I really need help. I have tried everything to potty train my baby, Little Miss Elliot. She is 4 months old and I have been potty training her for almost two months (I got her at 8 weeks old). She is getting worse the older she gets. I have tried every method of potty training that I have read/heard about. I have asked the trainer at puppy classes to help and he doesn't know what else to suggest.
First off, Elliot goes constantly in her crate. I rarely take her out when her blanket is dry. It doesn't matter if she is in there an hour or 3 hours, even if I took her out right before I put her in the crate.
I have tried the bell method. I have kept schedules (for her and me). I tried tying her to me to catch her. I take her out every hour. Nothing works. I tried every method for a couple of weeks to see if it would have any impact.
We go outside and Elliot will sometimes go, sometime not, even if we are out there 10 - 15 minutes (most of the time we are out there 10 minutes). We come in and yep, within 5 minutes there will be a puddle or a present somewhere on the floor. Like tonight, we were outside for 10 minutes. Her older sister went, she didn't. We came in and while I was in the kitchen, Elliot went in the living room and had a bowel movement on the floor. I showed it to her immediately, said no, took her to the back door, said "out" and rang the bell. I then sat her on the back porch for 30 seconds for a time out (I only do this if I catch her going immediately).
And Elliot knows she is doing it because the past few days after she goes, she will either run under the dining room table (I have to get on the floor to get her out of there) or she goes onto the sofa and hides in the corner under the pillows (like she did tonight).
Her brother, Duncan, is 2 months older than Elliot is and he is almost finished potty training (I tried the bell method with him too but it didn't work either. He just sits at the back door and waits for me to take him out when he has to go, he won't ring the bell either). I thought that if Elliot went out every time Duncan and her older sister went out, she would go too. But no, she doesn't.
I know she was young when I got her so I thought it would take longer to train her but I don't know what else to do to get her potty trained. What is really bothering me is that now she seems to know what she is doing since she is hiding after doing it.
Does anyone have any other suggestions or has anyone else had this problem? I haven't had this problem with any of the other three dogs I trained.
HELP! I am really at my wit's end
