Soiling inside the home

Question
Hello:

I have a 13 month old male (fixed) sheltie.  I got him when he was three months old from the same breeder as my female sheltie (30 month old).  From day one I had him on the same schedule as the female (feeding and going out) When he turned 6 month, I started the method from the book "How to housebreak your dog in 7 days" that worked perfectly with the female.  He will behave perfectly inside his area, and will go potty outside perfectly.  But when you leave him out in the kitchen, he will soiled between going out.  Since this method did not worked, i used the crate system, and got the same results as the other. I waited almost four months with this method and no results.  Now I leave him inside the shower, and I am still getting the same results.  Now If I am at home he behaves, but if I am not there he soils.  I am at the end of my rope here.  The funny thing is that he is from the same breeder and the same parents as the female; but he is a problem.  I actually do not know what to do anymore, so I will have to look for an adoptive family which is not my greatest solution... CAN YOU PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!

The schedule for going out is 6 am, 8 am, 1 PM, and 7:15 PM.

The feeding is at 6:45 a.m.  He goes to the potty in all the outings, and I had him checked by a vet on March 9th and he got a clean bill of health.

Answer
Hi, Luiso!

I would recommend first increasing the frequency for taking the pup out to potty.  Start with one hour intervals, and when that begins to work, change to every one and a half hours, then two hours and so on until you are certain how long he can wait between potty breaks.  You may also try just keeping him in the kitchen unless you are supervising him since he doesn't seem to have accidents in there.  Also, be sure to clean and then neutralize the odor of any place he does potty in the house so that he won't go back to that spot.  You can use a 50/50 solution of vinegar and water to neutralize the spot.  Good luck!