Shilo is starting to poop overnight

[bosoxx]

All of a sudden, out of nowhere, Shilo is now starting to relieve herself overnight. She does it in the same place (pretty close) every time. We use white vinegar and a stain cleaner, but that's not the real problem. When i take her out when i get home from work she wants to play, i've had her out for as much as an hour and all she will do is pee. I always figured she just didn't have to go. Then i'll take her out again before bed and she'll pee again. When the wife and i wake up she's relieved herself again (sometimes twice) in that same corner. She's never pee'd in the house, but her doggie piles are starting to add up. She has done her business outside, it's just that sometimes she either gets lazy or something is going on in that little Red Tick Hound head of hers. I feel like she's testing us.

Are there ways of getting your dog to do their double job while outside and not holding it? That's what i feel like sometimes. That's she's holding it so she can do it later. Sandy is at the end of her rope. She's heard that scolding and hitting the dog is wrong and sends the wrong message. We've tried bringing her to the mess and pointing it out with a stern NO! or BAD! but it doesn't help. Even the silent treatment with a little "time-out" doesn't seem to work. I want to try a cage with her but Sandy is afraid she'll just bark and bark and we'll get no sleep. I'd even like to try it when we are at work during the day. She's pooped a few times when we've been at work, but considering she's home alone for a long time, she's been very good.
Water bottle? A newspaper smack on the butt? Continue to scold? I'm up for any advice.
Shilo is a very playful girl. And from what we've seen she doesn't take to being ignored very well. She gets a lot of love from Sandy and I but we don't want a spoiled dog. We know she's a rescue and there's no way to really know what happened to her with her previous owners and we just have a fear that maybe she was allowed to get away with something before we adopted her and she's carrying it over with us now.

Sandy and i have only owned cats all of our lives so a dog is still a pretty new experience. Coming here was the best decision i ever made. The advice and assistance here has been so valuable i can't begin to tell you.

So i guess the question now is: Crate. YES or NO?

Thanks!
-keith

[WingedFoal]

Crate training can work wonders if it is used right. Most of my dogs have been crate trained and the ones that weren't crate trained should have been I think. It would have saved a lot of confusion, time, and money (carpet cleaner, especially). If you decide to crate Shilo, she will probably cry a lot the first few days, but with time out of the crate (watched over closely) and consistent training she will get the message.

I was referred to the NILIF program by Carrie, and it is a very useful way of training. It gives structure and order to both dog and owner. I started it with my two Bostons and I can definitely see an improvement. They now know for sure that I am the leader. Here's the website for it:

http://www.dog-pictures.co.uk/dog-ca...-is-free.shtml

How old is Shilo?

[bosoxx]

Thanks Winged. Shilo is 1 1/2 years old. We've had her for about a month now.

-Keith

[WingedFoal]

Hmmm, she sounds a lot like the Redbone Coonhound/Bloodhound I fostered for a few months. She seemed completely housetrained and at least a year old when she came to me, but within a month she just started going inside. I had sectioned off a part of the apartment small enough to where she wouldn't want to use the bathroom there, and placed her in that spot at night. She learned quickly again where to go potty, and she had only one accident after that, and it was completely my fault because she was whining at the door to tell me she had to go. I was busy making food for a child I was babysitting and poor Lazy (foster hound) couldn't wait any longer.

[sheltiepups]

I'd say you need to crate. I also agree with all the advise WingedFoal gave you. Good luck and if you can upload pictures of her, that would be great :-D

[bosoxx]

There's actually a photo of her and 2 of our cats in the Gallery section.