Potty Training

[llombardo]

I picked up a 3 month old german shepherd on Tuesday. As adorable as she is her one BIG problem is the potty training. She has a couple different issues going on. For the first two days all she did was cry all night long in her crate-not a whimper but a full blown barking, howling, crying, so in two days I got one hour sleep. She did have loose stools, so of course I couldn't be mad at her. On the second day, I gave her an over the counter de-wormer and within three hours worms that were about 10 inches long came out in the poop. The loose stools continued, so a fecal was done at the vet, which came back negative. I kept her on the same food that the previous owners said she ate, but I did notice that when she got into my other dogs food-which is an high quality food, her stools firmed up a little during the day. So I went and bought the same brand(but puppy food) as the bigger dogs and I'm slowly switching her over. Now I take her out about every 2.5 to 3 hours-that is about the time frame that I noticed she can hold it after I spent two days writing down her actual potty times. The problem with the pee pee part is that it doesn't matter how long I have her out or how many times if she doesn't go--she will literally sit or lay down outside(she is on a leash), then come back inside and pee immediately and its not little pee pee, she pees quite a bit at a time for a young dog. From what I gather and I might have gotten myself into a mess, her parents were guard dogs at a tire shop, so she was born outside, grew up outside, and then the people that got her had her in the yard most of the time(day and night) so she had no guidance or training. She spends a lot of time in the crate, which has a divider but it still doesn't help. I think that in the beginning she was reversed--up all night and sleep all day-that is getting better. Another thing I notice is that she doesn't poop that often if ever during the day or right after she eats like a normal puppy would. She holds it and then when she goes later in the day its a pile like she's a horse and it goes down hill from there substance wise, then it continues through the night. So from about 4 in the afternoon until 7am she is pooping every hour or so and the consistency of the poop gets looser throughout the night??? At first I thought that she was making herself so stressed in the crate that she was causing her own loose stools--that is what it looks like to me anyway. It is impossible for her to be trained if she has this poop problem and the vet is not finding anything medically, so we are working on the food and I don't know how long that takes--considering that I see it seem to look better then she down slides daily after that first poop--usually about 8 hours after she eats. So while I'm cleaning her crate from the latest poop accident she is usually somewhere peeing........HELP PLEASE--any ideas would benefit my sleep schedule and hers

[Razzle J.Dazzle]

Have you tried regulating how much water she gets? With our puppy, he liked to drink and drink and drink. We finally had to start picking the water up and monitor how much he was drinking....it helped us tremendously!

In regards to the food/stools, how much are you feeding and what brand of food?

[llombardo]

I would normally regulate the water and pick it up at a certain time, but she is not a big water drinker and I have concerns about dehydration with the very loose stools. They said she was on Purina Puppy Chow, so that is what I got originally, and now I'm slowly switching to Eagle Pack. I've tried pumpkin and that didn't help-I also tried rice w/chicken--nothing!!

[Razzle J.Dazzle]

If you are worried about dehyrdation, keep a water jug with the ounces labeled on it. Then you can easily keep track of how much she is drinking and be sure she is getting enough.

How much are you feeding? From what I've read on these forums, overfeeding can cause loose stools.

[llombardo]

She's at about 3 cups daily. This morning I gave her rice and pumpkin..she liked it lots, lets see if her stomach does too. As far as water, I can count on one hand how many times she goes to the water bowl throughout the day and she does not drink a lot. I would think she should be drinking more. She's pretty set on the pee pee-its 3-4 hours. I try to get her out at 2.5-3 hours, but if she doesn't have to go she just refuses, but then she'll come in and go while I'm taking off my jacket or putting away the leash. I truly think that she's in reverse mode and since she lived her whole life outside before me--outside is her home and in her mind she shouldn't go out there. Now I have to figure out how to change her thought process.

[doggiedad]

you said your dog is spending a lot time in her crate.
i think you should end that practice and start spending a lot
with the dog training and socializing. take your dog out
more often. take her out every 1/2 hour or more if
necessary. you might may have to switch quality
foods several times before you find one that works.
if the dire rear continues maybe you should get
a 2nd opinon. what kind of pumpkin are you
feeding. when i feed pumpkin i use the kind
that's in water only or fresh. when i give my dog
sweet potato it's always fresh.
s

[llombardo]

She spends the nights in the crate and about 25% of the day in the crate. I have two other dogs, so she spends quite a bit of time playing with them. She goes outside about every two and half hours or so. She goes to the pet store and since my youngest dog before her went through a year of training, I've been working her until she starts school this Wednesday. She already knows the basics--sit, touch, leave it, and wait. She gets plenty of socializing and play time, but its hard when I don't know when she's gonna decide she has to go to the bathroom. I'm terrified of taking her to school and she decides to go during class, which would be about right since the night time seems to be the issue with her poop. I agree on the quality food issue, but that isn't easy either because I have a golden retriever that has a sensitive stomach so of course not all foods work with him either...I can see it now I will have food bowls for every dog set up in different rooms so they don't eat each others food...

[llombardo]

Originally Posted by doggiedad

you said your dog is spending a lot time in her crate.
i think you should end that practice and start spending a lot
with the dog training and socializing. take your dog out
more often. take her out every 1/2 hour or more if
necessary. you might may have to switch quality
foods several times before you find one that works.
if the dire rear continues maybe you should get
a 2nd opinon. what kind of pumpkin are you
feeding. when i feed pumpkin i use the kind
that's in water only or fresh. when i give my dog
sweet potato it's always fresh.
s

I use 100% pure pumpkin in the can. I do make sweet potatoes and give that to my dogs, but I haven't since I got the puppy...Who has time to cook with a new puppy? LOL

[Razzle J.Dazzle]

I wouldn't worry if she has an accident at puppy class. That happens all the time

[llombardo]

Originally Posted by Razzle J.Dazzle

I wouldn't worry if she has an accident at puppy class. That happens all the time

I'm not worried about the pee pee..I'm worried about the poo poo that comes out like pee pee. The other pet owners are gonna think she's sick and she's not