rescue bulldog/potty training

Question
Hi, I've recently found an abandoned sweet female bulldog (that the vet seemed to be used as a puppy mill) and have cared for her the past few days while I've been recovering from surgery. I can then find her a perfect home. If I can't, she's going to the bulldog rescue. She is doing well and she incredibly sweet. I have her in a crate for her size (not too big) but she's had a couple of accidents in her crate and in my kitchen. The vet says she's 3-4 years old but who knows what kind of environment she came from. She seemed skiddish with new people at first and then her trust builds up and is even nervous around grass. So I put her on the least an walk her to where she needs to go.  I am sure to give tons of praise when she goes outside. Otherwise she'll go on the patio instead of the large grass available. She was in bad shape when I found her roaming a park on an old leash. No one has even responded to our postings so we wonder if she was dumped like our vet suspected. Makes me so sad. She had a skin/ear infection but her hearworm/fecal tests were negative. Is the crate training just to teach them to potty train or do most dogs get crate trained and live here all day? My other 3 dogs have been crate trained and just go to the door so this is a new experience for me and I want to teach her before she goes onto a new home. Ideally we'd love to have her hanging out with us or her family without worrying about a mess Thank you.

Answer
Crate training is just that, for training. My dogs sleep in their crates at night because they prefer it. They will go in and go to sleep with the doors open. It's just the way they were raised. Mine will also go to the door when they need to use the bathroom.

Now, you're expecting a lot from this poor dog. Chances are she was either kept in a kennel or crate most of her life before you got her. It's doubtfult that she had any training at all. If you decide to keep her, or place her, it's going to require a great deal of time and effort and PATIENCE to get this dog where she can live a life as a "normal" dog. I don't think it's impossible because I've turned dogs like this around myself.

In this case, my guess is that it would take 3-6 months for this dog to become an acceptable member of your family.