I am very new at this site (25 minutes old)lol. My husband and I rescued a 8 month old lab/terrier mix. She was 8 month old and was stuck in a crate. We have always crate trained our puppies, but this one is uncontrollable. I keep Bella in a crate - where she continues to pee/poop and it doesn't faze her one bit. I don't know if she is just used to it or not? Don't have any real background info on her. I (we) continue to take her outside where she does her business and everything. I was taking her out every 3 hours. She will come in and pee/poop without any warning right in front of us. We will stop her (if we get a chance to ) and take her outside to finish (like this morning..she started to poop in our living room and I yelled "NO" and quickly got her outside to poo. I have been looking at this forum and taking everything in. They say to treat her like a new puppy and I have. It's been 2 months now and there is no difference than the first day we got her. My husband is ready to take her back to the shelter. I don't want to but ...I can't keep this dog in a crate for the rest of her life, nor don't want to. We have another dog - 3 year old shepard who loves her. They get along very well. I realized that I can't take them out both to do their business cause they are always playing. Could anyone help me out in potty training her???I want to be able to have her out of the crate at all times. My husband and I are at our wits end! Never had any problems with crate trianing any of our dogs until now. Is a 10 month too old to be taught? Cause for 2 months now it hasn't gotten any better. I will take any advise I can get at this point. I don't want to get rid of her!!!! My heart will break. I am trying to be patient, but it isn't working anymore. I am even getting depressed at this point.

if I may....I totally sense your frustration. Being a mom of 3 rescues out of 4 dogs I can tell you the road is not easy. you have had her 2 mos right?
you know for 100% her age?
Keep in mind you have to un-do whatever it is the dog knows. That takes time because it all happened in the most critical stage of the dogs life.
Your other dog should be playing a critical role as a role model. You must get a schedule first. This is my schedule just so you have an example. I have a 5 mo old puppy too right now
Wake up- everyone goes outside- pee/poo whatever
we feed them
they go back out if they want (the older ones knows vs the puppy but my one dog will always poo after she eats)
then they play
I watch the puppy's water consumption now as that determines how soon she will go again
She (was) confined to a smaller area of the house - its a pain but you gotta watch 24/7- if i feel its time for her to go i take her out and say lets go PP- I dont always wait for her to have a mistake........
then when I think its time for my others to go out I make the same fuss- OK lets go out its PP time- while they will go to the door most times its just better if they are waking up etc that I remind them all. The puppy sees what is happening
Besides that the PRAISE them is so important- acting super happy- the dog wants to please you period

I dont confine my dogs in a crate unless they are done for the night- the puppy gets crated when we go out as I cant trust her with playing and chewing yet .

I have the luxury of working from home so if you work then you gotta set up a routine around your schedule - dogs WANT routine. I hope this helps- maybe you heard some or all of it before but consistancy is what works and lots of patience with rescue dogs

thank you for your response. I do need to set her up with a schedule. My husband and I both work f/t, so it is very hard. However, my son lives with us and I can find out what his college schedule is and we can go from there. What kind of schedule do you recommend? I am at a loss at this point. I don't leave her unattended - she is a very bad chewer! She chewed up our new carpet in the back room where her crate is. Her crate might be too big for her. She has a lot of room to move. I don't know how to make it smaller so that she is more confined. What ever I put in there she will chew up. Any suggestions on that as well? Also, when we let her out for "play time" should we keep her in the back room? Or do we let her have the whole house to play for a little while? We are always there to watch her...

if the crate is too big then she will piddle poo there- period
how much time ya got before you go to work?
I would take out when she wakes and wait til she goes- take a treat with you - (cut her water off by 6:30 at night that is what I do - we go to bed around 10:30 -11)
then feed both dogs
then wait 15 min or take out right away- my one dog like I said will poo immediately the new puppy takes like 15 min
then confine to a small area to play with your other dog etc and then before you leave take her out again--I would not leave water in the crate with her ( I hate to do that to animals but until she learns) can you leave the 2 dogs together??
then when you get home keep greet time low key - take her out with treat etc
then do what it is you do- take for a walk etc
Chewing is boredom/lack of exercise- leave chewable toys with her........
maybe you can find a crate on craigslist etc that has a divider.

I can't leave Bella (10 month old) out unattended. She plays with Titan (shepard) but someone is always there to watch. As for the water...at this point I only allow her access a few times a day. My thought is that if she doesn't have access to water everytime she comes out of her crate there will be less peeing issues. Here is what we do in a day with Bella...
my son gets up aound 6-7 and lets Bella out
I feed her around 7:30-8:am
My son takes her out again to pee/poo (not sure what time)
my son takes her out every 3 hours. Once a day he lets her out to play with other dog.
when my husband gets home he takes her out and lets her in to play for a little bit. He than puts her back in the crate. Around dinner time (6ish) they get fed again. I let her out after we eat (before she comes back out to play)I than let her play with other dog again. Than she is crated for the rest of the night. She has "free time" out in the house about 4-5 times a day for about 10-15 minutes. She starts sniffing around and than I'll take her out to do her business. We feed her 1 cup in the morning and 1 cup in the evening. She poos about 3 times a day.

The chewing could be two things: typical puppy teething and/or frustration and the need for exercise!

You have a young lab. All puppies need lots of exercise but consider the breed--labs are hunting dogs so they tend to have lots and lots of energy. How much exercise is your dog getting everyday? I'd suggest at least two long walks per day if not more. Perhaps, you and your husband can walk the puppy an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening and then your son could walk him for an hour or more during the day. Even better, if your son bikes/rollerblades/skateboards teach the dog to run beside him (ala Cesar Milan). A tired dog is not a destructive dog. Burning off his energy can go a long way in helping with the other training issues.