18 month old spayed female anxious & not housebroken, HELP!

[Duke&GemmazMom]

Hello all! New here & with questions!

We adopted Gemma, a 16 month old spayed female GSD, about 2-3 months ago. She is a darling to kids & loves all people. The family that had her before us had her from a pup as far as I understand. At first they had time for her but work and such left them very little toward the time they gave her to me. She was pretty much banished to large back yard or outdoor kennel area. They seemed like good people, well up-kept home & such.

After I have had her for these 2-3 months we have found that "if" she was housebroken she isn't great at it here. I take her out and literally minutes after I bring here in she can mess or pee in any given area. We have also found that she is neurotic over fetch games and has a real hard time relaxing period. She paces, runs around her tie out till its dirt in a very short time. If left out of crate at night she will chew EVERYTHING she can. If there is something to be OCD about, even including drinking water and slobbering it everywhere she will do it.

We already had a neutered male GSD, named Duke(The darker GSD in my pic), who we adopted many months before Gemma. The initial meeting was tense between the two but now they have grown almost inseparable. He is Just a few months older than Gemma. He is dominant over her for the most part, but when she has had enough of him she lets him know.

When they are free together in the house they just romp & play like 2 titans. It can be a bit much and I'm now not allowing that anymore, We have a huge farm house but they can make it really small quickly.

We love Gemma, but how can we help her relax? What can I do about house training? I just cant seem to break her of it. Duke will not go in the house unless she does then he has to go mark it.

Gemma is also very fearful. I can raise my voice all day at Duke, he listens but isn't afraid. If I do that to Gemma, her legs just fold up underneath her & she hits the floor so hard it breaks my heart. She is very timid & scared of humans if they raise their voice. Especially women, more so then men. How can I build her confidence? If an unfamiliar person approaches her she will bark & run, if they pursue her a bit more she starts to squeal & cry like she is being hurt. It just breaks my heart.

Any suggestions will be appreciated and extremely helpful. I've had many large dogs, huskys & GSDs, but I have never had such an emotionally challenged dog like Gemma. I just want her to be balanced & whole.

[DanielleOttoMom]

Hello and welcome to the form from Dallas.

I would start over from scratch with her training. Just like you have a puppy. Crate her at night to protect her from getting to some thing that can hurt her. Tie out? You tie her outside? How often do you exercise her? You need to work on strengthening the bond between Gemma and you. You don't want her to get to dependent on your Male. Train them separate from each other. There are lots of helpful people that will also give you suggestions. Hope this is a start.

[Germanshepherdlova]

I got my lab from the dog pound when he was 6-8 months old, he wasn't housebroken. He would pee right after coming inside, as you describe your dog doing. We worked with him for a couple months and he just couldn't seem to hold his urine. Turned out the poor guy had a bladder infection and that is why he didn't have good bladder control. He was prescribed antibiotics and it was much easier to housebreak him after that. I suggest you have her tested for a bladder infection.

My lab was also afraid of humans when we brought him home. The way to build her confidence is to earn her trust. No fast moves around her, lots of love, NEVER raise your voice to her. Show her that you are gentle, loving, nurturing and a person she can trust.

My lab now follows me everywhere and everybody comments about his love and devotion to me. Once you earn her trust, you will see how deep a rescue dogs love is for their owner.

Good luck!

[Duke&GemmazMom]

Originally Posted by DanielleOttoMom

Hello and welcome to the form from Dallas.

I would start over from scratch with her training. Just like you have a puppy. Crate her at night to protect her from getting to some thing that can hurt her. Tie out? You tie her outside? How often do you exercise her? You need to work on strengthening the bond between Gemma and you. You don't want her to get to dependent on your Male. Train them separate from each other. There are lots of helpful people that will also give you suggestions. Hope this is a start.

We do Crate her at night and she likes her crate. The tie out is temporary until we build a run. Which is soon. We talk long field walks about twice a week and throw ball with her for about 15-30 minutes a day. She is tireless. LOL I'd love to exercise more with them but farm life & work gets in the way sometimes.

Will definitely start more separate training with her. She is just a pleasure anyway. She just longs for nothing but pleasing.

[Duke&GemmazMom]

We give her lots of lovin, she just cant get enough No matter what, she isnt going anywhere. We love her. I'll check out the bladder/urinary tract infection thing. That didn't cross my mind.

How often should an 18 month old GSD need to be let out? My male tells me when he needs to go out besides the obvious times like 1st thing in the morning, etc. Which is usually about every 3 hours. I just dont want to shortcut her if she needs more potty breaks.

[Rott-n-GSDs]

Originally Posted by Duke&GemmazMom

how can we help her relax?

I adopted a three year old GSD (Nova) that was kept kennelled 24/7. He was on Prozac for anxiety. It took a LONG time to get him to settle in and relax (and weaned off the Prozac). He still has his moments of freak-fest behavior, but that's just him and we just accept it.

Having two other calm, well trained dogs helps A LOT. Nova can look at the other two, see them relaxing and not worrying, and he immediately chills.

A BIG big thing is routine. Nova absolutely THRIVES on routine. If something changes, it takes him awhile to re-adjust to a new routine.

Exercise, exercise, EXERCISE is key. Your dog needs more than a couple walks per week! She needs a a walk every single day, and a nice long one at that (you could also train her to run alongside a bike... help burn off even more energy). Work on obedience and teach her tricks that will stimulate her mind. Nervous dogs tend to have TONS of energy (and are often too smart for their own good). Playing fetch is fun (Nova is also an obsessive fetchmonger), but it is NOT a substitute for exercise.

Dogs sports are another great way to get exercise (mental and physical). Nova is learning agility, skijoring and hopefully someday we'll add tracking.

We have a large fenced in yard and it has been vital for Nova. It's important for him to be able to all out run to burn off energy he has, even with long walks and training.

What can I do about house training?

First, rule out medical issues. Females can often have UTIs and symptoms are sometimes sporadic. When my female had a UTI, she sometimes could hold it but other times just couldn't.

If she checks out physically, you're going to need to treat her like a young puppy first learning. Do not leave her unsupervised, tether her to you in the house if you have to. Since she's a soft dog, IGNORE accidents. Take her out multiple times and praise her like crazy (also give treats) when she potties outside. Be consistent and patient.

Gemma is also very fearful. I can raise my voice all day at Duke, he listens but isn't afraid.

She will learn to trust you, and will learn to look to you in the presence of strangers so she doesn't have to be afraid. If she's afraid when you raise your voice, don't raise your voice. She sounds like a very soft dog and I would use 100% PR training with her. Nova also falls to pieces with a correction... so we train without them.