My German Shepherd puppy is still house training right now, and I'm afraid we're having a bit of trouble. I'd like to chock it up to that he's still young but I've evidence that this is not the case. This is what I'm experiencing:

He still tries to go in the house as most puppies will do at this point in their house training, but I always catch him and bring him outside. Sometimes he plays with the grass but more often than not (recently anyway) he sniffs around and does his business. If I catch him before he tries going in the couch, I'll open the back door, give him our "bathroom" phrase, and he usually goes right to it.

Okay, but our problem comes in at night, usually.

Whenever I know he has to go or will have to go soon, I take him outside. I have to close the door otherwise he'll try going back inside (which he doesn't do during the day). He usually whines and fluctuates between myself and the door, obviously wanting in. I give him the bathroom phrase repeatedly, but he doesn't go. And with all of the nighttime bugs I'm usually driven in within the hour (not to mention I say "Go Pee" so much that I have to pee by the end of it!).

So what does he do when I get him inside? He lavishes me with love and then finds somewhere to relieve himself.

I have to wonder if he isn't afraid of the dark, but I have a very bright porch light that illuminates a good portion of the yard (the part he goes in).

Another concern I have is maybe an experience with the breeders I got him from? I know they kept their mommy and liter in the outside cages, and they live somewhat 'in the middle of nowhere'. Far enough out to get wild animals stopping by, I suppose. The breeders themselves are great though, so I seriously doubt it's something along the lines of some kind of neglect.

Anyone else experience something like this? Any ideas? And do you know of any products that might help with his training? I've seen lots of 'pee pad' sprays and 'anti-spray sprays'. But really, you never know what works.

I really worry that this is going to be a long running problem.

[CorkyMax]

Originally Posted by LadyL

My German Shepherd puppy is still house training right now, and I'm afraid we're having a bit of trouble. I'd like to chock it up to that he's still young but I've evidence that this is not the case. This is what I'm experiencing:

He still tries to go in the house as most puppies will do at this point in their house training, but I always catch him and bring him outside. Sometimes he plays with the grass but more often than not (recently anyway) he sniffs around and does his business. If I catch him before he tries going in the couch, I'll open the back door, give him our "bathroom" phrase, and he usually goes right to it.

Okay, but our problem comes in at night, usually.

Whenever I know he has to go or will have to go soon, I take him outside. I have to close the door otherwise he'll try going back inside (which he doesn't do during the day). He usually whines and fluctuates between myself and the door, obviously wanting in. I give him the bathroom phrase repeatedly, but he doesn't go. And with all of the nighttime bugs I'm usually driven in within the hour (not to mention I say "Go Pee" so much that I have to pee by the end of it!).

So what does he do when I get him inside? He lavishes me with love and then finds somewhere to relieve himself.

I have to wonder if he isn't afraid of the dark, but I have a very bright porch light that illuminates a good portion of the yard (the part he goes in).

Another concern I have is maybe an experience with the breeders I got him from? I know they kept their mommy and liter in the outside cages, and they live somewhat 'in the middle of nowhere'. Far enough out to get wild animals stopping by, I suppose. The breeders themselves are great though, so I seriously doubt it's something along the lines of some kind of neglect.

Anyone else experience something like this? Any ideas? And do you know of any products that might help with his training? I've seen lots of 'pee pad' sprays and 'anti-spray sprays'. But really, you never know what works.

I really worry that this is going to be a long running problem.

Hi! Welcome to the best dog forum! I have an idea--don't know if it will work----but here goes--You said that the pup was use to being in an outside cage---Can you try putting something (in the area you want him to go do his job) like a cage or crate (or 'create' something) and just leave 1 side (facing the house) open wide (the whole side). Put newspapers with some of his poo and/or pee on it--put it half way in the cage and have other half extend out in to the yard (so he has enough room to either go in or out of the cage to do his business. Take him to it for a while--if he does his business there--
praise him and go in the house and give him a treat. After awhile if all goes well---try letting him out by himself and when he wants in--go out with flashlight if needed to see if he did his 'duty'---if he did-praise him and give treat inside the house. If he isn't doing his 'duty'---don't praise and no treat!

On another note--German Shepherds have a proness to not being able to digest their food as well as they should and in a nutshell they are not as healthy as they could be. Please go to my profile page (Corky/Max) Click on statistics--then click on Find all THREADS (not posts) by me and click on the one tittled German Shepherds--Nutrition. Please read all replies too (and of course there is 1 or 2 that disagree with the raw feeding part of the message) but as far as raw feeding not being safe--most commercial dog food is more unsafe--In studies and tests--commercial dog food has been found to have several 'strains' of salmonella in the same bag! And then euthenized animals and their chains ground up have been found in com. dog food too!! Another thing--It would be wise to give your pup Vitamin C too for 1 of many reasons--to try to prevent hip dysplasia. I am going to have to end this post or it will get too long and get 'knocked out' when I try to post it! If you can't find all the info (Vit. c etc) in your searches--ask me some specific questions and I'll do what I can to help.

Originally Posted by Corky/Max

Hi! Welcome to the best dog forum! I have an idea--don't know if it will work----but here goes--You said that the pup was use to being in an outside cage---Can you try putting something (in the area you want him to go do his job) like a cage or crate (or 'create' something) and just leave 1 side (facing the house) open wide (the whole side). Put newspapers with some of his poo and/or pee on it--put it half way in the cage and have other half extend out in to the yard (so he has enough room to either go in or out of the cage to do his business. Take him to it for a while--if he does his business there--
praise him and go in the house and give him a treat. After awhile if all goes well---try letting him out by himself and when he wants in--go out with flashlight if needed to see if he did his 'duty'---if he did-praise him and give treat inside the house. If he isn't doing his 'duty'---don't praise and no treat!

On another note--German Shepherds have a proness to not being able to digest their food as well as they should and in a nutshell they are not as healthy as they could be. Please go to my profile page (Corky/Max) Click on statistics--then click on Find all THREADS (not posts) by me and click on the one tittled German Shepherds--Nutrition. Please read all replies too (and of course there is 1 or 2 that disagree with the raw feeding part of the message) but as far as raw feeding not being safe--most commercial dog food is more unsafe--In studies and tests--commercial dog food has been found to have several 'strains' of salmonella in the same bag! And then euthenized animals and their chains ground up have been found in com. dog food too!! Another thing--It would be wise to give your pup Vitamin C too for 1 of many reasons--to try to prevent hip dysplasia. I am going to have to end this post or it will get too long and get 'knocked out' when I try to post it! If you can't find all the info (Vit. c etc) in your searches--ask me some specific questions and I'll do what I can to help.

Hello and thank you! =)

Onto other matters! Well as it is we've gotten in the rhythm that when he goes outside we run inside together and he gets his treat. So we're A-OK there. The inside-outside crate sounds like a good idea, unfortunately the back door leading outside is part of the 'house rabbit room', and I don't want to risk letting the bunny out, she's also still young and doesn't know she wouldn't survive out there- I'd never get her back!

As for the raw food, I'm well aware of the health benefits (I'm very conscious about animal-health and like to do my homework on things like that). I've been slowly switching him from the kibble the breeders were feeding him to raw foods.

Haha, on that note he got ahold of my rabbit's apple last night and went nuts on the sugar! It was tiring.. but adorable.

Anyway (back on topic!), thank you so much for your help and if you come up with anything else please let me know! At this point I'm chocking it all up to the fact that he's still so young. But I can't help but to feel like there's something more I can do to help him along.

On another note, sorry it took so long to get back to you. I had some ISP issues and had to switch over, took a while for my new modem to get sent.