Pissy Missy

Question
Hello there.
About 2 years ago we adopted a timid golden lab mix from the animal shelter. We were told Missy was about a year at the time and we would be her third home. She had a nervous pee problem from being abused. Whenever she was scared and/or excited she just pees. Plus the shelter told us she was house broken. For the past two years we have given her lots of love and the nervous peeing has pretty much stopped. She was doing so well by not going in the house either, but I would say the last month or so we seem to be cleaning pee once or twice a day. Every time we leave the house.  We have tried crate training and she chewed our walls and then the bottom of the cage when we moved it away. We have tried everything. We are at our wits end. What are we doing wrong? How do we get this 3 year old dog finally potty trained?

Answer
Hi Tara,
If she was doing well by not going in the house and then suddenly started having accidents about a month ago, the first thing I suggest is that you have her checked by a vet.  She could have a urinary or bladder infection which would cause her to have to potty more and have accidents.  They can test this with a sample of her urine.  General easily cured with antibiotics.

When she is in the crate, do you leave something for her to chew on?   I've found that a nice large sterilized bone does wonders at keeping the dog occupied while in the crate.  That is one suggestion.
If that doesn't work, you might try gating her in a kitchen or in a room where there isn't anything dangerous for her to chew on.  
Is she only have the accidents when you are not home -- or both?   If both, you might try keeping her leash on her while you are home and making sure she stays with you so you have complete control over her.  If she starts to go, give her a gentle tug and outside you go.   The key to housebreaking her is to eliminate the opportunity for her to have accidents, which I know can be hard.
You might also consider having a petsitter or a trusted neighbor come over and let her out during the day.   It sounds like she may have some separation anxiety as well.  
Take a look at the below website.  Look at Robin's tips on the home page.  It has many tips and some more suggestions on almost everything that a dog could do wrong.
www.paw-rescue.org