Adult potty training

Question
QUESTION: I have an adult dog that will refuse to go out side on the dirt(no grass) and as
soon as we come in within a few mains she goes on the carpet and i am
cleaning
up. i don't feel i should yell and rub her face in it like other people say so i
got
an large kennel and i put her bed in it and the potty pad with water and she
doesn't want to be in there but she stays with out crying and i gave her her
water and she always used to sleep with me so its a little hard but i am not
sure
what else to do and i got the crate stuff down just well the end result i want is
going to be able to leave her free any time and her to just go on the pads.
which i will change. please help me get there!

ANSWER: You are right that you should not yell or rub her face in it if your dog potties in the house. Good job on that one.

You probably should not put potty pads in the crate with her. The whole purpose of a crate is to teach the dog to hold it until you take it outside, NOT to use the crate to potty in. Additionally, dogs instinctively do not want to potty near to where they eat and sleep, so by putting her bed, water, and potty pads in the crate, you're actually telling her that it's okay to sleep and eat by her filth.

You need to figure out if you want her to learn to potty outside, or if you want her to learn to use potty pads. Then you can begin her house training. Please visit the page I have written on this subject due to all the questions I receive on it. The address is http://housetraining.angelfire.com

Kristen

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: well i am gone from 8 in the morning till ten at night most times thats why i put
the pads in her cage. and i want her to go on the pads. . . what should i change i
get what your saying but ahhh im so confused

ANSWER: Goodness! When do you get to spend time with her?

Rather than putting the pads inside her crate, I would use an x-pen as described on the housetraining page.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I spend time with her on the weekends and at night im a full time college
student and cheerleader and i work but any way . . .  have a pen for her but
she can jump at least four feet and it didnt work i also bought a gate for the
kitchen but she clears that too. . and my bath room is supper small i would
have to move all her stuff every time i take a shower. . . i also travel a lot so
the crate training is what will work best till shes pad trained i just dont know
how to make her go on the pad she only does it in the crate. . .

Answer
Well, if she jumps out of an x-pen and over a baby gate (they make tall ones, by the way), then I guess you have no other choice but to crate her. So I would suggest that you get a very large wire crate to keep her in during the day when you are not at home. You didn't say what breed she is or how big she is, but I would go with the biggest size wire crate I could fit in my home (some of them will fold flat for easy storage). Basically, it's going to be an x-pen with a roof on it.

Is she pottying in the floor during the night? If not, then I see no reason why you cannot keep letting her sleep with you. If she IS pottying on the floor during the night, then you have two choices. You can either put her in a small crate with solid walls at night, or you can put her in the wire one just like you do during the daytime.

When she is using the potty pads (in a litter box as I suggest on my housetraining page) reliably during the day, you can try moving the box into your bedroom and letting her stay in there at night with the door closed. If she potties on the floor instead of in the box, then you're going to have to work with her during the day to teach her to use them, again, as explained on the web page.


Please do not take offense to this, but honestly, I do not feel you have enough time for a dog. Perhaps you'd be better off with a cat instead, until you are out of college.