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“Housebroken” dog going in house

Please, please, if anyone can help me do, because I am ready to give her to the pound but I’d rather not.

I got Rogue when she was about 10 weeks old. She had a really hard time of being house broken. Initially, she was going to be allowed to wander around the house and just let out to use the bathroom. She had a lot of accidents though, so I tried crate training her as a pup and young adult.

I work a lot {10p-6a twice a week and 6p-6a twice a week}. It’s a bad schedule, I know but I haven’t been able to find another job and I’ve been looking for six months, so I’m stuck for now. I live alone, so it’s just me taking care of her. I guess 8-12 hours was too much for her to hold it, because she had started regularly going in her crate. Nothing worked so when I had her for about a month I put in a dog door, and that seemed to work. She would have accidents for a while there but I’d put her nose in it, tell he no, maybe gently smack her snout and take her to the dog door. She got the hang of it and stopped going in the house.

I had decided to let her have free range of the house. I tried again when she was about 8 months old to crate train her, but it didn’t work. She would bark all day and I got nasty grams from the rude HOA guy, and once I got the police called on me for the noise, so I thought fine whatever.

ETA, She’s a year old now.

Then about three months ago, she chewed through the plastic dog door. I replaced it and sprayed it with bitter apple spray, and that was good for about two days, until she chewed through that too. I don’t have the income to spend $70 every time she does this, so after the last time I put a plastic insert over the door and I’ve been letting her out.

The problem is she’s stopped going outside. For the last two weeks she’s been sh****** in the house basically every day. I let her out in the mornings, and I let her out every two hours or so before I go to work. She will not go to the bathroom outside. I always come home to a mess.

Today I was off. I woke up at 6 and let her out every two hours again. She didn’t have to go so I went back to my room to lie down. Five minutes later I go to the kitchen and she had s**** on the floor. There was no excuse for this. I was HOME. I was AWAKE. She could have come get me like she used to as a pup but she chose not to. She could have gone when I let her out but she chose not to. Whatever, I cleaned it up and went out for the day

I came home to nine, yes nine, separate piles of s*** in my living room. I was livid. I put her nose in it again and smacked her, took her to the dog door again. This is killing me. I am ready to get rid of her or kill myself because it is absolutely disgusting. I almost threw up the smell was so bad, and my water bill has doubled from mopping every day, sometimes twice. The smell is nauseating and it won’t go away. I dumped a spray bottle of bleach on it and mopped it and I still smell it. It’s horrific, it makes me not want to be in my skin for the rest of the day. I’m afraid to come home because of what I might find.

How do I make her stop? What can I do? I tried a trainer and that didn’t work. I ended up paying $700 for the guy to quit on day 2 and tell me to take her to petsmart because I refused to use a shock collar. I am at my wits end. I don’t have anyone that can care for her while I’m at work, and I can’t -afford daycare. How can I make her either go outside or stop chewing her dog door? I’ll happily put a new one in, but she has to stop chewing it, I can’t afford $70 a day.
 
Reading your post breaks my heart for your Doberman.
First you should never, ever rub their nose in it. The dog does NOT understand why you are doing that. You should never ever hit your dog.
You failed to set her up for success as a puppy in the house breaking. A puppy cannot hold their bladder for the length of time you were asking her to. From what you have posted, I think you were not prepared to take on this breed with your work schedule.
They need consistent training and positive reinforcement without ever resorting to physical punishment.
What part of Florida are you in?
Do you not have someone that could come in and let her out to potty while you are at work?

Please don’t take her to the pound! Find a Doberman Rescue and surrender her to them because based on what you have said, you are not prepared to properly raise a Doberman at this time in your life. Have you talked to your breeder about taking her back?
This does not sound like an unreasonable or unruly dog. It’s lack of consistent training. This breed is extremely intelligent and difficult to raise during their first two years and requires fair, consistent training on your part. You have to teach them what you want them to do otherwise they will be confused. She is still a puppy and by hitting her and rubbing her nose in her feces you have only caused her to mistrust you.
You will have to earn back her trust and start a training program with her. Group classes are a good place to start.

If you are unable to provide her with this, then she needs to be rehomed. I will try and find a rescue and get that info to you.
 
Reading your post breaks my heart for your Doberman.
First you should never, ever rub their nose in it. The dog does NOT understand why you are doing that. You should never ever hit your dog.
You failed to set her up for success as a puppy in the house breaking. A puppy cannot hold their bladder for the length of time you were asking her to. From what you have posted, I think you were not prepared to take on this breed with your work schedule.
They need consistent training and positive reinforcement without ever resorting to physical punishment.
What part of Florida are you in?
Do you not have someone that could come in and let her out to potty while you are at work?

Please don’t take her to the pound! Find a Doberman Rescue and surrender her to them because based on what you have said, you are not prepared to properly raise a Doberman at this time in your life. Have you talked to your breeder about taking her back?
This does not sound like an unreasonable or unruly dog. It’s lack of consistent training. This breed is extremely intelligent and difficult to raise during their first two years and requires fair, consistent training on your part. You have to teach them what you want them to do otherwise they will be confused. She is still a puppy and by hitting her and rubbing her nose in her feces you have only caused her to mistrust you.
You will have to earn back her trust and start a training program with her. Group classes are a good place to start.

If you are unable to provide her with this, then she needs to be rehomed. I will try and find a rescue and get that info to you.
I was thinking the exact same thing:(

Our guy struggled with potty training for awhile but that was on us.

Dogs also need a schedule and routine. I imagine it's harder with the varying schedules for her to get on a consistent routine. I don't mean to be mean but I agree that it sounds like a rescue could be the best thing for your dog at this time. I completely understand that you have to work. Our guy is crated about 9hrs a day while we work. We have a dog Walker that comes in half way through and takes him out. I worked overnights for 8 years so I understand that finding someone to let her out late a night when you work could be very hard. Also when you work all night that means you sleep during the day. Im sure it's hard to juggle that and having a young energetic dog.

I would recommend contacting the breeder and if that doesn't work find a doberman rescue that can help. Have you thought about getting an older, laid back dog that can just lie around the house during the day as a companion?
 
The punishment that you are dishing out is ineffective and unnecessary. NEVER rub their faces in faeces or urine. You are making her scared of you and because of your work schedule you are forcing her to do something she’s uncomfortable with and she doesn’t understand. Not to mention you now have a dog with urine/feces all over their face, and have learned nothing from the experience, plus she now fears you!

Contact a breed specific Dobermann Rescue centre and they’ll re-home her with a new family who have got the time and patience to get her back on track.
She’s needs a regular schedule.
 
How can I make her either go outside or stop chewing her dog door? I’ll happily put a new one in, but she has to stop chewing it, I can’t afford $70 a day.
This breed is known for being chewers. I would be scared to death that she would ingest something and get a life threatening blockage. Leaving them alone in the house to roam free is not good for the dog. They need to learn boundaries. As far as pooping in the house, she is smelling where she went and that triggers her to go. You need to clean with an enzymatic cleaner to remove the odors. She doesn’t know she is doing wrong when she has to go because she wasn’t taught consistently that outside is for potty. It’s not the dog’s fault when she soils in the house. Any accident is that of the owner for failure to notice the signs of having to potty. If you taker her out and she doesn’t go immediately you have to play with her outside and walk her around until she does go. Just coming back in let’s her think that the inside is where she is supposed to go. Dobermanns are Velcro dogs and they really, really need to be with their owners even when going outside to potty.
Read up on this forum about potty training and raising a puppy. It has lots of great information to help you understand what is required to raise an emotionally and physically healthy dog.
Do you spend any time training her or socializing her with distractions around?

This thread has me upset because I see so many red flags that are contributing to yours and your doberman’s situation. They need to understand what you are asking of them before they can comply.
 
I hear you saying you let him out every 2 hours But are YOU going out with him? Dobermans are not known for self entertaining, they want and need companionship. They also need A LOT of exercise. He is chewing the doggie door because he is bored. He is pooping in the house because he was never consistently taken outside as a pup. He is a product of YOUR training. This can all be fixed but the question is do YOU have the time or patience to do it. And please, if you need to rehome him go through a rescue so they can find the right home for him.
 
My heart hurts when I read that you rubbed the dogs nose in it and hit him That’s just wrong..

I don’t wanna come off rude but if you have a short temper, not a lot of patience and understanding then this dose not seem
Like a good fit.

If you don’t have the time to invest in a lot of training to set them up for success I suggest getting a different breed or just have a cat.

Doberman’s are a huge investment, in both time and money.

Like others have said if you are to the point of giving up and maybe don’t wanna get professional help then look into a Doberman rescue DEFINITELY NOT A POUND.

Sorry this had to happen to your dog.
 
Well anything I would say has been well covered by the other members. I just feel truly heartbroken for this dog. Seems as though she needs some guidance, routine, and exercise. She really needs someone who has the time and patience to put into her. Please consider a rescue.
 
I apologize for the formatting it’s not letting me quote, I hit quote and nothing happens.

@Atingles10
I don’t think so. I think if I get rid of her I just won’t have a pet anymore because this is killing me, I can’t keep mopping every day, it’s revolting.

@Tropicalbri's
No. If she doesn’t go outside I just bring her in, I don’t go out with her.

I’ll have to look into that but that might not work, lake placid is pretty far. I’m closer to central fl about an hour out of Tampa. Maybe petfinder would be best.

@WiglWerm
No, I just let her out.

This is just extremely frustrating and saddening. She went outside fine when she had the dog door, the issues started again when she chewed it up.

Thinking of getting rid of her makes me sad but I just can’t keep dealing with the stench anymore. I’ve shrugged off a lot. I didn’t punish her for ripping the sheets and pillows, for chewing two holes in the walls, or for tearing up the carpet, but this I can’t tolerate anymore.

@HakuTheDoberman
I had gotten professional help. Alpha and Omega training in Tampa was paid a small fortune to come to my home and train her and then quit on my after 2 days because I wouldn’t use a shock collar.

Unfortunately I don’t have anyone that can walk her. My parents are over two hours away and said they don’t want to do with her. My closest relatives are my niece and brother, my brother works full time during the day and my niece doesn’t know how to drive.
 
I’ll have to look into that but that might not work, lake placid is pretty far. I’m closer to central fl about an hour out of Tampa. Maybe petfinder would be best.
Don’t go with PetFinder. I will drive up and get her and take her to Gary’s Lake Placid Rescue.
What you are calling a shock collar is most likely a training collar called an ECollar which has multiple different functions including the stim.
 
@HakuTheDoberman
I had gotten professional help. Alpha and Omega training in Tampa was paid a small fortune to come to my home and train her and then quit on my after 2 days because I wouldn’t use a shock collar.

I know other May chime in on this but I believe a lot of people have experience with e collars and that aren’t really “animal abuse” as some may think. I would have maybe given it a try and see what the trainer had to offer, since you paid that much for it.

I haven’t personally used one myself, since I have a puppy.

Although I do think the proper use of a e collar is better then physically hitting the dog and putting its face in its own poo.

I’m sure there are many other things that can be done rather then an ecollar.

I’ve accomplished a lot of my puppy training even just by following YouTube videos

You need a lot of patience and training to be done and need to not lose your tempter even tho it can be hard sometimes. They are smart dogs but don’t expect them to know everything you are saying and trying to do just because you said it to them
 
I apologize for the formatting it’s not letting me quote, I hit quote and nothing happens.

@Atingles10
I don’t think so. I think if I get rid of her I just won’t have a pet anymore because this is killing me, I can’t keep mopping every day, it’s revolting.

@Tropicalbri's
No. If she doesn’t go outside I just bring her in, I don’t go out with her.

I’ll have to look into that but that might not work, lake placid is pretty far. I’m closer to central fl about an hour out of Tampa. Maybe petfinder would be best.

@WiglWerm
No, I just let her out.

This is just extremely frustrating and saddening. She went outside fine when she had the dog door, the issues started again when she chewed it up.

Thinking of getting rid of her makes me sad but I just can’t keep dealing with the stench anymore. I’ve shrugged off a lot. I didn’t punish her for ripping the sheets and pillows, for chewing two holes in the walls, or for tearing up the carpet, but this I can’t tolerate anymore.

@HakuTheDoberman
I had gotten professional help. Alpha and Omega training in Tampa was paid a small fortune to come to my home and train her and then quit on my after 2 days because I wouldn’t use a shock collar.

Unfortunately I don’t have anyone that can walk her. My parents are over two hours away and said they don’t want to do with her. My closest relatives are my niece and brother, my brother works full time during the day and my niece doesn’t know how to drive.
To me it sounds like your mind is pretty much made up. It should probably be in the best interest for you both if she was re homed. I know hours of my day are devoted to our 11 month old guy. He needs constant exercise and stimulation. I get up at 3:40am to get a walk/jog in before I even leave for work. Even with all the time put into him I still feel a little crazy some days but he's worth it. They are a huge commitment, especially when they are younger.

Leaving her out of the kennel if she is a chewers is not safe for her. We are fortunate that our guy does well in the kennel and doesn't bark during the day.

Did you get her from a breeder? Sometimes they will take the puppies back and rehome them.
 
Always research the breed you're interested in. Dobe's do not do well with the life style you have described. They need a lot of exercise, mental stimulation and training, a good dog club can help with that. The Doberman is not a breed that does well alone for hours on end. They are extreme velcro dogs and need to be with their people. Rogue may be doing this due to her anxiety and frustration at being alone so much and lack of training. If you are unable to meet her needs I strongly recommend taking @Tropicalbri's offer, either you contact the Lake Placid rescue or let her come and pick up Rogue. You have choices and can take care of yourself, Rogue has no choices and can't take care of herself, she must rely on you for her every need. So anything you do must be what is best for Rogue!
 
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I’ll have to look into that but that might not work, lake placid is pretty far. I’m closer to central fl about an hour out of Tampa. Maybe petfinder would be best.
The Doberman Rescue is only 74miles Southeast of Tampa further inland . They will most likely come and pick her up from your home or you could meet them halfway. If that doesn’t work for you, then PM me about where exactly you live and I can drive up and get her. It will be an 8-10hr Drive for me as I am in Key West, but I would rather make the drive than have you give her to the shelter or petfinder!
Let me know. In the meantime if you could get all her medical records from the vet that would be helpful.
Thanks!!
 
@Tropicalbri's

I’m sorry but no. No offense or anything, but you could be anyone, and for my safety I’m not comfortable letting a stranger have my address.

It’s very saddening that nobody seems to know how to get her to just stop chewing the dog door. If I could keep her I would want to but at this point it seems impossible. I know you guys probably don’t think so from what I’ve said, but I do love her. If she’s stop going in the house she’d be fine. She had no problems when we had the dog door.

Updated:
I opened the door for her and she wouldn’t go so I went out with her and she went. Hopefully no accident tonight.
 
@Tropicalbri's

I’m sorry but no. No offense or anything, but you could be anyone, and for my safety I’m not comfortable letting a stranger have my address.

I’m very saddening that nobody seems to know how to get her to just stop chewing the dog door. If I could keep her I would want to but at this point it seems impossible. I know you guys probably don’t think so from what I’ve said, but I do love her. If she’s stop going in the house she’d be fine. She had no problems when we had the dog door.

Updated:
I opened the door for her and she wouldn’t go so I went out with her and she went. Hopefully no accident tonight.
If you do decide to rehome her please reach out to the rescue. I agree with @Tropicalbri's that they would probably be willing to meet you closer and pick her up.

The only recommendation I have for the chewing on the door is to crate her. I know you said she barks but that is probably because she's not used to it. You said you switched back and forth from crating. Routine is so crucial. We find ways to physically and mentally work our guy before he goes into the crate in the morning. We then pay $400 a month for a dog Walker, and then we work with him more when we get home. She would have to get used to the routine but as you said 12 hours is too long for her to be in a crate and not able to go to the bathroom. She's going to get bored and be destructive. I just don't see how your schedule can work for her best interest. If you were just working 10-6 and not the 12 hr shift I would recommend a sheet over the crate and a noise machine to help as she adjusts.

On the going outside, we have to go out with our guy. We literally stand in the rain while we wait on him to do his business. This also gives you the chance to praise and reward her for going outside. If he just try to hook him outside and go back in the house he stands there intently staring in the direction you disappeared to, I know this because ive snuck around and watched him out the window.

I also remember my overnights and I can't imagine having to work overnights and raise a puppy by myself.

Please, please, please, think of what will be best for not only yourself but the dog. The best decisions are not always easy.
 
A Doberman is too much of a dog for you. The issues that you are having are actually easy issues that can be resolved with attention, time and compassion- all of which you do not have enough of to give to her.

You have yet to experience, the nipping, biting, zoomies, teenage years, etc....

You are in no way ready or capable of owning a Doberman.

Take @Tropicalbri's advice and give her up to a Doberman rescue. Tropicalbri is extending her hand to help, you really should take her up on her offer and do what’s best for your Doberman.
 
@Tropicalbri's

I’m sorry but no. No offense or anything, but you could be anyone, and for my safety I’m not comfortable letting a stranger have my address.

It’s very saddening that nobody seems to know how to get her to just stop chewing the dog door. If I could keep her I would want to but at this point it seems impossible. I know you guys probably don’t think so from what I’ve said, but I do love her. If she’s stop going in the house she’d be fine. She had no problems when we had the dog door.

Updated:
I opened the door for her and she wouldn’t go so I went out with her and she went. Hopefully no accident tonight.


We do know and we have said it. Training and lots of it and time. Regardless if you become consistent and positive with training your schedule dose not seem right for a Doberman. It seems like you just come home and let her outside (not even joining and having some playtime outside either) and then let her in and leave the dog to do whatever. I feel like they are just very bored and now are afraid of you due to physical punishment.


Also you could meet them half way you do not have to give them your address.
 

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