# Lots of issues, Need Help!!!



## Planofootball09 (Feb 9, 2015)

Well I have a 7 month old female german Shepherd named Sadie, who is pure bred. I bought the dog when she was approximately 8 1/2 weeks old. For the first few weeks I had lots of issues with her going to the bathroom inside, which I knew from previous experience was due to the dogs age, bladder size and lack of training. I immediately began crate training, and after about 6-8 weeks I saw a noticeable improvement with her accidents only occurring every few days. The last month or so however, I have seen a major increase in the amount of accidents of both poop and pee while inside her crate. It is important to include in here that during the holiday season, I traveled with my GSD and while away from my house I did observe any accidents at all. Last week I had been told from a friend who trained their own GSD that theirs did not enjoy the crate, so anytime he was in there, he would have accidents, however when left out and able to roam, he was fine. Due to the information I tried that today, and had good luck this morning, however while gone for about 4 hours this afternoon, my GSD peed inside twice, both in spots that I have repeatedly cleaned with Enzyme cleaner. 

:help: Does anyone know what I may need to do in order to get to her stop using the living room floor as a bathroom?:help: 

Secondly, my GSD is going through a destruction phase, which I have also heard is common when they are approximately 6 months to a year. Daily she attempts to grab items off the kitchen counter to tear up. Today while left out of her crate(hoping to fix the potty issue), in the morning she tore up toy bin while I was gone at work(which i cleaned up when I returned home), and then a cardboard box and napkins in the afternoon(after returning to work). 

:help: Is there something I can do to prevent her from being a total terror and ruining everything? I have tried spraying bitter sprays to prevent this, however she seems to actually enjoy the spray. Am I doing something wrong? :help:

Any help on these issues would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.


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## Ace GSD (May 30, 2014)

Planofootball09 said:


> Well I have a 7 month old female german Shepherd named Sadie, who is pure bred. I bought the dog when she was approximately 8 1/2 weeks old. For the first few weeks I had lots of issues with her going to the bathroom inside, which I knew from previous experience was due to the dogs age, bladder size and lack of training. I immediately began crate training, and after about 6-8 weeks I saw a noticeable improvement with her accidents only occurring every few days. The last month or so however, I have seen a major increase in the amount of accidents of both poop and pee while inside her crate. It is important to include in here that during the holiday season, I traveled with my GSD and while away from my house I did observe any accidents at all. Last week I had been told from a friend who trained their own GSD that theirs did not enjoy the crate, so anytime he was in there, he would have accidents, however when left out and able to roam, he was fine. Due to the information I tried that today, and had good luck this morning, however while gone for about 4 hours this afternoon, my GSD peed inside twice, both in spots that I have repeatedly cleaned with Enzyme cleaner.
> 
> :help: Does anyone know what I may need to do in order to get to her stop using the living room floor as a bathroom?:help:
> 
> ...


For the destruction have you been giving him enough mental/physical exercise ?? I live in apartment and i exercise him 2x daily outside fetching/running. When i said exercise i mean i work him out good.


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## Planofootball09 (Feb 9, 2015)

I take her outside, and try to take her on walks, but since i don't have a fenced in back yard, i'm unable to play fetch, as she tends to wander looking for interesting things in the neighbors yard.


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## Bebe56 (Dec 8, 2014)

Planofootball09 said:


> ...as she tends to wander looking for interesting things in the neighbors yard.


have you tried a training cord?
i would use a harness instead of collar with that nad NEVER unsupervised.
http://www.amazon.com/Mendota-Produ...=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1423526580&sr=1-2


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## LoveEcho (Mar 4, 2011)

Keep crating her. Make the crate a happy place, a quiet sanctuary. There is absolutely no way to prevent destruction while you're gone besides crating her. It will also help with the housebreaking relapse, which isn't uncommon if a young dog suddenly has a lot of freedom. How long is she crated for? Dealing with a dirty dog (one who soils their crate) can be tough, but if she hasn't always been like that there may be a simple fix. How big is the crate? 

It doesn't sound like she is getting nearly enough exercise, either. What do you do for obedience training? What's your play time like?


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## car2ner (Apr 9, 2014)

one way to help your pup feel good about the crate, use it now and then even when you are home. That way going to the crate does not mean you are leaving the house. I crated my pup when I swept the floors, dusted and such.


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## Bebe56 (Dec 8, 2014)

Planofootball09 said:


> both in spots that I have repeatedly cleaned with Enzyme cleaner.


maybe that's a good thing...
1st of all, don't trust those cleaners, they help but don't expect miracles... puppy's nose is way more efficient 
If you put some wee-wee pads on those spots, would she go on the pad?

sorry, i never crated my dogs, always use the pads, mostly by the doors. After a month or so i didn't have any problems anymore. Funny, it seems to stop all of the sudden, like something clicked in their little heads


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

We need more information. Could you give a schedule of the dog's life, for example:

5:00AM: wake up and potty outside.
5:15AM: breakfast
5:30AM: potty, pee and poop, then walk to the park 
6:30AM: home, pup runs around while I get ready for work.
6:50AM: One last trip outside, then crated for the morning, I leave for work. 
11:30AM: Mom comes over and takes her for a walk, and lets her potty. 
1:30PM: Mom crates her and goes home. 
4:00PM: I get home, and let her out to potty, then we go for a walk. 
5:00PM: She is regulated by babygate to the kitchen while I get supper ready. 
7:00: she is crated while we eat. 
7:30: she has her dinner, then we go out to potty.
7:45: I put up the food and water dishes, and she can stay in the living room with me, playing with her toys while I watch TV, mess around with the computer
11:00PM: one last trip outside, 
11:10PM: crated for the night next to my bed.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

House training and potty training are training ourselves almost as much as the trainee. Schedules can be very important as the body will get used to eliminating at certain times, and then we only have to make it very pleasant and happy when the pup goes where we want him to. Makes training easy peasy most of the time. But it takes discipline on the part of the owner.


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