# 1 year old Plott Hound Crate Training Issues



## dianna912 (Jan 1, 2008)

We adopted a Plott Hound from a rescue about a month ago. She did great in the beginning with potty training, peeing and pooping the second we took her out. The last couple of weeks, though, she has gotten where when I get up in the morning and let her out, she won't potty. I bring her back in and put her in her crate, and try again in half an hour. There are mornings where it has gotten to be 11:00 am, and she hasn't gone, making it a full 13 hours of crate time. In fact, right now, she still hasn't gone, making it about 15 hours in her crate. Luckily, I'm off work today, so I can keep this up, however frustrating, for the day, but most days I am needing to leave for work, and I feel terribly guilty doing so when she hasn't peed yet. I am self employed, so I make my own schedule, but I also don't get paid if I don't work, and spending my entire morning trying to get this dog to pee has just about got me ready to pull out my hair. The same thing can happen in the afternoon, too. Monday, she did not go pee until 15 minutes before I had to leave, so she ended up with fifteen minutes out of her crate. I cut my day short, and got home after about 6 hours, and she wouldn't go then. She ended up not going until 1/2 an hour before bedtime! Plott Hounds need exercise, I know, and she is not getting it because she refuses to potty, and I refuse to let her run and play until she does. (On that note, we do exercise her frequently, including many walks, and a few 3 mile runs a week.) I am starting to think the days she isn't going tend to be drizzly days. I don't know if the wet grass has something to do with it? 

A little background: They told us she was from a hoarder and had been tied up in the back yard her whole life. She just had puppies, which a rescue took before we found her. There are days where she eats food like there is no tomorrow, but the no potty days, many times she also doesn't eat. Or she just tries to eat grass. Help Please! We are definitely experiencing the truth in "Stubborn as a hound"


----------



## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

I am going to make a guess and say it's probably a direct result of her past. If she was kept outside, tied up, she basically has no concept of potty training, and that outside is for potty and inside is not. Lots of dogs behave one way when they are first settling into a new home, and, then, they change as they get a bit more comfortable. So, her doing well with potty training right away, and now not so much, well, that could be just because she's still adjusting.

It does sound like she is having an awful lot of crate time because of this, though. And, if she didn't have the kind of past she has, I would say you have the right idea as far as taking her out to go, and then crating her if she doesn't go. But, really, to go from being outside all the time, to being crated up to 15 hours in a day, well, I think that's going to really be hard on her.

I don't know if wet grass has anything to do with it, since she's used to being outside all the time.

When you are home, have you tried tethering her to you with her leash? That way she's in your direct sight, right with you. This is known as the umbilical method, and kind of does the same as crating, in the sense that it keeps her from roaming the house free to have accidents. If she's tethered to you, and she starts acting like she needs to go, you will know, and can take her out.

Has she had a complete vet check since you got her?


----------



## dianna912 (Jan 1, 2008)

doxiemommy said:


> I am going to make a guess and say it's probably a direct result of her past. If she was kept outside, tied up, she basically has no concept of potty training, and that outside is for potty and inside is not. Lots of dogs behave one way when they are first settling into a new home, and, then, they change as they get a bit more comfortable. So, her doing well with potty training right away, and now not so much, well, that could be just because she's still adjusting.
> 
> It does sound like she is having an awful lot of crate time because of this, though. And, if she didn't have the kind of past she has, I would say you have the right idea as far as taking her out to go, and then crating her if she doesn't go. But, really, to go from being outside all the time, to being crated up to 15 hours in a day, well, I think that's going to really be hard on her.
> 
> ...


I am going to try the tethering method. Thank you for that suggestion! That is a new idea to me. We have not taken her to the vet ourselves yet. The Humane Society we got her from actually has a full veterinarian facility, and we know the vet has seen her multiple times there, from her records, and I did have her in there once when we were "fostering to adopt"


----------



## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Some dogs kind of mentally NEED to run around and sniff the yard before they pee. It like gets the gears going. So you might consider letting her run around the yard (assuming it is fenced) and pee and then you can reward her for peeing with a small treat.

Are you trying to get her to pee while on a leash? Some dogs are horribly stubborn about peeing on a leash but will go right away if let to trot off in the yard for some "privacy"

Then I'd suggest the leash method or keeping her in the room with you so you can watch her to reduce the crate time.


----------



## Analytical Ada (Apr 23, 2013)

Also, when she does go potty, do you take her right back inside or let her continue to sniff? I read that some dogs will hold it because they realize that any time they go potty, that means it's time to go back inside. The suggestion I read was to continue the walk for at least a few minutes after she goes potty so that she doesn't make the association with pottying and fun time being over.


----------



## Shurdawg (Aug 26, 2013)

I don't know if you live in an area where this is possible but I live in the sticks and whenever I take a unpotty trained dog outside to use the bathroom I usually take a leak on a tree or fence post so the dog can see that outside is bathroom and inside is not then play with them for a little while so they don't think they have to go back in the house right after they pee but when they get older they usually do it all around the yard to mark there territory so I usually go mark mine somewhere they just did just to let them know who the alpha is


----------

