[martina19882008]

I've had my German Shepard dog since she was 8 weeks old. I would say that my dog is very well potty trained, if I am at home. But once I leave the house, she finds different places to pee and poop. It's never just one or the other. She doesn't pee and poop in one place. She pees in one room and poops in another room. It's always like this, no matter how long we are gone from home. A few days ago, we took her outside to go bathroom, and she peed and pooped. But when we came back home 2-3 hours later, she had pooped and peed in the house. I feel like she's punishing us for leaving her because when we are at home, she can easily hold it in for 8-10 hours. I admit I haven't set up specific times in the day for her to go potty--I just take her out whenever she starts whining. I am now in the process of getting her used to going potty at 8am, 3pm, and 10pm. That is what fits my class schedule, and I also need advice on whether this schedule is possible for a dog--can she hold it for that long? Thanks a lot for your help.

I've crate trained her before, but she HATES the crate. I mean she absolutely HATES that thing. She would go bathroom in there and bark the whole time she was in there. We put her in the crate while we went out for a few hours

[ylaira]

It takes a while and you have to be patient. How big is your house? Why not try to have more "pots" and place it on areas where she stops by?

[Wondergirl]

I feel like she's punishing us for leaving her

That's exactly what she is doing.

Does she have the run of the house while you are gone? Or does she have a "den," a crate that she can call her "home" while you are away? Check at the botton of this page for ideas (or do a site search for "den" or "crate") on how to get a dog used to being in a crate. It should not be a punishment, but a good thing.