I am really strugling with my seven month old puppy. I have tried crate training with no joy. I get up in the middle of the night to let him out and he stall manages to do it all over the kitchen. When we were crate training he was doing it in his crate and was only left for approx three hours at the most. We feed him his last feed at approx five oclock and he goes out immediatly before we go to bed. Our first dog was nothing like this and could hold it in till morning by the age of four and a half months. I dont mind if it is an accident every now and then but I am waking up to a kitchen with at least three or four poos and big puddles. My girlfriend is getting sick of it and constantly complains about the smell, as I am the one who wanted the dog and not her.

What breed of puppy and how big is the crate?  What other methods are you using to toilet train and what do you (and your girlfriend) do when you find a mess?

A great dane. Cage was big enough for pup to lie down and turn around in. When find a mess, show him what he has done and put him outside. At the moment we are getting up in the night to let him out but he is still doing it.most of the time when we come down to let him out he has allready done one or two.

What are you feeding him on? that seems to be an awful lot of poos to be doing, maybe his food isnt right for him.  Have you had him checked by a vet, there could be something medically wrong with him.

Claire :)

Why do you show him what he's done?  I suspect by the time you get to it, he's forgotten he has any link with it - so your behaviour is irrational to him, which may well be adding to his stress, and in turn adding to his need to seek relief by relieving himself in the house.........

As a pup do you remember where he and his litter mates were kept?  Did they have access to a seperate toileting area - away from the bed area with a different substrate?

all the pups were born in doors untill they could be feed solids,once they were on solids they were put into an out door heated keenal.the run of the outside of the kennal was full of sawdust.they are both feed on skinners field and trial,he did hav a problem with giardia when he was 15 weeks he lost a lot of weight.

To me, there seems a need to go back to basics with toilet training.  Is his poo runny for firm and pick-upable?  I know that danes produce much more than a terrier but it may be that his current diet doesn't suit.  He will be getting strange messages from you if you reprimand him in any way after the event.  Follow him as you did when he was a pup and give lots of praise.  Do you walk him regularly?  Does he have a walk to empty his bowels before you put him to bed?  Or do you just send him into the garden on his own?

Are you convinced it is the young dog who is responsible as I see from previous posts you have two dogs?

I am sure someone will come along and offer more advice but if it isn't working with what you are doing, then go back to basics. 

he is allways walked in the morning befor i go to work and last thing at night for about 15 mins.regards is it my younger one i have been thinking this but my girlfriend is convinced it is the younger one.The poos are not solid but a little bit loose,every time i let him out i always stay out with him and when he does somthing i give him a big fuss.i have been doing this since he was 10 weeks old.i am no vet but his stools have never been the same since he had giardia

To be honest, you need to go right back to basics. Some danes are less smart than others and some pick it up a lot slower than others. He sounds to me like he either hasn't quite got the idea or he is on a food that is really upsetting him.

Have you considered the diet I told you about? Burns is very good for firming them up. I always thought the breeders dogs looked a little loose on skinners - not very compact and easy to pick up.

He is also doing a LOT through the night which indicates that he is expelling a lot of bulkage food that he doesn't need.

What do you do with him in the day to reinforce things?

when bailey (westie) was 6 months I returned to work left at 5am back by 10am kids and hubby still in the house. When he left to drop them at school he returned to poo everywhere this went on for days he just didn't like being alone. We caged him while at school and this stopped he grew out of it within a couple of weeks it drove us mad hope you get it sorted out.

I am currently caring for a puppy until she can get to her new family (long story) and when she arrived here she had the runs. She was hardly house trained, an absolute nightmare when out in the garden for toilet time and had seperation anxiety.
After 2 weeks we are half way there with her toilet training and this is what we have done so far. (a little long winded so i applolgise in advance) :
We put her onto chicken and biled rice under vets instruction for 3 days to settle her tummy. On the third day we began adding her puppy food to the mix so as to slowly introduce normal food to her. At the same time as weaning her onto dog food again we started her on Autarky puppy rather than the Bakers she had been used to previously, Tis was ok'd by the vet too.
Now she has very nice wee poo's that i can pick up easily.

At night time i began leaving her in her bed with a small ampunt of food stuffed into a small Kong, taken from her daily amount of food so as not to be over feeding her. I also left a radio with her tuned to a chat channel so she could hear voices. She would settle down to her kong within about 5 minutes and be quiet all night until 7 am.

Her house training was hardly started as she had been allowed to sleep in the bedroom at her previous home. So, down into the kitchen she went on the very first night with us, in a crate with a puppy pen around it (i had this left from my last litter). Newspaper all over the place, door to crate open and a nice snuggly cushion in the crate for her to lie on. Through the day she gets run of the house, fed 4 times a day and the back door left open for her. no accidents. At night she will not poo as she knows at 7.05 am she gets out for the rest of the day as and when she pleases.

It is all about routine with pups, be they 5 weeks or 15 months. Once they know what to expect they soon settle and learn to do things at the correct times.
Just start again, with a new routine and you'll soon get there. Good luck and i hope at least something in this ever so long winded reply helps, be it only changing the food or buying a kong too keep his mind off making a mess lol.
GM

thanks for all your replies. I started with crate training as I have said but I will try again! Regarding diet I will look into Burns and maybee see if it makes a difference. the only thing that is getting me down is i have tried my best but it didnt work.i dont think i could have done it any diffrent to make it better,just hope now he is older he might catch on soon???????

Im sure you have done everything in your power for him, maby he's just a slow learner?
I dont have GD's myself, never have so i couldnt say. Not every dog learns at the same rate, just like children. Keep it up, you are obviously dedicated enough to have come here to ask for further help.
I hope you find the solution soon, for your sanity's and his confidences sakes.
TC
GM

Don't worry - these setbacks happen. I do think that he is suffering from his diet though to do as much as he is and it might help you to try a different diet - because if that works and he catches on straight away and goes clean you can stop doubting yourself so much! :)

Stewarrier

A lot of people have given some good advice on dealing with your problem so I won't repeat what's already been said.  But, perhaps there is something else you should bear in mind.  You said at the end of your first posting that you wanted the dog and your girlfriend did not and this 'house training' problem is becoming an issue between you.  That may also have a bearing on your dog's behaviour.  Some dogs are more sensitive to their environment than others and can be greatly affected by any emotional tension/undercurrent around the home. 

In addition to making some changes to diet, establishing a good routine etc. try to promote a very calm atmosphere within the home.  Make no issue of any 'messes' you find - just clean them up with a minimum of fuss and continue to praise your dog when he performs outside where you want him to.