7 Month old pup-I'm failing to potty train. - Page 2

Gabby once a dog soils an area it is hard to get the scent out, so they continue to soil that same area. You mention in your first post your house smells... maybe try to get the carpets professionally cleaned and clean the crate as good as you can. Then keep trying. This pup does sound like a hard case... you are a saint for trying this long.

Maybe try treats only for good potty time for a while and not other things. and maybe a new crate. hope this helps.

it don't think it has been mentioned in the other posts... a schedule of feeding & watering is VERY helpful in the housebreaking process. no water within 2 hours of your bedtime; give an ice cube or 2 if the pup is very thirsty. feed on a regular schedule. at 7 months you can feed once or twice a day (i feed all dogs twice a day after four months, 3 times a day from 7 weeks to 4 months) are you free-feeding? giving access to water all the time? usually by 7 months you *could* do these things, but if the dog's not house-broken, keep her on a puppy's routine: food & water on a schedule. good luck & don't give up.

I clean up after her every time. She's now in a folding crate so it can be hosed down. She doesn't care and will lay where she pees. She's used to baths now too. I also use novolsan to mop up the floor and natures miracle to clean up after her. The pup just doesn't care she's happy no matter if she's in pee or dry. She's a happy puppy in general. As for feeding her. She gets fed twice a day and is fed Innova Healthwise Lamb and Rice. Water is taken away at 5pm every evening. Thanks for all your suggestions. Gabby

Sounds just like our Malinois pup. Just doesn't care, ours ate her poop too until we used Forbid, thank God that at least stopped.

i have 2 adults with this problem. they were raised in a dirty kennel facility and sold repeatedly because of soiling issues. i got grates for crates tn keep them dry and clean. we are working with a schedule of 30 mins in crate then out til they go after they go loose time in house and 30 mins crate time again. when i cannot let them out regularly, they are kenneled with dri dek to keep em dry. the mort important part is keeping them clean and dry.

Hi Gabby - sounds frustrating! It's probably stating the obvious, but this isn't a normal pattern in housetraining. At this age and for how long you've been keeping at this schedule you have to consider that something is standing in the way of her success - either mental or physical. What is she eating? Have you done a full blood screen? Do you see any strange behaviors beside this? Was she spayed? One of the biggest things beside possible health problems is the fact that she may have gone through the most impacting period in her potty training being allowed to relieve herself in her crate. If that is truly the case you're probably facing a lifelong battle of trying to undo those three months and success at this is hard won. I would consider taking the crate away for a while - as this is what she seems to be considering the 'correct' place to go to the bathroom and you don't want her to have that opportunity. You're doing a great job of not allowing her to have accidents in the house by tethering her, but you have to think that the moment she goes in the crate you're no longer able to control what happens and are leaving the potty training to happenstance. I'd personally stop the rewards for going into the crate for now, too. If she's steadily having accidents in the crate you can't be sure that you're not rewarding her behavior inadvertently.

Do you feed her in the crate?

Vets have checked her out for everything. Blood work, urine and fecal tests all negative. She is not spayed, she will be eventually, I asked this here a few months back and I'll wait until she's at least 2 years old before I spay her. I do not feed her in a crate. I try to limit the crate to when I'm gone or at night when we all go to bed. She used to eat her poop but I haven't noticed her doing that nasty habit lately. Usually poops, smells it and off to play. I clean it up after she's gone in the house. I will stop the treats. She sleeps next to my older female and a younger female on the other side of the older one. All get along together so I don't think she's intimitaed by either older girls. Shes just so quiet, she gives no clues she needs to go out. I just keep a watchful eye on her and let her out a lot. Maybe she's got me pegged. I just know it's looking more and more like she's heading outside if I can't find some way to fix this issue. Thanks, Gabby

A couple of suggestions. Is her crate too large? Puppies like to have a nice den like feeling to feel secure. Also, you have to realize that active pups will need to go a lot, sleeping pups not much, so when she has been playing and running around take her out at least every hour. When she has an accident, you should ignore it when the pup can see and not draw any attention to it and certainly not "correct" her. Just take her outside and let her do her business and praise and treat her when she does and clean up with a good odor neutralizer when she is not around. Just some things that have worked for me. Good luck