Help!! crate training and house breaking

[tat2ooed]

Hello I have posted a couple of times now about our bloodhound Dixie, everyone in the house loves her to death,but I dont know how much longer I can take it. we have kept her on the same schedule scence we brought her home.and no luck she pees in her crate, in the house, outside everywhere no matter when. even every 5mins, we started to limit her water still peeing as much. She doesnt poop in the crate or house just pees. I have had a few dogs and none of them have been like this. We have started to put her water up around 730 to 800 and put her to bed around 900 and let her out right before she goes to bed.and within 10 mins she has peed all in her crate,clean it up and with in another 15 mins pees again I dont know what the heck is going on with her. outside of the crate in the house I mean she will signal when she needs to go poop,but not when she has to pee,so no matter how close of an eye you keep on her she is peeing.when you take her out she will pee 3 time befor you take her in. so I know she is draining it all because the last time she tries to go she is just squating no pee so I know she is empty. I am at my witts end I have run out of options,I just need to figure out this puppy. I have never seen anything like it. Last night me and the wife were awaken to her lapping up pee that she had just done in her crate. I know she is getting plenty of water, she does not spend alot of time in the crate, just at night and when the wife has to run to the store or what not. She gets lots of love and attention my 3 year old son spends every waking second with her. I got her from a breeder not a pet store and she wasnt kept in a crate or kennel so I thought this crate thing would be a breeze with her. I have seen pet store puppies have alot of problems with crate training,but come on this is down right strange to me. I have heard over and over how smart these dogs are and how easy they can be trained if done right,and she already knows a few different comands,that only took me a day to do and some treats, I have even in the last couple day tried the treat thing take her outside when she goes praise and treat but not working like it did on the sit and touch and come comands even her her shaking 90 percent of the time so I know she is trainable. if anyone has anything they can help me with please let me know...... Thanks

[Fran27]

It takes a long time... several months, for them to get it. Just keep saying no and taking her outside when she pees inside, clean without her looking as much as possible, and praise with treats when she goes outside. Eventually, they get it.

I would be worried about how much she pees though. Did you have a vet check to make sure she doesn't have a bladder infection?

[tat2ooed]

Yes we did she is in good health from what the vet says no infections.

[Renee750il]

Try and see if you have better results with a puppy proofed and easily disinfected room, like a bathroom, at night and while you're gone.

Some female dogs will actually mark, even as pups. Although our Buffy never did in the house, she marked EVERYWHERE outside - even as a 10 week old pup!

Aside from that, keep up LOTS of praise when she goes outside. Get some of that Nature's Remedy or Nature's Miracle (can't remember the exact name - Nature's Remedy may be a laxative, lol!) from a pet supply store to clean up any vestigial odors. Remember, you've got a pup who can REALLY detect odors! As a matter of fact, if there was a previous dog (or even cat) she may very well be marking . . .

[Fran27]

Well if you wanted to use the crate to housebreak her and she pees in it, you might as well try to find another way, because cleaning crates over and over is not fun and your pup might as well get more room to play. Maybe a puppy-proof room or a play pen?

[juliefurry]

Don't let her see you clean up the mess either. If she sees it she will think it is a game. If possible take her out every five minutes, and give her less chances to go inside and more chances to go outside. I did that with our lab puppy (and believe me I know how hard it is to housebreak a puppy and take care of a toddler). Just every five minutes take her outside. She might not like the crate (she might have a little anxiety about being in the crate).

[Brattina88]

Or she could have made the connection of peeing in the crate = attention from you (cleaning it up)
How big is the crate in comparision to the dog? A common problem is the crate being too big - the dog can pee in one end and still sleep in another. If she doesn't sleep/lay in her excretions then you are in luck :) Dogs are clean animals, she'll get it sooner or later. Consistancey is the key.
It doesn't sound like anxiety problems with the crate, and as far as I can tell switching to a larger play pen type of area won't solve the problem either.
Does she seem to want to drink a lot of water? Did you talk to your vet about this problem specifically? Just want to be sure there is no physical reason she won't hold it. It sounds like you have a very trainable dog, she just doesn't understand yet :) Good Luck, and keep us updated, keep the ?'s comming :D

[tat2ooed]

We have had her blood tested at the vet for diabeties and it all came back neg. They tested her major organs and those were all fine. I have dicussed this problem with our vet and he recommended a behavior specialist for the dog. As far as drinking a lot of water that is normal for blood hounds. Her sister is doing the same thing as well, but my brother in law keeps his outside. So her peeing in the house is not a big issue there. I am a clean freak and having her pee in my house/crate is driving me nuts! She gets plenty of attention, love and toys. But her peeing and not being able to leave her because she pee's in her crate ( which is just big enough to lay down and turn around in) is becoming a major problem. My son adores this dog, as well as my husband, but they are not the one's who are constantly cleaning up after her. I cannot even prepare a meal bcus she whines to go out which is fine but it takes me 5 times longer to prepare simple meals. Bcus she has to go out every 5 minutes, and I tried leaving her alone on our enclosed back porch but she wouldn't have it. She howled and scrated at the door to come.

[juliefurry]

try maybe getting a bell and tying it to the door she goes out from. When you take her out, ring the bell, and see if she picks up going out with ringing the bell. My dog Mack was (or I should say is) the same way when it comes to going inside. He won't signal that he has to go out, he thinks we're all able to read minds. He will sometimes use his bell if he has to go outside REALLY bad. Lots of the times he won't, but we're still working on it though.

[Saje]

How old is this pup? And where did you get her from? Was she living in a kennel before?
Sorry if I missed those answers.

I agree with Renee. Try a puppy proofed room or playpen. Make sure she can't smell pee anywhere.

Another idea is to tie a leash around your waist and keep her with you while you cook... so you can monitor her behaviour and watch for signs.

Give her lots of praise when she's good!

[Renee750il]

Sounds like she's got you trained! Tough out the whining and crying . . . get some industrial ear plugs if you need to, lol! Trust me, I KNOW about how these big 'uns can whine . . . it can be ear shattering. When mine get tuned up if I leave I can hear them halfway down the drive - a good quarter mile.

[bridey_01]

It sounds so much like a urinary tract infection, especially the drinking her own pee bit and constantly needing to go out. Though i'm sure you're vet would have picked that up? This ones got me stumped (and when it comes to dogs, that's hard to do!)
I'm going to ask some people at the club what they think.

[Fran27]

For the whining, no matter how it sounds that they are suffering, they will get over it. Just ignore it, and if you leave a bit and they're quiet, praise them when you come back. But you need to ignore it.

[Renee750il]

I really do hope you'll try it without the crate, just using a puppy proofed room. These big, rangy dogs can really develop some skeletal and muscular problems from being cooped up for significant periods where they can't move about and stretch freely. It also makes them anxious to be contained where they can't guard. Most people don't think about that, but your Bloodhound has an instinct to guard her home and people and when she's put in a situation that makes it impossible to feel like she can do that . . . well, you can imagine how frustrating it is! Even though she's still a pup, that desire is still a part of her.

[tat2ooed]

We got her in GA from a breeder...who kept the puppies on her porch. She is much to big for a play pen. She is only 3 months old and weighs 26 lbs. And is very tall.

[showpug]

It sounds so much like a urinary tract infection, especially the drinking her own pee bit and constantly needing to go out. Though i'm sure you're vet would have picked that up? This ones got me stumped (and when it comes to dogs, that's hard to do!)
I'm going to ask some people at the club what they think.

Second that. If a U/A (urinalysis) was NOT done, get back there and demand one. It is a urine test, not a blood test. I bet she has vaginitis with a secondary urinary tract infection. Sounds just like the pups that would come in to our clinic. :eek:

[Saje]

I'd get a second opinion on her health if you haven't already.

And a play pen for puppies is a safe area you make wear she can play and not get into trouble. Also easy to clean. If she's too small for a play pen that you have than make a bigger one!

[Renee750il]

We got her in GA from a breeder...who kept the puppies on her porch. She is much to big for a play pen. She is only 3 months old and weighs 26 lbs. And is very tall.

LOL! Okay, I can help you out on that! Go for a puppy proofed room. Shiva weighed 32 pounds at 8 weeks when we brought her home; by the time she was three months old she was a very tall moose, capable of kitchen counter surfing, and Kharma was about the same. Shiva, however, was a live wire, and the laundry room saved our sanity and probably her life as she had to try anything within reach to see if it was edible.

[YorkieLover]

You know, it really bothers me when people get so upset about a puppy peeing all over their house, that is what puppies do... It takes some time to potty train puppies just like our kids took time to potty train. You just have to have patience and alot of Nature's Miracle to clean it up. Cocoa is now almost a year old and we got here when she was 10 weeks and she still potty's on the floor occassionally even though she knows to go outside. I just tell her "bad", put her outside and clean it up.

[Fran27]

I think most people are upset because they just doubt that the puppy will get it. Fortunately, after one puppy, it's much less stressful the second time (at least with housebreaking), and you realize that even if they have accidents, they will get it eventually, so it's not the end of the world.

[tat2ooed]

Thanks everyone we went and got some of the oder remover it isnt the natures miricle,they were out of it so we got the only one that closely compared got enough we went through and put it in the steam cleaner and did the whole house figured it could not hurt, right. Anyway we have noticed a difference she is doing better already. So I have come to the conclusion that there was other animals in the house here before us. but still having issuses in the crate but working them out with her. Hey I figure I am going to do a little reasoning with her and see how that does lol. she has slept with us in the bed a couple of nights now and seems to do good she sleeps through the night mostly so she may just not like being alone,lol. But anyway thanks alot for the advice and we will keep everyone posted on this thing.

[Renee750il]

You know, it really bothers me when people get so upset about a puppy peeing all over their house, that is what puppies do... It takes some time to potty train puppies just like our kids took time to potty train.

LOL! You have to cut us some slack, Yorkie! Our dogs pee lakes :eek:

Fortunately, most large and giant breeds get it pretty quickly. Bimmer and Buffy never even had to be housetrained. They both just naturally refused to go inside the house. Talk about spoiling me!

[YorkieLover]

Yeah Renee your right, I guess I didn't consider that the pee I've been cleaning up now for 9 months is just little piddles... where your messes are like lakes... LOL

[bridey_01]

I try to practice errorless house training with all of my pups, ie they never have a chance to pee where they shouldnt, so they don't know that they can!
But that kind of stuff requires constant vigilance and keeping a close eye on food and water intake, and I geuss i wouldn't go to all that bother if i wasn't a professional trainer. I remember when i was little our chihuahua's took about two months to house break. Needless to say, my mum switched to my method when she got her last pup.

[Fran27]

I'm way too lazy for that one but I guess it can work, I'm not sure how I would do it though because I was taking Tips out every 30 minutes when I got him and I was watching him constantly and he still managed to pee inside in front of me.

[juliefurry]

yeah I was trying to get them out every half an hour when I first got our dogs too. As soon as I thought they were doing ok I would try to switch it to 45 minutes and then BAM there'd be messes ALL OVER the kitchen. They're all doing good now though, haven't had a mess in almost two weeks (well yesterday morning Hannah had an accident but that was TOTALLY my fault).