Hi,

I have a year old mini dacshund and he is not potty trained, he refuses to do his poopies outside. We do have him in a crate and he goes for a long period with not accidents in there and we take him right outside and he won't go. We have disciplined him for this much, even put him back in the crate but all he does is bark, so much that our neighbors complain. When we catch him we put his face near and tell him he was bad. NOthing is working! About a month ago my daughter started walking him and he pees everywhere outside, now this is normal but now he is doing this in the house and it is getting worse. What are we to do? Thanks so much.

Linda

Read through the sticky at https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/information-articles-our-dogs-expert-labman-53153.html#post251809 The walking should help. They can't walk and hold it for very long. It is more important to watch the dog rather than the clock. If you take the dog out when it needs to go, and exercise it, it will go.

This could also be a pack status issue. Neuter him if not already. 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 (http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/) For more on being top dog, see Establishing and Keeping Alpha Position, Letting your dog know you are the boss (http://www.dogbreedinfo.com./topdogrules.htm)