[kellykaefer]

Please give me some advice. About 2 months ago, we homed a 4 year old female dog which never pays any attention to us and seems to protest pee and sometimes poo. We want to love her so much, but it is so frustrating. She does it in the middle of the night, while we are at work, when we get the hoover out and turn it on or when we close the door to the room she is in... even if it is for a couple of minutes. We always have th backdoor open for her to go in the garden any time she wishes and take her for walks 3 times a day, but as soon as any of the above happen, she wets the carpet... sometimes in the same spot, often in new spots. Please give me any advice you can offer.

[RubyPitbull]

Thank you for choosing to adopt a dog!

When you rehouse a dog it can be very frustrating because you don't know what he/she has been through prior to living with you. It may very well be that she was never housebroken properly and/or she is very fearful of loud noises. In any event, an older dog takes longer to relax and adjust to a new home. You might want to go back to square one with the housebreaking training AND all family members need to assert their Alpha positions. Labman has information regarding basic housebreaking techniques in his sticky at the top of the dog forum. https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/i...tml#post251809
You might also want to take a look at his suggested reading list included in that link. There are some excellent books on that list that will give you a better understanding of how a dog processes what is going on around him/her.
Labman also has some excellent info regarding asserting yourself as the leader of the pack (Alpha position). It isn't included in that link but I am sure once he sees your post he will stop by and give you that information. Please be patient. He usually stops by at some point in the evening or by morning.

[labman]

The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at Raising Your Dog with the Monks of New Skete For more on being top dog, see Establishing and Keeping Alpha Position, Letting your dog know you are the boss