Toilet Training Hell

[RyaPal]

Bella is 9 months old now and 90% of the time she goes to toilet outside, but in order for this to happen i have had to take her bed out of her crate otherwise she will wee on that and then sleep in it. When she goes outside i give her a massive fuss and a treat, but every now and then she still goes in the house, for example just now i needed the toilet myself so i opened the back door for her just incase as she was asleep, i went but come down to find a puddle literally by the back door.
She knows to go outside and was so close to being there, I don’t know whats going wrong, and as i said if she has a bed in her crate she will go on that, so she has lost her bed now.

what more can i do as i feel i have tried everything at this point

 

[JudyN]

Has she had a vet check to ensure there isn't any medical cause?

Is she in the crate overnight, or during the day as well? Could there be any lingering smell of wee in the crate - how are you cleaning it after she's peed in there?

 

[Hemlock]

Is there something outside that might be making her feel nervous? Not necessarily a "thing" but a noise, a smell, another dog close by?

 

[RyaPal]

Vet has checked her and she is fine, she has a crate which is attached to her playpen that she sleeps in but she is fine at night and when im not home she will hold it.
She does get distracted outside by the birds chirping and flying by, but she does go outside most of the time.
Cleaning up the wee i clean it with towels, then spay it with this enzyme spray stuff and then wipe it with a different towel.

she does know to go outside as when im home 90% off the time she will go to the back door then come back and look at me, and thats her telling me.

its the 10% of time im trying to eliminate, and especially when the back door is open for her, thats what I don’t understand

 

[JudyN]

I'm wondering if she'd be more likely to hold it if the back door is closed - maybe in her mind, she knows not to wee till you've opened the door for her, but if the door is open... 'OK, I can wee now!' I know she also sometimes wees inside when the door is closed, but this might help. Maybe keep the door closed, and take her out into the garden before you need to leave her for any length of time.

What if you do away with the crate altogether - does she actually still need it?

We have a post on housetraining here: House training Have a read through in case there's something in there that might help. I have heard that spaniels can be difficult to housetrain, so fingers crossed she'll get it nailed in time.

 

[RyaPal]

Im reluctant to get rid off the crate because she has also done wees on my fabric sofa, so until i can trust she wont do that any more i do still need it

 

[JoanneF]

You should leave the enzyme cleaner down for 10 minutes to let the enzymes get to work before wiping up.