Housebreaking Miniature Schnauzer

Question
I have a 2 year old Miniature Schnauzer that we are having trouble getting to go potty outside. We have a doggy door and she knows very well how to use it. She goes outside to bark and play and sometimes go potty but at other times she will spend hours outside and come back in and go right in front of the doggy door or behind my chair. We have tried walking her for her outside time but she just sniffs around at everything and then comes back in to go potty. My husband is just about ready to give her away if we cannot stop this behavior. We also have an 10 year old male and a 1 year old female and we don't have this problem with them except every once in a while especially if it is rainy. Please help me I am at my wits end with her. Oh yeah we have tried the crate thing to but she will urinate in the crate and then roll around in it she also urinates on their dog beds.  

Answer
The problem with doggy doors is that all they do is allow a dog to come and go at will; they do absolutely nothing to teach a dog to be housebroken! That is what YOU need to do.

First, make sure that your dog does not have a bladder infection or stones. Once you are certain that there are no underlying health issues, you need to physically housebreak your dog, starting from scratch as you pretend that you just brought home a new puppy. Put her on a leash that is attached to you so that you can WATCH her, and take her outside every couple hours to potty (since she is an adult, she should be able to last that long). When she goes successfully, PRAISE HER PROFUSELY! Be sure you take her outside after she eats and after she wakes up from a nap. You might want to keep a journal of when she "goes" so that you will get a better handle of when she needs to go outside. Learn to watch for her signals that she needs to potty.

Karen