Quote: MelindaHernandez

I hear so many people talk about how their dog holds it while they are at work. I can't seem to understand what I'm doing wrong. )

It's not so much what you're doing wrong now. It's what you did wrong in the beginning.

Puppies naturally want to be clean. You can train a dog to not care about being filthy by setting it up in a situation like a crate where it's forced to do it's business and get filthy because of it. Eventually they get over the trauma of that situation and eventually stop trying to stay clean. That's where your dog learned poop fingerpainting. This is hard to fix once the dog is there mentally.

When you crate puppies in the beginning (which is a good thing) you need to set them up for success in not forcing them to wait beyond what their body can handle. The rule of thumb is 1 hr per month old dog. I too work long shifts sometimes, and have dogs. If I know I'm going to only be gone for a few hours like a grocery store run I only crate the dogs. If I'm gone for longer than I reasonably expect them to hold it I kennel them.

 Quote: MelindaHernandez

... I hear so many people talk about how their dog holds it while they are at work.

One thing (even if your dog was physically able) is that he has never learned to do this. I explained why above; no one was every able to teach him the interval thing.

But IMHO, the 9-pound dog holding everything for 10.5 hours is extremely unusual.

Truly, I would not use this Wonder Dog as a comparison.

And thank you for assuring us that you do not chide the dog for the messes, because my mental picture was not good.

That one-hour-per-month puppy rule of thumb for larger breeds does top out, of course, at around ten (twelve for some big dogs).

Oops. Melissa and I were posting together.

We had a similar situation in my house.

We were contacted by our local shelter to see if we could take one of thirteen puppies, that had been locked in a garage from birth until 12 weeks, together with their mother. They had learned from the very beginning that it was ok to go to the bathroom and then lay in it. They had also never seen a person, so she cowered screamed and peed every time we touched her. The worst part is the owner of the parents (lab/husky=mom; rott/mastiff=dad) purposely bred the puppies to sell and THEN realized how much work it is.

So here is what we did: ( some was just basic house training)

I took a few days off to stay home with her after we had, had her for about a week and it was clear to me that she thought it was ok to go in her crate. I put her in her crate unless we were going out to go potty and took her out on a strict schedule gradually lengthening the in between time. I kept her in her crate to eat, drink, sleep etc... and when we went outside it was for our walk or a potty break. When she did potty, it was a huge thing with treats and praise and ball throwing! It really did, in the end, take about 9 months to FULLY crate train her. It was all about making her crate her den and then teaching her that it is in her best interest to keep it clean. We basically had to teach her what her mom should have had the opportunity to teach her had they not been in the situation that they were.

I have heard of a few instances where because the dogs were never taught to keep their den clean at a young age, they never did become fully house trained, but would go outside if they had free access. They just weren't in the business of holding it in, but would go outside over going inside if they could get out. So in both cases doggy doors and a small outside kennel on the other side were incorporated.

Thanks for the responses, Cody & I appreciate it!!!

He is a very good-looking dog! Did you not have the sig pic when you posted before? I didn't remember seeing him.

Thanks, no I just put it up.

 Quote: MelindaHernandez

Thanks, no I just put it up.

No wonder. I would remember that sweetie.

I had a case with a Doberman that I couldn't housebreak. The owners came to me with a year and a half dobie that they had gotten a eight months. Previous housing and training unknown. Given a chance, this dog wouldn't relieve himself outdoors. He'd hold it for hours until he got back in his crate. He also did something very unusual. Immediately after eating, he'd turn around and position himself and take a dump in his dish. I told the owners, who had a house on a couple of acres, to put in an outside kennel and use easy to clean dishes.

This is a true story!

Maybe it was a commentary on the food. Reality is you can teach a dog to go anywhere, just as a dog can teach himself to go anywhere.