[yorkietalkjilly]

This is a tough one and will take some intense retraining and untraining of a bad habit. It won't be pretty for a while and it will be hard and take patience but you can retrain her with work and persistence as you retrain her body and brain how to pee properly. Here are some thoughts on how I might do it and what I've used in the past on this type problem in a rescue dog.

No doubt you'll have to confine her during the day to a small pen/crate situation where she stays for a time in an area too small to comfortably pee in but one that has access to potty pads next to her bed. Keep her in that for 30 minutes to help her build up the ability to hold it and not want to soil her bed and then take her outside. If she goes when outside, treat/praise her absolutely lavishly and bring her back inside for a short period of play and/or training and then quickly into her confinement for 30 minutes and then back outside. If she doesn't go when outside, I'd just bring her back in and put her back in confinement for the next 30 and then back outside. I'd keep this up for a full two weeks so that she has VERY little access to being able to just walk along and pee but will begin to acclimate her brain/body to the fact that she will be allowed to relieve herself outside every 30 minutes NO MATTER WHAT. You've got to get that notion out of her head that she is free to potty just anywhere so removing her ability to do it anywhere for a good while as you are introducing her to new program of confinement to encourage her holding it and then outside and eventually within that two-week span she should begin to be able to get the message that she's to hold it in the house in confinement because after all, she's going to be given access to outside in such a short time that it's easy to hold it for a while. She may soil her bed or pad during that time but she's learning so don't be upset. Keep to the same schedule and read below about how to react when she has an inside accident, even on her bed/pad or out in the house.

Once she can hold it successfully in confinement for 30 minutes at a time all day long for two weeks, confine her for 45 minutes and then an hour at a time. You are teaching her body how to accept and deal with holding her urine by keeping her confined to just her bed area with a small area beside it to pee/pooh if she just HAS to right then, but if she's going out every 30 - 45 minutes to eventually every hour, she will learn to hold it as most dog don't want to soil their bed or even that potty pad so near to where they are confined, especially IF they have the certain knowledge that within 30 - 45 - 60 minutes as you work out the program, she can count on being taken outside like clockwork. Eventually the idea will begin to get into her head - hey, I can hold it and wait and then I get to go outside so often it's no biggie.

So be sure that after a couple of weeks if she's had no accidents in the house, you can begin to lengthen her time in confinement to help her build up tolerance to holding her urine in your house so she learns how to do it there and then get her outside in 45 - 60 minutes as she holds it longer. Treat and praise her absolutely lavishly when she goes outside. I mean look her in the eyes and thrill over what she's achieving and let her know you are VERY proud of her. Then, as she holds it longer in confinement, goes outside, she can have longer out in the house but here's the thing. YOU WILL HAVE TO WATCH HER LIKE A HAWK the entire time she's out and about. One accident of pee-walking and you are back where you started at this point almost so you must watch her constantly for signs of peeing and I promise you they do show signs before even when they walk and pee. She likely becomes somewhat focused and excited, begins to look at the door to outside, the floor or walk about deliberately in one area or something such as sniffing the floor or going in circles a bit. Dogs about to pee are usually to some degree scoping out where they are about to go as peeing is a big deal to most dogs and they place their urine and scent quite deliberately given half the chance. So learn her signs. If you have to keep the other dogs out of the room during this time, so be it. They could be interfering with her ability to concentrate and focus on her housebreaking efforts anyway. It's harsh but you need some type of emergency fix here for a while and I would isolate her to the area where I was and keep the other dogs away while she is out and about for the most part so you can focus on her. If she starts showing signs, say the words "Do you need to go potty?" and take her outside. If she doesn't go then but showed signs in the house, bring her back and put her in confinement very matter-of-factly (never act disappointed or upset with her because she didn't go) and watch her while she's in confinement and see what she does. If she goes on the pad next to the bed, she's still learning and try not to see this as a big setback but just keep on with your program. If she holds it until her next 30, 45 or 60 minute period it up, GREAT!!! You are getting there. She showed signs of needing to pee, you took her out but she, for whatever reason, didn't go but you brought her back inside, confined her AND SHE HELD IT. This is training her bladder not to go in your house and this feeling can be transferred to how she should act when she out free in the house with more training.

During the intense time of retraining, if you have to talk on the phone, work on the computer or leave the room, confine her and don't set her up to fail by leaving her unwatched in the room. You must do everything you can to stop accidents during this next two months to break her of this bad habit. She's learned that it's acceptable or thinks it is so total retraining is required.

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