Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi there
We have an 8 month old GSD, Indy, and we love him to death. Yesterday, we brought home a new addition. She is a rescue, 10 month old female, Kiya. We don't know much about her except that she has been abused at her former home, and not proporly taken care of (toe nails never cut, too thin, etc. Her and Indy get along like they have always been buddies.
One question is...she keeps going to the bathroom inside the house, even though we take her outside all the time. Is it possible she was never hosue broken? Or could it be that shes trying to makr her territory (never had a female before, do thdy do this?...or could it just be that it was a big change for her, and shes going cause shes nervous?
Shes a beautiful dog, and very affectionate. Shes already a part of the family

Congrats on your new addition and I'll have to add a thanks for taking in a rescue. I don't have a GSD, I have three Shiba Inus and the first two were rescues. Glad to see that Indy and Kiya are getting on so well. As for the pottying in the house it could be she was never taught her manners living that previous bad situation. My first Shiba that I rescued was found as a stray in Brooklyn and he too had to be retaught his manners. Good luck and when you can put up a picture or two of your pups, I would love to see them.
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If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.

>>Hi there
>>We have an 8 month old GSD, Indy, and we love him to death. Yesterday, we brought home a new addition. She is a rescue, 10 month old female, Kiya. We don't know much about her except that she has been abused at her former home, and not proporly taken care of (toe nails never cut, too thin, etc. Her and Indy get along like they have always been buddies.
>>One question is...she keeps going to the bathroom inside the house, even though we take her outside all the time. Is it possible she was never hosue broken? Or could it be that shes trying to makr her territory (never had a female before, do thdy do this?...or could it just be that it was a big change for her, and shes going cause shes nervous?
>>Shes a beautiful dog, and very affectionate. Shes already a part of the family

You weren't real specific about the housetraining accidents or behavior, and there could be medical issues and/or past mishandling behind it. Start with a good check up that includes at least a fecal specimen check (take a fresh poop specimen to the vet).

I have complete how-to information on housetraining at the link below my signature. One possible reason for this behavior in terms of her past handling is that someone may have punished her for housetraining accidents. Don't let anyone do this to her.

Give your other dog nice treats for pottying outside and make sure she sees that. Dog training was practically invented for these brilliant dogs, and she's sure to get interested in figuring out how to earn these for herself. That can get her over the hump of being afraid to let a human see her potty. One of the big side effects of punishment in housetraining is that the dog doesn't know it's for pottying in the wrong place. The dog thinks pottying makes people mad. So the dog hides from people to eliminate. That makes it darn difficult to housetrain the dog. So you need to get her comfortable doing it in front of you, if that is the problem. And if it's not the root of the problem, it won't hurt anything.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47