[mrspxyz]

We just adopted a beautiful year old doxie. He was negelected at his original home (too many animals) and was never properly house broken. The foster mom was honest and said he wasn't fully house broken, but we took him anyway.It seems like he doesn't know what to do when I put him out. He just sits there. We put him out every 2 hours. He holds and holds and then justs lets go like a flood in the house. When I am out he poops on the bed. Someone has suggested to crate train him, but I feel horrible leaving in the crate all day when I go back to work next month. Any suggestions??
MrsP

[labman]

Forget schedules. You need to learn the behaviors for when he needs to go. Take him out soon after he gets up from a nap, or if he stops playing and starts sniffing around. Be very quick if he is sniffing around previous places he has used. Take him out. Keep him moving. Once he does anything, praise him for it, really praise him.

You need to rethink crating. Yes it seems terrible to you, but dogs are wired differently than people. They instinctively crave an enclosed place.
It is only natural that a puppy resists its crate at first. What the puppy wants more than anything else is to be others, you, anyone else in the
Household, and any other pets. In our modern society, even if we are home,
Other things distract us from the attention an uncrated puppy must have. The
Only real solution is to crate the dog when you aren't around. The dog may be
Happier in its den than loose in the house. It relaxes, it feels safe in its
Den. It rests, the body slows down reducing the need for water and relieving
Its self. Dogs that have been crated all along do very well. Many of them
Will rest in their crates even when the door is open. Skip the
Bedding. At first it gets wet, and later it can be chewed into choking
Hazards. A wire rack in the bottom will help keep the puppy up out of
Accidents at first. They are available with the crates, but a piece of closely
Spaced wire closet shelving from a home supply place is cheaper. I think the plastic
Ones give the dog more of a safe, enclosed den feeling. Metal ones can be put
In a corner or covered with something the dog can't pull in and chew. Select
A crate just big enough for the full grown dog to stretch out in.

A dog that has not been crated since it was little, make take some work.
Start just putting its toys and treats in the crate. Praise it for going
in. Feed it in the crate. This is also an easy way to maintain order at
Feeding time for more than one dog.

The "shut the puppy in a safe room" is a fallacy. Very few houses even have a
Safe room. How many of us have a room with a hard surfaced floor and nothing
Else? Most rooms have electrical cords to chew if nothing else. In addition
To destroying anything a bored puppy finds to chew, it may choke or have
Intestinal blockage from the pieces. I had a friend that left her dog in a
"safe" room. It ate a hole in the floor covering. The safe rooms fail to
Give the dog the comfort of the enclosed space their instinct requires. Nor
Do they restrict activity extending the time the dog can go without relieving
Itself.

The pooping on the bed may be deliberate, part of proclaiming himself top dog.
Having a good pack structure reduces such problems. The 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 http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/.

[mrspxyz]

Thank you for taking the time to answer my concerns. I will try what you have suggested.