by the end of my street, brake and reverse then drive toward my house .. "uh hi, no he's not loose or alone sorry but he has to pee and I'm not really dressed" at least they were going to try and catch the stray


Canadian fashion statement, bathrobe and skidoo boots at 2am! Lol.


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## jarn (Jul 18, 2007)

Sabis mom said:


> Canadian fashion statement, bathrobe and skidoo boots at 2am! Lol.


When we go up to Oxtongue Lake (outside of Algonquin) in the winters, it can be -30C, if it's the morning, I'm going out with the dogs in a sweatshirt, shorts, and boots.


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## finn'smom (Oct 4, 2019)

Sabis mom said:


> Canadian fashion statement, bathrobe and skidoo boots at 2am! Lol.


I feel like this is a Canadian rite of passage, if you've not taken your dog out horribly under dressed in winter weather you're missing something! Some days I even pull a toque on in lieu of proper pants and boots.


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## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

jarn said:


> When we go up to Oxtongue Lake (outside of Algonquin) in the winters, it can be -30C, if it's the morning, I'm going out with the dogs in a sweatshirt, shorts, and boots.


I've been to Oxtongue Lodge there. Nice area.


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## Shefali (Aug 12, 2020)

Do you keep her in a crate? 

Immediately after you take her out of her crate, take her outside and wait. The moment she does her business, praise her tons. Do this consistently every single time. You might need to set an alarm for a few days and get up in the middle of the night to make sure she gets enough pee breaks. 

Don't scold her when she has an accident because she might be motivated to hide accidents, as she is becoming fearful. 

I think it's really tough with a pet store dog but I think you'll be able to get this figured out. She's lucky to have a safe home with you.


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## GSDnoob23 (Jan 8, 2021)

WNGD said:


> If you haven't stood outside half dressed in the dark, freezing cold in the middle of the night waiting for what seems like an eternity for your puppy to finally pee instead of wander off sniffing absolutely anything and everything, while avoiding the only thing you want him to do.....you're not doing house breaking properly


OH MY WORD this is SO true!! I thought i was the only one going thru this...i LOL'd reading this. And throw snow in the mix - Lay down, sniff, eat snow, sniff, lay down, chew leash, repeat....then pee 
I was very lucky, my girl picked up going potty outside real quick, still has occasional accidents when super tired, playing and always when super excited when she sees the kids! my breeder always had lights out in their area at bedtime, so she's been amazing at bedtime, blows my mind she can go 8-9 hours some nights w no mess in crate, hasn't had one in the 8 weeks i've had her...such a blessing


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## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

GSDnoob23 said:


> OH MY WORD this is SO true!! I thought i was the only one going thru this...i LOL'd reading this. And throw snow in the mix - Lay down, sniff, eat snow, sniff, lay down, chew leash, repeat....then pee
> I was very lucky, my girl picked up going potty outside real quick, still has occasional accidents when super tired, playing and always when super excited when she sees the kids! my breeder always had lights out in their area at bedtime, so she's been amazing at bedtime, blows my mind she can go 8-9 hours some nights w no mess in crate, hasn't had one in the 8 weeks i've had her...such a blessing


Yup my latest pup slept through the night at 10 weeks and only ever had three accidents in the house (all my fault), never in the crate. I took him out once per night for a few weeks but he had a mentor show him it was just pee time and back inside.

The first nights when you first get up to pee yourself in the night and they don't get up to out ....Heaven!


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

I also select one area of my yard that is for toileting. And per Sabi's rules it's the furthest point from the house, because she was polite. So here's me, in a bathrobe and skidoo boots, tramping through the snow to the corner, carrying a puppy-because I always carry crate to corner for the first week or so, standing in the wind wondering if I am crazy, waiting for puppy to go pee.
Tips from a crazy woman-wear something under the bathrobe because wind goes right on up under, get a short enough robe to not drag in the snow, SHOVEL A PATH and make sure the liners in the boots are straight before you go to bed because it's really hard to fix them with an armful of puppy and flip flops suck in the snow.


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## dojoson41 (Oct 14, 2018)

MK1992 said:


> Hello everyone!
> I'm new here, and new to owning a GSD and training a puppy for living inside, so forgive any ignorance for the duration of this post.
> I'm having some major issues house breaking and I need some help from experienced owners.
> We kinda stumbled into getting our puppy, a female we named Arya, when my wife and I went into a local pet store on the 22nd of December. Conditions for puppies in pet stores break my heart, and against better judgement we brought home a 15 week old GSD puppy. Now, after nearly 3 weeks, she is still going in the house. She showed alot of progression in the first 2 weeks, with accidents becoming less and less, but now, we still have 2 or 3 accidents a day. There's no warning, no whining, and the only way we know is when its happening is when she squats. It usually happens in a specific spot, and we do our best to scrub the area to remove scent. Here is all the pertinent info about her day I can think of.
> ...


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## dojoson41 (Oct 14, 2018)

my pup is 7 months and she still goes in her cage at times no matter what I have tried/training or done- I dont like to give her food/water after 4pm. I have found this with the other females I have had but never the males-so is this a female thing that they just go more(LOL like us women). this is my 5th GSD/8th dog in my life time.


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## Blancober (Apr 12, 2021)

You should seek the help of a veterinarian. It's just that her behavior can be influenced by a large number of different factors. For example, your dog may lack space or lack your attention. Try to observe her behavior during the day. I had problems with my dog two years ago. The slightest fright could have made her pee. I had to contact niftytilecleaning.com.au 3-4 times a week. I just couldn't get the awful smell out of the carpet myself. I went to the vet for help, and it turned out that my dog just didn't have enough attention.


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