Help

[Nikitta]

I love my little girl to death, BUT.... she is driving me NUTS. She has absolutely NO idea of house broke. I have tried to kennel train here but it doesn't seem to bother her one bit to lay in her own poop and pee. She was 6 months old on Christmas. I take her out and praise her when she does go outside but many times she just runs around and picks up and plays with other peoples garbage that happen to flies by and then comes in and dumps and pees. I can't let her in the main part of the house because I can't take the mess and even though I try to let her in for short periods she goes nuts and trashes the place and chase the cats. /sigh I have had 4 GSDs before this and none of them have been this hard to train. I'm at my wits end here. ( And no I will never give her up. I just don't do that with my pets BUT shes driving me nuts.)

[chelle]

More information, please!!

When you take her outside to go, is she leashed? It might be a good idea. Then she can't run all over the place and you can be pretty business like about what you want her to do AND get her used to doing her business in that area. Ie, when we come outside, in this area, on the lead, we are here to take care of biz.

Are you catching her in the act when she goes in the house? Really, really important. You could try tethering her to you while in the main part of the house, so she isn't getting so rambunctious and so she can't sneak off and eliminate and get away with it. Every time you don't bust her in the act, you're settng back the process.

[Nikitta]

chelle thanks for the help. I fully admit that if the dog is not getting it, it is my fault not the dog especially if it's a German shepherd. I have always realized if the dog is not getting it, it's the owner not the dog.

[kitmcd]

Mine is 5 months old and (I think) finally getting it. It has helped to her to always have her on leash for potty time. That way when she starts picking up sticks and rocks or rolling around on ground, I can redirect her and say "go potty". Then big verbal rewards for pottying.

I do try to keep her in the same room with me, though there are times my back has been turned and she had an accident without me witnessing.

Hang in there!

[chelle]

Originally Posted by Nikitta

chelle thanks for the help. I fully admit that if the dog is not getting it, it is my fault not the dog especially if it's a German shepherd. I have always realized if the dog is not getting it, it's the owner not the dog.

Well don't be so hard on yourself like that. Potty training isn't the most fun anyone raising a pup has. It just requires vigilence and consistency. Even though she's six months, go back to the basics and pretty much start over.

If anything, just never let her "get away" with it. If she does, say oh bad owner, I screwed up and start over.

Are you familiar with her elimination schedules? I mean, are her feeding schedules consistent enough that her elimination schedule is fairly consistent, too? My dog is a couple months older, but fed on a pretty consistent schedule, so his poop schedule is very consistent day to day, as well.

As far as laying in her poop... was she ever forced to do that? Even before you got her? Was she ever forced to be crated for longer periods of time than her system could hold?

Just throwing out some questions that might help you get more and better suggestions from others.

As for the chasing of the cats and creating havoc in the house, I'd work on more training and I'd tether him to you. Also, how much exercise is he getting? A six month old sure has a lot of energy!

[RebelGSD]

Some dogs potty after eating. They will hold it through the night and during exercise and then potty shortly after the meal. If they are in a crate at that time, they simply cannot hold it any longer. I had a few fosters that were difficult. Also some dogs won't potty on the leash.

[katdog5911]

For me the trick was to take Stella out constantly! And to watch for a pattern. I always used the command "go make" and now she pretty much will pee or poop on command. Of course I have her schedule pretty set. I thought it would take forever for her to signal to go out. One day she finally got it....or maybe I finally got it. It was real subtle at first and even now it is not easy to tell if I am just going by her.....Potty training definitely is not the greatest time.