She's 16 weeks for crying out loud! If she's peeing and pooping in her crate, it's most likely (if things like worms/ GI disturbances have been ruled out) because you keeping her in there too long and/or her crate is too big for her needs right now. Rhett and Oliver came from abysmal conditions. Rhett (17 weeks) is completely crate trained and only has occasional house accidents that are ALWAYS my fault because I missed the signs that he needed to go in between his normal outings. I also stick to a pretty tight food/water schedule while we are both in this learning stage. He sleeps from 10:30- 6:00 with no night time accidents (except when he was ill 2 weeks ago).
Oliver (23 weeks) took longer to crate train, but once his crate was moved to a bathroom with a wee pad and the crate door left open it "clicked" for him. He still has occasional house accidents, but that's because my dad isn't fast enough getting his lead on. Wee pads at the front and back door are helping, but it's just going to take him longer. My parents also free feed/water. That's probably compounding the problem because they don't really know when it's his "time" to go.
The point is, they have tiny bladders at that age. Their GI system runs like clockwork with eating and pooping. Set them up for success by working with that system.
Have you called the breeder and asked her what her schedule was? I'm sure she'd be willing to tell you. And I don't care how much you paid for a dog, $2000 or free out of the walmart parking lot, if you aren't consistent and patient it's just going to take longer.
You might also want to consider a book called "How to Housebreak Your Dog in 7 Days". He stresses consistency and working with the puppy's natural flow, so to speak. |