We have adopted a one year old spayed female field spaniel. We are having problems with house training and recall. She is crated during the day and only able to be outside on lead. Inside she recalls easily, but outside the hunt instinct is so strong that she often won't "go potty" unless she is outside until she simply must "go". We use the term "go potty" and praise her if she does, but we have had her 2 1/2 months and we are a long way from being house-broken. She seldom recalls outside unless she is not distracted, (seldom), and then still needs more than one command or a good tug on the lead or long line. She is given exercise on a long line in our field every afternoon. She drinks lots of water which increases the number of times she needs to urinate. She has had some urinary accidents in the crate as well. We have lots of experience with sporting dogs and have trained our Boykin to a whistle and hand commands but have always started with pups. We are not giving up on her but need help with the house breaking due to the strong hunt instinct getting in the way of things. We also need help with her recall. Walking her on lead for the rest of her life is not an option we want to think about. We have 37 acres of unfenced property with a 2 acre field that is mostly fences. (there are some holes she can get through) I think she has an e-collar in her future. Please give us some suggestions for this loving, sweet, but high need girl.

Hi Susan and welcome to the forum.

What are you using as a reward for the recall? Is there an incentive for the dog? Do you know if she has food or toy drive?

When is the problem with peeing in the crate occuring? During the day when you're gone or at night? Either way, we've got to set this gal up for success and get her out of the crate more often. Do you know if she was a kennel dog prior to coming to your home? Often, these dogs have learned to void in a kennel and this can make housebreaking more of a challenge, but it can be done. Give a bit more info and we'll be able to help a bit more.

How much exercise does she get?

I don't have alot of experience with house breaking but as far as your recall goes I would suggest training in a empty parking lot or paved area where there are not so many amazing things to smell! My dog has a pretty good recall but if we go to a grassy area or field he is not used to and critters have been running around forget it.
Training an adopted dog is a long process trust me Be patient and train as much as you can 2 1/2 months is not much time you guys are still bonding with each other I would not worry about the dog being off leash yet especially in an open area with so much cool stuff to check out.lol

For recall, find a toy that the dog is crazy over, I mean just wild for it. Usually they will do anything to get the chance to play with that ball or frisbee etc.

In my house either a Cuz ball or a frisbee work like magic.

Maybe giving her a cranberry supplment might help. Some dogs get small urinary tract infection that clear up in a couple day/s

We only know that a rescue group got her from craigslist. A family with young kids got her as a pup and had no idea what they were getting. As far as I know she was with a foster home from then until we adopted her. She loves toys inside but outside when she is in hunt mode she doesn't know anything else. I rolled a tennis ball right in front of her and she didn't even acknowledge that it was there. She responds pretty well to cheddar cheese for reward. Luckily, our 23 year old daughter is home part of the day during the week and so we can leave Liza out of her crate when she is home. I work 5 minutes away and work from 8-4. I walk her every morning before work and she gets at least 45 minutes in our field on a long line each day. This is extended on the weekends. There are two other dogs in the house. One is a golden doodle who is her age and they run and play which gets her exercise. The other is a Boykin Spaniel who is 4. They all get along well. In short, if anyone is home, Liza is out of the crate. Some nights she sleeps on the bed and some nights she sleeps in the crate. She wakes up about 4:30-5 and needs to go potty. If she is out of the crate and someone doesn't let her out she pees on the floor or in the crate. She has never pooped in her crate but has on the floor. I use a product to get rid of the scent. She eats twice a day and drinks tons of water. She is very healthy and has grown a LOT since we got her. We wonder if she may have been suffering from failure to thrive? As I said before, I believe our biggest challenge is getting her to come when called consistently. I think her pottying issue will be mostly resolved when she can have more access to the outdoors. Often, I can walk her 10 minutes or more and she dosen't go at all because of her attention to other things outside. Thanks for any help you can give.