We have had Zelda about a month now. She will be 6 mos next week. The lady we got her from kept her crated all the time, and she didn't mess in her crate. I thought it would be simple enough to transition her to housetraining, but it isn't working. I don't have a large crate so I try to just watch her- as soon as she starts to go I yell NO! And take her outside to finish, which she does. And I make a big deal about going potty. I put her otuside and say "Go Potty!" Every hour, sometimes more...and she generally does. But then 10 minutes later she will poop or pee in the house! She sleeps in bed with me and has no issue holding it all night. If on occasion she does have to go, she wakes me up whining cuz she can't get off the bed alone because of her bad foot. We have cleaned up any messes right away with pet odor remover, and I don't think it is marking related. Vixen is trained to ring the bell on the door to go outside, and we have tried teaching Zelda but she doesn't get it at all. I know I could buy a big crate...but I am not sure how that will help at this point. She spent 5 months being crated and doesn't get to only potty outside....any ideas?

Maybe I should have posted uder General Discussions? Anybody? Help?

I'm confused. Is she going back inside of her crate to eliminate? IE even if she has free roam, when she has to pee she returns to her open crate walks in and Pees? Or does she just pee when crated?

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I don't have a large crate so I try to just watch her- as soon as she starts to go I yell NO! And take her outside to finish, which she does.

The reason I asked was the above quote. It is slightly confusing to me. The problem is, if you are watching her at that moment in her crate, to me, you are expecting her to pee at that moment. If you are expecting it you should be outside with her already.

Unless you are following her as she walks back inside of it and then she suddenly does it.

I know I'm coming off slightly condescending, that isn't the intent, I'm just trying to understand exactly when it is happening.

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I don't have a large crate

So when she does pee she does so all over herself? She must have been confined to a crate for a long time in her previous home to have that frame of mind. Sad.

If however she is able to eliminate in a corner of the crate and lay down in another the crate is too large.

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I put her otuside and say "Go Potty!" Every hour, sometimes more...and she generally does. But then 10 minutes later she will poop or pee in the house!

I like suggestion an umbilical when dealing with house breaking. That way if she starts to wonder off to find a spot to void you should feel a tug and can investigate. If it looks even for a second you is getting ready to go you have time to go outside.

Once there wait it out. Don't go back in until she "goes". Make a huge deal about it and reward her with her very favorite thing the second she is done.

I wouldn't even try and train the bell right now with her. I would work on getting her to understand outside is the place to be first and foremost and then focus on the bell at a latter date.

Some pups have accidents past 6 months so don't worry too much about it. Just take it slow and it should get better, though I know it can feel like there is no progress being made I'm sure there is as you are doing things right already. It can take months for a new puppy to feel comfortable in a new home, and regressions are normal during that process.

Best of luck and I hope it helps,
~Chris~

Sorry, what I meant was I don't have a crate large enough for her, so we don't use a crate at all. But since she was crate trained for 5 months I thought she would be ready to just go outside to pee and hold it in between. I apologize for the confusion. What I am wondering is if I need to buy a crate and continue with the crate training or if some other method is advised. I have never had a dog that didn't just make the transition easily, so this is new to me.


And it is more than a few accidents. Its pooping and peeing in the house several times a day. Like every time I take my eyes off her for a minute it seems. Whereas Vixen goes to the door and rings the bell, Zelda can't seem to give a signal. So I take her out A LOT and say Go Potty every time. And she does and I praise her. And we comee back in. And 15 minutes later I find a puddle or a pile.

Tika wrote:

I'm confused. Is she going back inside of her crate to eliminate? IE even if she has free roam, when she has to pee she returns to her open crate walks in and Pees? Or does she just pee when crated?

Quote :

I don't have a large crate so I try to just watch her- as soon as she starts to go I yell NO! And take her outside to finish, which she does.

The reason I asked was the above quote. It is slightly confusing to me. The problem is, if you are watching her at that moment in her crate, to me, you are expecting her to pee at that moment. If you are expecting it you should be outside with her already.

Unless you are following her as she walks back inside of it and then s know I'm coming off slightly condescending, that isn't the intent, I'm just trying to understand exactly when it is happening.

Quote :

I don't have a large crate

So when she does pee she does so all over herself? She must have been confined to a crate for a long time in her previous home to have that frame of mind. Sad.

If however she is able to eliminate in a corner of the crate and lay down in another the crate is too large.

Quote :

I put her otuside and say "Go Potty!" Every hour, sometimes more...and she generally does. But then 10 minutes later she will poop or pee in the house!

I like suggestion an umbilical when dealing with house breaking. That way if she starts to wonder off to find a spot to void you should feel a tug and can investigate. If it looks even for a second you is getting ready to go you have time to go outside.

Once there wait it out. Don't go back in until she "goes". Make a huge deal about it and reward her with her very favorite thing the second she is done.

I wouldn't even try and train the bell right now with her. I would work on getting her to understand outside is the place to be first and foremost and then focus on the bell at a latter date.

Some pups have accidents past 6 months so don't worry too much about it. Just take it slow and it should get better, though I know it can feel like there is no progress being made I'm sure there is as you are doing things right already. It can take months for a new puppy to feel comfortable in a new home, and regressions are normal during that process.

Best of luck and I hope it helps,
~Chris~

Sorry for the goofy quotes, my phone is not user friendly. Just wanted to add, I didn't think you sounded condescending at all, and I appreciate the suggestion to use the umbilical method. As far as I know, she never eliminated in her crate at her old home, so I wondered if I should buy a crate big enough for her (because all I have is Vixens puppy crate)and resume the crate method, or if I should try the umbilical or some other method. Thank you!

Generally a bigger crate would just give an area she could freely eliminate in while crated. Not something I would do in your case.

I like the umbilical, I think it tends to help with problem like this. You can give a lot of leash to allow for it but the second she starts to fidget or act funny at least you'll know.

Have you gotten her checked out by a Vet since you've had her? UTIs can do funny things to puppies and can increase the need to pee. Is her water intake high? Does she notice she is peeing?

~Chris~

She drinks A lot. Have had her at the vet several times cuz she had a raging intestinal infection and she just finished antibiotics again last week. She is set to be spayed Monday, I may have him check for a UTI just in case. Both her and Vixen seem to pee a ton, but short bursts. Like when we go for a walk they stop to pee probably 10 times. They aren't sniffing around first, so I don't think it is marking. I chalked it up to little puppy bladders...but maybe its something else?


Zelda seems to start acting droopy every 10 days, I ta take her in, and inevitably she has a 104 fever. Vet gives her antibiotics and she acts fine within hours. Done this 3 times now. Maybe it is a UTI and she isn't getting the right meds?

One problem I can think of with the umbilical is that her and Vixen play constantly. If she is tied to me, I am going to be fending off two wrestling husky pups all day long....eek. I mean they NEVER stop playing. And if I crate her, Vixen will sit outside the crate and WHINE.


I wonder if there is some way to tie them to eachother without creating a tangled mess? Perhaps she would figure out that Vixen rings a bell to go out? Probably a crazy idea...

Definitely going to have her checked for a UTI tho!