My 5 month old Great Dane *STILL* pees and poops in the house without any signs. WHY?!?

Question

I've had the carpet cleaned...I've used "miracle enzyme" spray, I've tried taking him out every hour...nothing seems to work. He is not crate trained so I am wondering if that should be our next step (??)

No...he isn't giving any signs...he's peed with me in the same room. I was changing the baby's diaper and he just went across the room and peed. We let him in the house about 30 minutes ago and he just peed in the house again! I was actually standing my the front door and he went into the living room and peed! My 3 year old told on him.

Answer 1

Crate training will make a huge difference. There are ways to get them on a schedule. He'll need a BIG crate, and at first he'll be in it a lot. But the basic method is take him out, if he doesn't do anything, put him back in the crate and try again later. If he does his business outside, let him roam the house for a while (20 min or so at first), then crate him again. Feed and water on a schedule, etc. But the crate gives you peace of mind and helps him understand better that outside is where he is supposed to go.

Answer 2

You need to be very consistant in house training,This means TAKING the puppy out every hour, not just letting him out. It means staying out with him until he goes and if he doesn't go in a reasonable amount of time then you bring him in and confine him wait 15 - 20 minutes and then TAKE him out again. Do NOT allow a puppy free run of the house until he is trustworthy. Do NOT punish him or call attention ot his accidents either..doing so only gives attention which even though is negative it is still a reward. Simply clean the accident up with no fanfare.
When your puppy does go in the desired place give lots & lots of praise.
I also highly recommend crate training as well, be aware though that that does not mean keeping him confined ot a crate for hours on end..it means crating him at times he can't be supervised and after coming in from outside if he hasn't gone potty.
Make sure you TAKE the puppy out, don't just put him out.

Answer 3

You have trained him that it is O.K. to go in the house, using the pads. You need to use a cage, give treats when he goes in the cage, give treats and excess praise when he goes outside and urinates or defecates. Don't scold. That won't help. If he urinates too often, get him checked for a bladder infection. That is a leading cause of accidents, although your dog is only 5 months old and usually they aren't fully trained until one or two years of age. Use the cage and keep him in the cage unless you are directly supervising, ON A TILED SURFACE. A five month old puppy should not have full run of the house. They are rarely reliable at that age.

Answer 4

Well, he could just be a bit slow. 5 months is still quite young and while the majority of dogs are housebroken earlier than this, your dog is still well within normal range.

As for solutions. First of all I'd take him to the vet to make sure that there isn't any physical problem. If he gets the all clear, there are a few tricks you could try (I've never used crate training, so can't help you with that, I'm afraid).

1. Are you sure there are absolutely no signs? No sniffing around? No circling?

2. Treat him like a younger puppy, instead of taking him out every hour take him out as soon as he wakes up in the morning and after a nap, take him out after he's eaten and after he's played - and in between if there is more than
3-4 hours between activities. Remember to praise him to the skies every time he goes outside.

3. Shovel up his poop and place it outside where you would like him to go. At the beginning make sure that you place it close to the house, as many puppies do not like to go in what they consider strange territory.

4. I know this might sound weird, but gather your own urine and pour it outside as well where you want the dog to go. This way, if he is insecure about the territory, you're confirming that the patch belongs to you and that he's also allowed to use it by pack-default.

5. Watch him like a hawk. As soon as he squats or lifts his leg, drag or carry him outside as quickly as possible. If he's still small enough to lift, try to flip him on his back while you carry him as most pups will instinctively not pee or poop on themselves. This procedure can get rather messy, but it helps get the point across.

6. And of course, never, never punish if you catch him going inside. Just get him out ASAP and otherwise clean up the mess.

Best of luck with him.

Answer 5

If you used the enzymes to clean -Everything! - and the vet has given your dog a clean bill of health; definitely try crating.
I am a great fan of the crate training method.
Do not get a crate that's too big though - just enough to turn around and lay down in.
It's not cruel. You'll find that the dog will actually like having his own 'den'. There are hundreds of how-to articles, but here's one: http://www.pets.ca/articles/article-cratetrain.htm
Good Luck!

Answer 6

I am so sad to read this. I am sure you might remember me because I came down hard on you for adopting another large breed dog after you had just given one up for being unmanageable in your house with young children. I certainly hoped I was wrong but it seems I wasnt.
You dont seem to have enough resolve or knowledge about dogs to do right by a breed this large. I worry that you still do not understand the gravity of this and it isnt as simple as people on here giving you housetraining advice. You need to have the character and commitment to see the advice through. The other poster is right when they say this is where it is easy - the houstraining is just the beginning. And your Dane will get lots bigger and more rambunctious by the month. Will he end up unmanageable too? Replacing one large dog with another would work only if the problem were not you. You are the constant factor. If this dog is exhibiting behavior problems beyond the housetraining or you are unable to get him trained you need to consider giving him up as well and soon while he is still young and can find another home. If you wait and he gets more and more difficult, he will end up in a shelter and then maybe even dead. This is the reality. Large breeds are harder to place and ones who show aggression because they dont understand their place in the pack or havent received the leadership they deserve, will be perceived as unplaceable and euthanized.
I know you wrote about housebreaking him but I dont believe that is the problem at hand having read your other posts.
Just to be fair and answer to your question - yes, crate training is very helpful to housebreaking him. But you can read that in the other responses. You have to keep a VERY strict schedule with him and spend enough time with him to understand HIS signs. It isnt rocket science and there is a ton of info here and on the net to help you.
For this breed to be happy YOU need to be centered, calm, undistracted ( not going in a million different directions), informed, and super consistent. These dogs dont suit everyone. They require a higher level of commitment, and unless you are going to rise to the occasion, you are possibly costing this dog more than you want to think about.

Answer 7

You need to find a trainer and learn how to train your dog - not being able to house train the dog is just the first problem as that is usually something very easy to do. You have actually trained the dog it is okay to go in the house so you need to learn how to train him not to. Yes, the give signs but you are simply not seeing it. Puppies pee after they eat, play, sleep - when he finishes the activities, take him outside, allow him to relieve himself and praise him for doing so in the proper place and then bring him inside. Taking him out every hour is almost as foolish as not crate training him... but hey, what do I know -- just owned dogs for fifty plus years and never had one that wasn't house trained... You are letting the puppy have the run of the house without you watching him, right? Thought so :)

add: OMG, do NOT use piddle pads with a Great Dane (or any other dog really) and do not rub his nose in urine. Dogs do not recall what you are punishing them for AFTER they have done it... they have to be caught in the act and taken out without a lot of hysterical 'no bad dog' stuff ... simply 'no, outside' and take the dog out to finish relieving himself. ou have to actually be paying attention to the dog while it is loose in the house. He has already learned going inside is okay - teach him otherwise.

Answer 8

Piddle Pads are great. They are little square pads that you put on the ground and everytime he pees on the carpet put him on the epiddle pad and say n"NO!!! You go here!!" lol

I thi nk he might be jealous of the baby. Give him more attention =]]

Answer 9

he,s giving signs your just not seeing them, try the bell on the door method.

Answer 10

you should probably train him my dog does this too but she has an excuse she had a stroke and got paralyzed and doesn't know when she has to pee/poo we have to squeeze her stomach to get her to go pee :( but shes still happy we even got her a wheel chair and take her on short walks she has no stamina after her first stroke :(