6 month pup new to us, peeing on my floor

Question
Hi! My husband and I adopted a 6 month old lab/collie/shepherd about 4 weeks ago and ever since we first got her she has been peeing on the floor. We let her out every time she whines in case she has to go, but she is still peeing on the floor. We leave her alone for about 5 hours a day, where our work schedules overlap, and everyday I come home from work there is pee on the floor. Should we leave her in her kennel while we're away? I use hot water and bleach to clean the floor, is this okay? We have had her to the vet and got antibiotics for her. The vet says she did not see any bacteria in the dog's urine, but says that all other symptoms lead to her having a urinary tract infection. I have been giving her the antibiotics for the past 10 days (twice a day) and she has not progressed any. What should I do? We have not been punishing her for peeing on the floor in case it is not her fault and is a medical problem. She has also pooped on the floor about 3 times (one time I found it upstairs in one of the bedrooms along with pee spots all over the place) Do you have any idea how we can get her to stop doing this? Thank you for your time. Dawn

Answer
Your dog is not house trained, at all.  "Letting her out" won't do it.  You need to GO OUT WITH HER at regular intervals (3 hours apart.)  Put her on long extending leash or (if you have a fenced area you can observe her in) let her loose.  Give her 15 minutes to defecate or urinate.  The MOMENT she squats, calmly praise her (Such a good girl!  Good pee!) then immediately offer a tiny food treat (low fat cheese cube, chicken hot dog, snausage, etc.) and immediately take her inside.  After the dog connects the praise and treat with her own behavior (approximately 30 repetitions), she will begin to form a conditioned response and will begin to PREFER to eliminate outside, because it is very rewarding.  It will take many weeks (perhaps even a couple of months) before she is reliably house trained.  Meanwhile, continue to clean up her "accidents" WITHOUT in any way showing anger or in any way "correcting" or "disciplining" her.  Try to avoid bleach as this can actually bring a dog back to the spot and isn't healthy for her should any residue get on her paws.  The only way to house train a dog is to GO OUT and OBSERVE and REWARD.  You'll soon get a sense as to how many times a day she actually has to eliminate, at which time you can cut the outings down to a reasonable amount (4 to 5 a day).  Even a puppy which has been trained with love from ten or twelve weeks of age can have an accident up to 9 months of age, so stick with it.  Confining her to a crate for more than 3 hours at a time is not humane.  This breed mix (Collie/Shepherd) is a wonderful companion dog and especially open to positive reinforcement training.  She's only been in your home for four weeks, not even close enough for her to feel secure and to have found a place in your human pack.