To return puppy to breeder?

[TrueBlu]

I'm really at the end of my tether with this.

I've had dogs all my life, mainly labs and collies who've house trained very quickly but also rescue dogs who've not been properly house trained as pups.

We now have an 8 month old boxer bitch.

She will not house train. The problem is she won't give any signals to be let outside. Everything has been done by the book, done again and redone again.

Lots of praise, treats, tethering to us, crate training, let out every 30 mins etc.

She continues to poo and we in her crate, or if she's not in the crate in the house.

I've contacted the breeder who says her mother was the same

One of the other owners from her litter says she's having a lot of problems with her bitch too.

The vet says she has no health problems.

We have DC and caught out 18 month old walking around with dog poo in her hand the other week...

Just don't know what to do.

Definitely try a different food too, we used Purina hypoallergenic food. It has virtually no waste as it is all used in the body. We used it for a Newfoundland whose poos were almost non existent compared to bakers complete (very poor food, full of indigestible waste)

A few months ago I was reading an article about the easiest and most difficult dogs to train. Boxers were in the top 5 of being difficult,along with Bassett hounds and beagles. This rang true to me as I had a friend quite a few years back who bought a boxer puppy and remember her telling me that that she was really hard to house-train. She was nearly a year old before she managed it.

Have just seen her photo. She is absolutely gorgeous!

Would you consider doggie diapers/nappies OP?

My youngest (a Jack Russell X) has an anal gland issue so we bought some reusable diapers. She only needs them when it's either burst or been lanced (which I hope to prevent in the future). Her tail goes through a hole in the diaper and then it wraps around her waist.

It might be a good idea for at least preventing the mess on your floors while you're working on the training.

^ yeah I doubt it did.

OP, you're doing a great job. She looks too innocent. ;)

Thanks Jeremy, will look into that...

Quick update.

No accidents during day but waking up to wet bedding in crate every morning... She's let out at around 10 every night then 7 in the morning.

Well done that is very encouraging about the day.

As for the night there is an idea that can work well but it's a bit tough for you. Unfortunately you need to set your alarm clock and let her out in the garden every four hours or so. Don't talk to her, don't interact with her, just out, hopefully toilet, treat and back in the crate. Given the hours she sleeps you could try to see if you could get away with one wake up call around 2-3am. Some dogs have bladders that take longer to mature and it may a couple of months still before she'll be able to hold it all night long.

Hmm, she shouldn't be soiling her crate/ territory. Are you getting up in the night to let her out?
You could try a training lead attached to your waist, so that there's no way she can eliminate without you seeing her do it. Maybe there's a pattern to it all, and this would be easier to decipher with a training lead.
The crate isn't solving anything. You could use a baby gate to restrict her access to the rest of the house.
Get a clicker, and click and treat whenever she makes her way to the back door, or wherever she has to go to do the toilet. Small, baby steps.
Our Shih Tzu took 8 months to housetrain and I was told by the behaviourist (I really would go down this route before giving her up) to reward him for giving the signal, and not for the elimination itself. She WILL get there, and it's pointless to blame the breeder when it's a matter of training, not genetics.
Good luck!

I tethered my chihuahua for three weeks at 12 months old and she is now reliable. Not sure about crate weeing but she may grow out of it in time

Does she have a mutilated tail? I know a lot of boxer breeders like to mutilate them, so I wonder if this could cause nerve damage or something to the area.

If it was nerve damage then she would be incontinent rather than having accidents. Sounds like you are making good progress OP. I think you are pretty awesome actually - very easy to give advice when you aren't the person having to deal with dog poo accidents and a young toddlers.

The wetting her bed i think could be a concern - if you find that she still does this, i would consider taking her back to the vets and asking them to run some simple tests - looking at diabetes as one potential issue here. Easily ruled out with a urine/blood test. If there is a continence issue, there is medication that can help with that too.

Keep on going OP, you are doing great.

regarding the tethering - the dogs trust do a "house lead" which is a light lead that can be worn around the house without being a pain, might be worth a try.

I think 10-7 is to long. Think you should be letting her out at around midnight.

10am-7 is too long. Try a midnight pee.
And if the house stirs a bit before 7 maybe try dashing down as soon as you get out of bed and then going back upstairs for brushing teeth etc. Maybe she wakes up, has a very full bladder and can't hold it 15 minutes till you let her out?

She should be able to hold it from 10-7, especially being a bigger dog but I'd agree that perhaps you should be waking and letting her out in the middle of the night.

Also, going in the crate is unusual so I would try giving it a good clean and sterilize and put it in the sun to get rid of the smell. Try other scent removers so she doesn't think that's the place she's supposed to go.

How are you getting on OP?

One of my springers had accidents up to 18 months.