Help! I got my 5 month old Boston Terrier three months ago. Her name is Abby and she is a wonderful, happy, healthy, very playful Boston, and I truly love her. Here is a video of Abby: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wVK4yv6fEM

Here’s my problem. I am gone for ten hours a day. I leave the house at 6:30AM and get home around 4:30ish. I work an hour away from home. I crate train when I am at home in the evenings and on the weekends and she’s done pretty well with it.

Being that I am gone for so long during the day, I can’t very well crate her for that long, so I’ve been gating her off in my larger bathroom with her open crate. She has a litter box, which she uses occasionally in that bathroom for pooping, but she seems to pee on the floor all the time. She misses the litter box it seems. When I come home from work, the bathroom is a complete mess. She has peed, pooped and then walked in it and spread it all over the floor, into her crate, bed, etc.

Every night when I get home I know that I have to give her a complete bath, wash the entire bathroom floor, clean her crate, toys, bed, etc. I love this dog dearly, but this is really starting to wear on me after three months. I come home in a very bad mood because I know the drill ahead of me. She obviously hates the daily Monday through Friday bath and I hate giving it to her. But after playing in pee and poop all day, what can I do????

I’ve also tried puppy pee pads which she uses beautifully, but then she tears them up, drags them into her crate and spreads the pee and poop everywhere. I want to make this work, but I am getting extremely distraught and angry because of the situation. I don’t punish her because I know that’s not the answer. But what CAN I do?

She’ll be six months old on Christmas Day and I plan on having her fixed in January.
And just so you know, I can’t afford a dog walker or doggy day care. That is not at all a possibility, and I have no close family or friends near by to come over to take her out.

Is this something she will grow out off?

And advice or encouragement would be greatly appreciated.

Russ

a puppy needs to be trained to hold it's bladder and pooh. you can't expect a pup of 5 months to hold everything. this is anatomically not possible. this should be taught in many months and may take over a year before she can hold it that long. then there is abandemont anxioty. the pup will need to learn small steps at a time. if you want to tach your pup to use the kitty litter this also takes time and need a constant eye on it to teach this. i'm a fraid that if you keep going on this foot that she will never learn....... getting her spayed may also cause incontinance. the pup may also be bored......

get advise from a someone who has knowledge of dog behavior or place an advertisement in your neighborhood to get someone to take out your dog.....

Thanks Esther. I came home again to the mess. Pooh smeared all over the place. I've decide to crate her for 10 hours starting tomorrow. I've leave a bowl of water in the crate for her I know she'll poop and pee but at least it will all be in the crate.

I don't have neighbors would come ove to take the dog out during the day.
She'll have to eventually learn ot hold it, or live in it. The daily baths will go on.

have you got a garden? if you make an area that's safe and appropriate to leave her outside with shelter from the weather, then she could stay outside. if you keep heer locked in her crate for 10 hours a day she may get growth problems due to not enough movement or underdeveloped muscle tissue. outside she will learn to pee there and become potty trained and nor go inside..........

Keep your her in the crate when you are gone. She has to learn to hold it. She will also be less likely to go in there knowing she has no choice but to lie in it. Dogs are clean animals. I keep mine in there for about 8-9 hours and she hasnt peed or pooped in there in about 7 months. I keep a tv on so she wont get as lonely, and a couple chew toys. No bones, food or water in there though. You are asking for an accident then. Be patient and diligent and know that there is nothing wrong with her holding it for 10 hours. Good luck.