Hi there. I am so glad to have found this site, but I am sorry that my first post is a plea for help...
I have an 8 month old German Shepherd named Ellie. She is absolutely adorable and incredibly sweet. My issue is that we cannot get her housebroken! Everything I have read and researched tells me how easy it is to potty train these dogs, but we are no closer now than we were 4 months ago when we got her!
We have her crate trained and she does not make a mess in her crate. We walk her on regular schedules. We have tried praise/special treats/etc. when she goes potty outside. We have tried ringing bells on the door before we go out. We have tried a command phrase ("go potty").
I am out of ideas.
As long as we take her out regularly and crate her whenever we are not actively playing with her, we are fine. If we leave her out of her crate and are not with her, she will go to the bathroom inside wherever she is when she needs to go. No signs - no going to the door - no whimpering - nothing.
When she goes inside, we tell her no (calmly), take her outside immediately and clean the area with special enzyme treatments so she can't smell the spot and go there again. No yelling or chastizing. She does not go to a particilar area - just wherever she is. We have had her checked out medically - no issues. She seems happy and well adjusted and my whole family adores her.
Please help me - How do I get her to tell us she needs to go out? How do I teach her that going in the house is wrong?
I have an 8 month old German Shepherd named Ellie. She is absolutely adorable and incredibly sweet. My issue is that we cannot get her housebroken! Everything I have read and researched tells me how easy it is to potty train these dogs, but we are no closer now than we were 4 months ago when we got her!
We have her crate trained and she does not make a mess in her crate. We walk her on regular schedules. We have tried praise/special treats/etc. when she goes potty outside. We have tried ringing bells on the door before we go out. We have tried a command phrase ("go potty").
I am out of ideas.
As long as we take her out regularly and crate her whenever we are not actively playing with her, we are fine. If we leave her out of her crate and are not with her, she will go to the bathroom inside wherever she is when she needs to go. No signs - no going to the door - no whimpering - nothing.
When she goes inside, we tell her no (calmly), take her outside immediately and clean the area with special enzyme treatments so she can't smell the spot and go there again. No yelling or chastizing. She does not go to a particilar area - just wherever she is. We have had her checked out medically - no issues. She seems happy and well adjusted and my whole family adores her.
Please help me - How do I get her to tell us she needs to go out? How do I teach her that going in the house is wrong?