Am at the end of my tether - how long should it take to house train a dog?

[StripeyKnickersSpottySocks]

We've had her since beginning of Nov, she's a 3yo rescue greyhound so wasn't house trained before. I really thought she would be by now.

She always wees when we put her in the garden and we praise her like mad for doing that. But she never asks to go in the garden. Sometimes she will just wee in the middle of the dining room/sitting room right in front of you without making any effort to ask to go outside.

I put her outside at regular intervals and she can go a long time without needing to wee. Will often go 5 hours when I'm at work and is normally fine overnight.

Today she's weed in the house twice. She went for a walk at 3:30pm and weed outside then. But just 20 minutes ago she weeed all over a bloody jigsaw on the sitting room floor. Have had to throw out the jigsaw.

What with this and digging in the garden I've had enough.

We tell her off when we catch her in the act of weeing in the house so she knows we're not happy about it. She does seem to know the garden is the place to do it as its the first thing she does when she goes outside.

It can be hard with a dog who has not been previously house trained, but the first thing I would say is stop telling her off. The reaction and attention they get, even if it is negative attention, can set up a pattern whereby the dog will wee/poo just to get attention.

Greyhounds are also sensitive dogs and telling her off may stress her and make her more likely to wee in the house.

Also make sure you are getting the smell competely out when she does it in the house - use a solution of biological washing powder or a specialist spray like Simple Solution.

You sound really fed up - can you talk to the greyhound rescue people for support?

Ok, thanks. I've only been telling her off if I've actually caught her in the act - I thought you were supposed to do that?

I use biological washing powder.

I don't really know what the greyhound rescue people can do to help.

Never tell them off, even if you catch them in the act.

The greyhound rescue people (or whichever rescue you got her from) have a lot of experience of helping people house train previously un-housetrained dogs.

Will give them a ring in the morning then, thanks.

They would have seen it before, don't a lot of greyhounds live in kennels so wouldn't really be housetrained? I have had a rescue dog for 3 weeks now, he will now wee outside but has to poo in the garden when nobody is watching. In places where the unobservant stand! He doesn't ask out, we have to remember to put him out.

Good luck. I know it's upsetting but this dog has spent all her life thinking it is fine to just wee or poo wherever she is, so it will take time.

If she does wee in the house take her silently outside to where you want her to go - even if her bladder's empty by then. You can also give her a small treat of cheese or similar when she does do it in the right place, and maybe give a verbal command like 'do a wee' or 'be clean'. My 11 year old dog had never weed on command but when she saw my pup getting treats for doing it when I asked him to, she soon joined in!