German Shepherd Housetraining

Question
QUESTION: We have a 7 month old female German Shepherd we got from a breeder in December after our 11 year old German Shepherd passed away from cancer.  She's a great dog but we are having a few housetraining issues.  She's does fine in the crate.  We also have the kitchen gated off with newspaper on the floor just in case.  We take her out on a leash for an hour after she eats or drinks or other times but will not go to the bathroom on a leash.  We have a 10' by 10' kennel and she sometimes go to the bathroom in there.  We also at times let her run in the yard loose.  She's pretty clingy to us so she doesn't go far.  She won't go to the bathroom loose in the yard either.  We also put her out in her kennel after she eats for an hour or two depending on the weather.  We bring her in and she's fine for a few minutes then goes to the bathroom on the newspaper sometimes.  She does not give us any kind of sign that she needs to go out.  What can we do to have her let us know she needs to go to the bathroom?  Also, How can we get her to go to the bathroom on a leash or freely in the yard?  Thanks, Joe

ANSWER: Joe, I'm so sorry to hear about your previous dog. The first thing I would have you do would be to remove the newspapers if you want to teach your new pup to go to the bathroom outside. I would also keep her on a leash in the house so that you can get her straight outside if she starts to go potty in the house. I have compiled all my answers on this subject onto one page, which is located at http://housetraining.angelfire.com . Take a look there, give some of those suggestions a try, and get back to me in a week or two if you're still having issues.

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QUESTION: We are still having issues.  We took away the newspaper and she still goes on the floor.  We are trying a bell next to the door and still working on that.  We've been keeping her on the leash in the house except when we are playing with her or when she is in the gated kitchen with us.  We put her out for hours and she won't go.  We walk her on the leash and she won't go.  We bring her in the house and put her in the kitchen to take our coats off, use the bathroom, etc. and she goes on the floor.  She won't give us any sign or hint that she needs to go out to the bathroom.  She just goes.  She only goes when no one is around.  Even outside.  Seem like she doesn't want any one watching her go.  I'm not sure what to do next.  She was in a kennel until we adopted her at six month.  I think she did not have any one working with her on going outside during that time.  Not sure if we can change her way that she was brought up before.  It's almost like we may have to keep her outside all day.  It's hard to do that during the cold winter. Thanks again, Joe.

Answer
Hi again, Joe. I'm sorry to hear that your little girl is not picking up on house training very well. Some dogs learn quicker than others, and a lot of times it depends a lot upon how they were raised.

It's going to take some work, on your part. When you walk her, the walk should last for at least 30 minutes, which gives her ample time to potty. You know that there is a possibility that she is going to go potty on the floor as soon as you bring her back in, so use that to your advantage. When you get back inside, don't put her in the kitchen while you take your coats off, etc. Instead, keep ahold of the leash so that as soon as she starts to squat, you can tell her "NO," clap your hands or make some other sudden noise to startle her, and get her straight back out the door. Take her out in the yard and use your potty command until she goes. Then praise her enthusiastically when she potties out there, and make a big deal of it! She needs to learn that going potty with someone near her is the greatest thing on earth!

The main thing is that you are going to HAVE to be consistent, and since you already >>know<< that she seems to prefer going potty inside, you need to be extra diligent in keeping an eye on her. All dogs will show some kind of sign of needing to go to the bathroom; you just need to learn what her sign is. Usually, intense sniffing around on the floor is a pretty good indication.

Keep in mind that this is going to take time. You're not going to have an overnight miracle.

You might have to start putting a diaper on her when you cannot watch her, to make pottying in the house an unpleasant sensation for her.