unusal dog/ trainning

Question
my puppy seems to be strange she is an akc pomeranian 4 1/2 months old I have tried taking her outside to go potty every half hour while I'm home when I take her out it's to the same spot I say go potty and don't keep her out more than 15 min I don't play with her when I take her out I've tried walking her and she still goes in her cage I have a cage with a divider she has very little room to move and I feed her 2x a day 1/4 th cup of food and she still poops in her cage 4x a day and pees at least 8 times when I take her out she will poop some times but usually goes in her cage  I have tried a litter box religiously but her crate is where she goes 15min after bringing her from outside though shes had no water for 4 hours she still pees on my floor in front of me I say no and take her out side she is healthy says the vet can you help me I'm at wits end!!!

Answer
Schar, I'm so sorry you're having so much trouble! At 4.5 months old, your dog should be able to go at least 4 hours between potty breaks. It sounds like you either got her from a pet store, or from a breeder that may not have kept her living conditions clean. Usually dogs and puppies do not want to potty where they sleep, but if they are kept in unclean conditions, they have no choice, and can be very difficult to housebreak and crate train as a result.



Do you put any bedding in her crate? If so, try removing it. Sometimes dogs that potty in their crate when they have bedding material will stop when you take away their blanket or bedding.

When you feed her, allow her 30 minutes to eat, and then pick up the bowl, even if she hasn't eaten everything. Dump it back in your storage container that you keep your food in. Do not add this amount to her next meal. Allow her access to water when you give her food, and for an hour after you take her food away.

When you pick up the food bowl, go ahead and hook her leash to her collar, and keep her attached to you, so that the moment she starts showing signs of needing to potty, you can immediately take her outside. I recommend that if you want to train her to potty outside, that you do not use a litter box or wee wee pads in the house. This can be confusing to her. Outside should be the ONLY place she is allowed to potty. Continue to take her to the same spot and tell her go potty until she goes. She should go within a minute or two if you caught her right as she was getting ready to go in the house, and got her outside right away. When she finishes, praise her and then let her off the lead if it's safe to do so, and play with her for a few minutes before going back in.

When she's out of her crate in the house, let her drag a 6 foot leash, and either use baby gates to keep her confined to the room you're in, or keep her tethered to you with the leash. This way, you can catch her as soon as she shows signs of needing to go, or if she actually starts to potty, and get her outside.  

Do not give her access to food or water at least an hour before you put her in the crate, and make sure she potties before you put her in it. This will help reduce the chances that she will need to go while she's in the crate. She may not be able to go all day without a potty break at her age, so if you can come home at lunch to let her out, or have someone else do it, so she will not be as likely to have an accident in the crate. If you cannot do this, you may want to consider putting her in a doggie daycare for a few months, until she's old enough to go all day without a potty break.