[Juta]

we adopted Juta last April from the local dog pound. She came from a breeder that went bankrupt. She is now 6 years old. I was told that she was not housebroken, since she lived her first 5 years in a kennel.
I have a lot of dogs before and never had any problem potty training them.
I take her religiously out, my neigbors tease me about it.
She has no problem taking care of business. For the last 8 months I have worked on getting her potty trained.
I failed. And please no talk about UTI because she just finished her antibiotics for UTI (The vet said she did not have any UTI but to finish the meds) this is the 3rd time that I spend $280.
well I am at the end of my rope.
She is a gentle dog and very sweet, but I cannot keep a dog that cannot be potty trained.

I think that because she lived the first 5 years in a kennel, she is untrainable.
Anyone out there that can adopt her ? Don't want to give her to a shelter?

Very sad, but out of choices:help::help::help:

 

[onyx'girl]

Was she a breeder? Is she incontinent vs just not being housetrained? I wonder if you put her on a raw diet if that would help at all...dogs that eat raw drink much less water and I've read where it will help w/ incontinence.
Until you've exhausted all options, I wouldn't re-home her or she may end up at a shelter because of her problem.

 

[Juta]

No she was never bred, because she failed schutzhund training. She is very sweet, with other dogs and even cats. Off course she loves to chase deer of the property.
She walks off leash right next to me, when he smells a deer I just tell her "No" and she stays next to me.
as for incontinence no because she is quite able to hold it for the whole night.
Besides I have been with her pretty much all the time since I got her. and I believe I exhausted all my options. I am just afraid that the shelter will euthanize her, since it will be the second time around.

 

[Whiteshepherds]

She sounds like a really well trained dog except for the housetraining.

What method are you using to potty train her?
What do you do when she has an accident in the house?
Do you use a crate?

Sorry for all the questions bu maybe if you explain what you're doing someone can offer an alternative that might work.

 

[Zan]

Does she actually squat to pee inside? If you haven't seen her do this, don't rule out incontinence. My 10 year old GSD had incontinence...there is a med that works really well, can't recall the name of it right now. But she would have no clue sometimes that pee was just running out of her, standing up or lying down, before we got it diagnosed and treated. She never wet on bed at night, either.

 

[Juta]

Does she actually squat to pee inside? If you haven't seen her do this, don't rule out incontinence. My 10 year old GSD had incontinence...there is a med that works really well, can't recall the name of it right now. But she would have no clue sometimes that pee was just running out of her, standing up or lying down, before we got it diagnosed and treated. She never wet on bed at night, either.

She squats, and she hides where she squats,like under the dining table

 

[Juta]

She sounds like a really well trained dog except for the housetraining.

What method are you using to potty train her?
What do you do when she has an accident in the house?
Do you use a crate?

Sorry for all the questions bu maybe if you explain what you're doing someone can offer an alternative that might work.

every bowl movement that she does, (1 or 2) she gets a good girl, when I see her squat I tell her no and bad girl and take her outside. I am a strong believer in positive training and consistency. And I do this all the time diligently for the last 9 months.
I normally do not crate her, well started crating her tonite.But she hates the crate

 

[Emoore]

I've heard of this before with dogs that lived in kennels their whole lives. Not so much with yard dogs because they are able to have a spot set aside to go, but when dogs are forced to sleep where they eliminate for years it can be extremely hard to housebreak them.

I hate to say it, but she may end up having to be an outside dog.

 

[Juta]

I've heard of this before with dogs that lived in kennels their whole lives. Not so much with yard dogs because they are able to have a spot set aside to go, but when dogs are forced to sleep where they eliminate for years it can be extremely hard to housebreak them.

I hate to say it, but she may end up having to be an outside dog.

I live In the Hudson Valley where temperatures drop quite low. I don't think that is an option.
But I am starting to believe that you are right about the kennel dogs.
The worst part is that she really is a perfect dog every other way, non aggressive, gentle loves dogs, and rarely barks. have heard her bark 3 times in 9 months

 

[jakeandrenee]

I would really try crate training all the way from the beginning....see if you can rewire her to understand only "potty" outside....I am sorry you are going through this.....

 

[Juta]

I just don't believe in crating, think that it is not fair to "cage" an animal in a crate where they can't stretch.

 

[Jax08]

So buy one large enough for her to stretch in. Dogs are den animals. Mine love their crates when they are covered with something. You might find it makes her feel safe.

 

[Jason L]

Crate her and teach her to love the crate. You give her to the shelter and she'll end up in a kennel or a crate ANYWAY ... so why not give it a try?

 

[BowWowMeow]

When I started with dogs I didn't believe in crating either but after crate training a number of dogs, including some rescues who came to me with all kinds of issues, I now think they are a very useful and kind training tool. I also think that you have to make the crate a wonderful place for the dog--feed her in there, give her treats and bones in there and get her used to it before just shutting her in there.

I would also keep her leashed to you in the house. It is possible to housebreak her but it is going to take discipline and flexibility on your part. Basically you need to treat her like a puppy--no freedom until she gets it.

 

[BadLieutenant]

I just don't believe in crating, think that it is not fair to "cage" an animal in a crate where they can't stretch.

I believed this also with my last dog and had the same problems you are having now........I now crate and have no house training issues at all.....crate, crate, crate

 

[Cassidy's Mom]

I just don't believe in crating, think that it is not fair to "cage" an animal in a crate where they can't stretch.

My dogs don't stretch much when they're asleep. Seriously, if you care about this dog and are committed to keeping her you need to get over your attitude about crates. I mean that in the kindest possible way. :hugs: As Jason said, if you can't housebreak her and take her to a shelter she's going to be confined anyway.

Even though she's an adult I'd suggest starting over at square one like she's a brand new puppy. Crate her when you can't directly supervise (eyes on, close enough to touch her - better yet, how about tethered to you by a leash?), take her out frequently, and instead of just praise, give her a very high value treat each time too. Be enthusiastic when she does her business outdoors, act like she just did something amazing like cure cancer.

Are you cleaning up her accidents with an enzyme cleaner? If not, you can be sure she can still smell it and will be continually attracted back to those places. You have to be very diligent, you have to make sure that she has absolutely no chance at making a mistake and pottying indoors.

 

[sagelfn]

If she were incontinent would you still rehome her?

I agree with everyone else. Do some reading on using a crate properly and keep her tethered to you. Try everything.

 

[Juta]

So buy one large enough for her to stretch in.

I would but that defeats the crate. she will lay down a foot from where she pees in the kitchen

 

[JeanKBBMMMAAN]

Huh.

Well, I like BIG crates, but when I need to I will go down a size to a size that is just the get up, turn around size to help foster puppies "get" the house training better. But all my adult fosters have learned housetraining super fast! It's been great.

In my mind it's unusual for GSDs to have this issue - that's just me. I can see hounds, toy breeds, etc. So this is interesting.

Anyway, I would start with a smaller crate - watching to make sure how she did in it before ever leaving her. Then if it works, work your way up to a more breathable (for us) size, an x-pen, or a kennel that you can setup inside (I have one that's black 4x4 - no top from Petsmart) to help her out. But I would do this after ruling out the info below.

I too wonder about some weird incontinence - sometimes during a spay things can get nicked. This would be a question I would ask. I am not sure if an ultrasound would catch anything like that. There are also adhesions that can form and stump granulomas: WHOOPS! SPAY NEUTER COMPLICATIONS AND HOW TO AVOID THEM

There was even a dog on IMOM who had 2 ureters! I mean...wow, right!

You are probably close enough to hit internal med at Cornell. I wouldn't mess around with this - I would want someone curious enough and OCD enough to be thinking of this ahead of me.

 

[paulag1955]

I just don't believe in crating, think that it is not fair to "cage" an animal in a crate where they can't stretch.

Just because we humans wouldn't want to be crated, don't make the mistake of thinking that dogs consider it punishment or cruel or unfair.

When we first got Shasta at 8 weeks, we purchased a 42" crate. After several months, my husband felt she had outgrown that crate and so we purchased a 48" crate. I moved the smaller crate into our daughter's bedroom, which is vacant while she's away at school.

Now we keep the door to our daughter's bedroom closed most of the time so that Shasta can't go in and bother her things, but since our daughter has been home over the Christmas holiday, the door is open most of the time. What is funny is that whenever Shasta gets a chance, she bolts for our daughter's bedroom and that 42" crate. She heads straight into the crate, curls up and makes it obvious that she doesn't intend to leave.

She fills that crate up to overflowing; she can barely turn around, certainly can't stretch out and sitting up straight is out of the question, but she loves that tiny little crate.

I think your best chance is to try crate training her just as if she were an 8 week old puppy. Outside to potty; if she goes, she earns some freedom when she comes back in. If she doesn't go, it's inside and back to the crate until it's time to go outside again. I just don't see how that's any more unfair to the dog than putting her in a situation where you know she's going to fail.