Hello everyone
I know house training has been done to death, and I have read a
number of books and spoken to a number of people but mine is a case with a dog that is still weeing in spite of trying out alll advice received to date. Your opinions and advice would be highly appreciated.
I have a 6 month old dog(large breed). I got him at 8 weeks of age and took 3
weeks off work to get him used to being with us. He was started off
in the crate being taken out 1/2 hourly to 1 hourly. He still had
accidents. The crate is 48 inches and is bigger than ideal but when I
tried to make it smaller he wailed pitifully and let him have the
full length (a mistake I now regret). He now has two plastic gravel
trays, lined with newspaper inside the crate and he lies in one and
uses the other to pee in usually. He has been clicker trained and is
happy to go in on command for both poo and pee with different word
for each. He does not normally poo in his cage but occasional
accidents have happened as we all have experienced.
His weeing is another matter....I have never ever been able to
catch him in the act of peeing in his cage. There are times he keeps
the cage clean for 4 hours and other times he does not last more than
30 mins even though he has peed before being put in (always done
before he is put in cage even if he just squeezes out a few drops!). He has been fed in the cage and he always
gets treats when he gets put into the cage, usally has a kong and a chew bone to keep him busy.
I have another dog who is 3 yrs old and perfectly house trained, she has full run of the room, and I would really love to be able to let this lad have freedom to roam about as well, but when tried he peed all over the place. He has
been checked by vets and given clean bill of health, even done blood tests just in case it was one of the rare diseases. I am back to
work and have to crate him for 4-5 hours a day, he gets taken for a long walk and then put in his cage for 4-5 hours, tried having a dog
walker come at 2 hourly interval but it was a hit and miss affair.
I have now come to a point of just giving up; this is the first dog I have had that did not get house trained in 3-4 weeks. There is no
separation anxiety and he also has my other dog in the room for company. All accidents in his cage and tray
gets cleaned out using enzyme containing cleaning products ( Natures)
Is there anything I can do at this late stage? I have used up 3 of my
4 week annual leave and thus cannot take anymore time of in blocks.
The only thing I can get at this point is the weekends.
All useful advice welcome.
Thank you

Sorry its such a long post... but felt if you had all facts it might be easier to help me out.
Thanks

Sorry if I have missed the point, (not unusual)  but as I see it at his age there should be no newspaper or any other toilet aids in the cage, hence the cage is not for peeing in, I know you will probably say that if you dont put it in he will pe every where, I suggest you put a big box in the back of his cage to limit the room and then put his bedding in front. feed him on his bedding or with him in the cage and the food just outside and the door open.  If he winges because of the box, tough, ignore it.  Others will probably come along with different ideas.  Dont give up, something has got twisted in his head in the training, and now you have to eliminate the old associations.  Best of luck

At 6 months I would not call it a resistant case.  It takes about that long for a pup to gain full control of it's bodily functions.  He is a large breed so maturing more slowly physically and mentally.  We also are at a time of year when going outside is not as pleasant.

\\\\\\\\\\Just be consistent and relaxed.  Limit the area he has access to when not supervised and take him out regularly after meals, play eating or sleep, and the Penny will drop eventually.

Hi,

Some dogs don't have full bladder and bowel control even at 6 months, it's probably just taking him a bit longer than it would the average dog, but you will get there.  If you are leaving him in his crate for four to five hours a day and he is a large breed in a 48 ins crate I certainly wouldn't be putting a box or something in to make it any smaller though!  Also with regards to catching him in the act so you can redirect him outside and praise, it would be worth dedicating a weekend to not taking your eyes off him so that you will catch him in the act and can take him outside and then tell him what a good when he finishes out there.

Karen

In my breed I wouldn't expect a pup to be house trained at 6 months. I'm sure your boy will get there when he's physically mature enough to control his bladderfunction. The best way to go is to praise him enormously when he wees outdoors, and completely ignore any accidents indoors. Don't make this a big thing, dogs pick up on this and it makes them insecure, as they can't understand what's worrying us so much.
Good luck,
Karen

Not much more to add,  but I think one of the key things here is the litter tray in his crate. I'm not a bahaviourist and I'm only a year into having my first dog, but I'd guess that by supplying something for him to go in when he's in his crate might be encouraging him to go inside instead of outside.

And take heart. My 15 month old golden, after being perfectly clean (only for about 6 months mind) peed on the dining room floor on Saturday night. :rolleyes: I used to hear some people stories who's dog's were house training in a miraculously short period of time, and look at mine and thing she'd never get it and eventually she did!

Hi I have a 13 week bulldog, i have had him for 2 weeks and i have also taken 3 weeks off work to try and settle him in. I know where you are coming from with the house training. My pup does not care where he pees/poo's at all, and he used to do his business in his crate also, however this was because i had newspaper at one end of the crate so the dog thought he was supposed to use that end as a toilet.  When i thought about it, it made sense, i was sending the dog mixed messages. If i were you i would completley remove the toilet bits and pieces out of his crate, your dog may pee on his blanket but he will notice that this is not nice or comfortable for him so should stop doing it and he will hold it in untill you can take him out (Obvioulsy he cant wait to long)

I have no clue how to help you with training in the house as i am still learning this, my dog does not care at all where he pees/poos.  At the moment i am taking him out approx every hour, or 15 mins after he eats/sleeps, praising him with treats when he goes outside but its still hit and miss, however i am encouraged to know that this is normal and things should improve as he gets older.

Thank you all so much for your replies and suggestions. Sorry for the delay in replying, but was not able to get to the net for a while.
I do appreciate that a larger breed dog matures slowly, but at almost 7 months I think he should have bladder control for longer than 4 hours.
I tried removing all papers and using only the tray  for a week, however it did not work all that happened was that he ended up stinking of pee and happily spreading it all over the house when we got home and let him out. He is a long haired breed and his fur acts like a mop!
at least by confining it to papers in tray in his cage he does have a corner to pee in and pee free area to lie in( I appreciate it is not the best way to help him control it, but I have tried using shorteded cage and forcing him to to either not pee or to be forced to lie in it, and he was just not bothered. He is let out 2 hourly( have reemployed a dog walker for next 3 months) and all he needs to do is hold it for 2 hours. I have decided to just wait until spring and then get an outdor kennel with a run......unless I can by some miracle get him to hold it and allow him to be a house dog.
Was at vets 2 days ago and tried to have various test to see if anything else was wrong he is declared healthy. I like to have dogs running around in the house but until he becomes better once spring come he will have to become an outdoor dog. :-(
Thanks