Hello all I hope someone can help me. I have a 4month old female GSD, her name is Reign. I've had her for about 7weeks now and was doing real well in the house breaking dept. But she seems to be regressing. She is kept in the crate whenever we are not home or we are not able to watch her. My wife is home almost all day so she has ample opportunity to go outside but lately she is choosing to relieve herself inside. She will either go as soon as she is let out of the crate, or after she has already gone(and relieved herself) outside, before she can be re-crated. I am very dilegent on making sure she does not have the chance to go inside. I leash her her when I take her out. And our yard is very large in which she spends a lot of time there when it's nice out. Last night I went to take her out and before I could leash her she ran past me and started to pee on the floor. I stopped her and corrected her then brought her outsid.This morning 6:00 am I got to let her out, only to find she had gone in the crate,What am I doing wrong??? Thanks Chris <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

leash her while she is still in the crate. Maybe move the crate closer to the door as well. Consistancy is key.

With a pup who's housebreaking is on the slide you need to always do the potty business first. Even if you took her out 30 mins ago and she was in her crate, you need to take her outside again before letting her have run of the house.

Had a friend with this problem and this was the reason: the pup had no water in the crate, so would be quite thirsty by the time she got out. She would guzzle a LOT of water while she was out. All that water would work thru her system after she went back in the crate and she couldn't hold it til the next break. Hanging a water bucket in her crate solved it cuz she distributed her water intake more normally.

If what's been said in the other posts doesn't work, have her urine tested. Pups that age can get mild bladder infections very easily. They seem to "regress" in house training and start soiling their crates, when in fact they can't hold it or empty their bladders fully in one go when they are outside. Anti-biotics and access to water at all times normally shows an improvement within a few days if that's the problem.

Thanks for the replies. One thing I did'nt mention is it's not only a urination problem but mostly a defacation problem. Although yesturday and so far today shes been OK. As far as keeping her on the leash in the crate I've tried that and she chewed the leash. I'll just not give a sliver of a chance to go inside and be very consistant. Another thing I did not mention was we have a 2 yaewr old yellow Lab named Thunder. He is house broken already and they go out together although I keep him away from her while she has to go. Should I take them out at seperate times? Thanks again. Chris

Chris,

I don't know if this may help. When I got "Blue" my GSD boy I also had a 10 year old labrador.

Blue idolised her and would follow her anywhere.
He was potty trained within 4 days as he would follow her and copy her whenever she went to the toilet. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

When we were lead training him the best way we found was to put the lab on the lead first and he would quite happily follow. We must have looked really silly - hubby with the lab and me with the puppy going round the garden with dogs on leads but hey it worked. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Prior to that "Blue" would sit or even roll over as soon as he was put on a lead.

An old dog can teach a young 'un a lot provided the old dog is of a trustworthy temperament.

Best of luck,
Gwen

Thanks for the help everyone. She has not gone or should I say been given a chance to go since I first posted this question. But I have another...I have read that treats given after a dog completes their business is very productive, is there any truth to this this? I give lots of praise when she goes outside but perhaps treats will help. And Gwen, sometime when both of them are outside together, Thunder does his business and if Reign is'nt done she will stop to play. So now I keep him away until she's done. I know it sounds funny but it seems like she wants privacy when she goes. Thanks all. Chris

I didn't mean for you to leave the leash on the dog in the crate, what I meant was to not let the puppy loose and THEN try to leash her. I meant open the door a crack, put your hand in, get the collar and then open the door and put the leash on. NEVER leave a pup with a leash on in a crate, they can get twisted in it and break something or suffocate.

Treats after going can definately be a big help.