Housebreaking my one and a half old Peek A Poo

Question
My husband was home full time when we got our puppy who was three months old at the time.  He was home with her for several months and we tried crate training her.  We would come home no matter how long we were gone and would find poop smeared in her fur and she would urinate in her cage as well.  We decided to block her into a small nook off of our kitchen with a baby gate which was slightly larger then the cage.  We would again come home and find poop smeared into the floor.  She will be two in Aug and still continues to poop in the house.  She poops first thing in the morning and someone is home with her until noon and then we are back home at 5:30.  It doesn't matter if we are gone 30 minutes or her full day 6.5 hours she still poops in the house.  We want to try to start over training her, but aren't sure where to start and crating her seems cruel after she has had the run of the downstairs.  Please help, she has ruined our carpet in two rooms and we want to replace it but are waiting until we get the problem resolved.  When we are home, she has no problems coming to us and telling us she needs to go out.  She also knows it is wrong when she sees us cleaning up her messes.  I wouldn't doubt if she isn't peeing too, but the carpet is so stained in one room it would be hard to tell.

Answer
Devon, the first thing I would suggest is putting her on a strict feeding/watering schedule. Do not leave food and water down for her all the time. Feed her twice a day; half her daily amount in the morning, and half in the evening before 7:00. Take up her water by 7:00 at night, and in the morning, put it down with her food, and leave it down for 30 minutes to an hour after she has finished eating. Then take it up again.

She should also be put on a potty schedule, and crated when you are not at home. When you wake up in the mornings, take her outside on leash so she can potty. When she has finished pottying, praise the dickens out of her! Then let her off leash and play a game of fetch or whatever she likes to play for a few minutes before going back in. Then feed her. Leave her food bowl down for 30 minutes, then pick it back up again. The first few times you do this, she may or may not finish all of the food. That's okay; she will quickly figure out that if she doesn't eat it all when you put the bowl down, she'll have to wait until the next mealtime. I assure you that you will not starve her.  ;^)

Within 20 minutes of her finishing eating, put her back on leash and take her outside. Walk her around until she has a bowel movement. Remember to praise praise praise for pottying outside! If she does not have a bowel movement within 10 minutes, take her back inside and put her in her crate. In 5-10 minutes, take her back outside. Repeat until she has a movement. The goal is to teach her that if she wants freedom inside the house, she must potty when you take her out.

Something else I would recommend would be to get a professional come and clean your carpet with an enzymatic cleaner to discourage her from pottying on the carpet anymore. An enzymatic cleaner is a MUST, because it gets rid of all of the traces of smell - just because *you* can't smell it doesn't mean *she* can't.  ;^)


Take her out at least 3 times before you leave at noon. Take her out *just* before you leave, and then put her in her crate. Do not give her any bedding, because some dogs will potty in their crate if they have bedding, and then 'bury' it in the bedding. Take away the bedding and the same dog will not 'go' in the crate! If you want, give her a chew toy or bone to keep her occupied while you're gone.

As soon as you get home, let her out, put her on a leash, and take her out to potty. Don't forget to praise when she goes! If she's pottied in the crate, just clean it up. It may take her a few days to figure out that she doesn't need to potty in there because you will soon be home to let her out. Don't make a fuss over it, because it will do no good unless you actually catch her IN THE ACT of 'going.'

You may put her water back down for her when you get home, but take it up when she's finished her dinner. Feed her by 7:00 and again, leave the bowl down for 30 minutes, then take it back up. Take her out within 20 minutes to potty, and praise her for going. Same routine that I described above. Take her out a couple of times before bedtime, and then again right before bedtime. If she is pottying in the house during the night, then crate her for the night.


Good luck and please let me know if there's anything else you need help with!

Kristen