Obediance/house training

Question
Where should I begin!  Our family has a 7 month old English Bulldog Female and we are just about at our wits end.  She stays in a crate while we are at work and has her run of the house when we are home.  First of all while we are at work she makes a glorious mess of her crate, she pees and poops everywhere, even outside of the crate on the tile floor in our laundry room.  I'm not sure if she is doing this for spite or just b/c she cannot help it. Second,we have been having trouble getting her to let us know when she has to go outside to "potty" when we are at home.  If we don't watch her every move and notice when she goes to the back door we don't know she needs to go out.  She will not bark, whine, scratch at the door, etc...  So if we don't catch it in time she will use the bathroom on the floor.  We have tried many different ways of discipline and none seem to be very effective.  We have used an electric collar and it may work for a few minutes after putting it on then she continues with the same behavior we are trying to correct.  We also put her in her kennel for "time out" and she barks the entire time even if we go and tell her "No" or "Stop".  Here lately when we let her out she doesn't use the bathroom, she roams around and plays.  Then within 15-20 minutes she uses the bathroom in the house. Lastly, when she is in her kennel at night and uses the bathroom she will bark until we come and clean it out.  She will not let us know when she needs to go, just after she has already gone and wants out of the mess.  We have had to put her in our garage so we can get some sleep b.c she will start as early as 230 in the morning and will not stop.  We try leaving her in it hoping it will make her stop using it in her kennel, no such luck! I need help!! My husband and I gave her to our 3 yo son as a gift and he loves her dearly but I cannot tolerate this type of behavior.  We are living in our brand new house, less than 1 year, and I cannot have her peeing and pooping everywhere.  She has been spayed and we even have her on an antibiotic for prevention just in case her "incontinence" is due to bladder inflammation.  We are desperate and graciously appreciate any advice you can provide.

Sincerely,

Helpless in SC

Answer
Your are in a mess.  There is no consistancy to your reactions and training. Consistancy is the first rule of dog training. That means regular schedule, rules and the dog must obey.  
Get the potty training done first. That means outside on lead to the spot first thing inthe Am and every two hours and the last thing at nite.  Make sure the dog crate is no larger than necessary for the dog to stand and turn around.  The crate is not for punishment, it is the dogs home. Sleep, blanket, toy, even food.

Next I suggest our video DVD and book that includes all the basic obedience training and behavior explanations. Or get some of the Dr Dodson dog books or seek a local porfessional dog trainer. Not some chain store $99 rip off.  

Next, browse some of my posted answers on training, nothing in life is free, and similar topics. With professional training you should ahve the dog under control in 4 weeks or less, and reasonably trained in 8-10 lessons. Training should include socialization with other dogs, and the goal is a 3 min sit stay and 3 min down stay, a series of sit stay come, sit, finish [recall] the running recall, wait, give, take, hidden recall, threshold wait, come over floor obstacles (rod, square boom, low jump) tunnel, taking treats or toy in a crate that has an open door, basic heeling in slow, normal and fast pace.  That is a BASIC course and anything less is a sham. It should also discover the dogs hot button, food, toy, clicker, whatever the dog responds to best.  Plan on at least 30 minutes a day home practice, and don't deviate from the rules when not in formal practice.

Regards,
Henry Ruhwiedel
Westwind Kennels LLC
www.dogkennel.org