Potty Training shop puppy Options

[RenoCarolina]

It seems that all the potty training articles I read assume that the dog does not urninate or defecate while inside her kennel.

But what about a 6 month old puppy that spent her entire life in a 20 inch wire cage and never left? She just goes whenever or wherever with little or no warning. I call it "stealth" pee or poop! It is hard to even catch her doing it in order to correct.

I have tried 4 hour scheduled trips but I have a household full of dogs and it is difficult to meet that obligation and also difficult to keep her caged as I enjoy watching her acclimating with the pack.

However, the pack is getting increasingly irritated with her casual eliminations and are starting to direct raised eyebrows my way.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!!

[Viv]

How many other dogs do you have if I may ask? And 4 hours for a dog whom does not know how to go out is way too long. AND how well trained is your pack? It sounds like she is not getting the attention she needs being a total crate dog. She needs a lot of attention and help. Just maybe she would be better in a calmer home?

[JMM]

She needs to be out WITH you and taken out frequently (every hour or two) so you have more opportunities to reward the right behavior. I've used diapers with a few puppy mill client dogs so that even if they go, they aren't leaving their scent around. It takes a LOT of time and a LOT of commitment. If you can't give that, rehome her.

[RenoCarolina]

Thanks for the replies, a few more details. I've never used a kennel before with any of my other dogs (dachsund, retreiver, mutt) and I hate using one for this dog since being stuck in a cage is why we adopted her. The "4 hours" I was talking about constituted putting her in a kennel at 9pm, taking her out for a midnight walk, putting her back in then coming back for a pre-dawn walk.

She is a jack-rat-beagle mix btw and very sweet but seems to have learned to go in the kennel. Last night I just kept an eye on her and walked outside with her at the faintest hint of squatting and it worked so I'm thinking I will just keep reinforcing good behavior and keep her with the pack and out of the kennel.

But if there was something I was missing regarding kennel training or something i'm doing obviously wrong I wanted to be able to correct it right away!

[JMM]

Dogs are generally particular to the surface they urinate on. So if its bedding, remove the bedding. If its a hard surface, be sure the pen is big enough for a padded area and a hard surfaced area. If its wire, same 1/2 wire, 1/2 padded. That is how you start teaching the dog to keep one area clean. Otherwise I would try the diapers.