Gun Dog Forum

Good Sunday morning to you.i tried to introduce myself as a new member but would take. Mike from Lancaster Ohio. First time trying to train a hunting dog.
My wife bought an English setter 3 weeks ago. She is 1 1/2 years old( the dog) and has been kept outside her entire life. We are having a hard time with her peeing in the house. We are taking her outside about every 2 hrs or so to get her to her business out side but can't seem to break the habit. Any ideas?

Welcome to the forum.
A year and a half outside only ? Not to discourage you , but a challenging task if at all possible.
I finally went to the use of a dog door which fully solved the problem.

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Start her with crate training first. Keep her in a fairly small crate. When you let her out of the crate take her outside. hopefully she will go. let her be loose in the house if that is what you want for a short period, maybe a hour you will have to watch her a little at first. Put her back in the crate for a couple hours. Soon she will go as quick as she gets outside. It should not take her long to learn that she should go out to pee. I would not let her be loose and unattended in the house for awhile. A dog that old should have no problem with eight to ten hours in a crate. If she is needing to go every couple hours take a urine sample to your vet...…...Cj

We adopted an 11 year old female setter that had lived her whole life in a Scotts Kennel (they are like giant rabbit hutches, wire above ground so not even a concrete floor), and it took a day or two to housebreak her, so it *can* be done.

Don't give the dog free run of rhe house. Keep your (or someone's) eyes on her every minute. If you can't watch her, crate her. If the watchers tend ro get absent minded, like if you're watching football or checking facebook or something, leash the dog to your beltloops so if she moves, you know it.

A few times of catching her before she goes and getting her outside, then praising her when she does her business should fix things right up. Needless to say, the dog should not be loose in the house overnight until she's trustworthy.

When you have her vet checked, have the vet do a quick urine check. It takes a minute - just a strip of test paper dunked in a sample. If your dog isn't spayed, maybe she has to go more if coming into season.

Thanks for quick responses. I have a lot more questions, so you will be hearing from me.thanks again

Sharon wrote:Welcome to the forum.
A year and a half outside only ? Not to discourage you , but a challenging task if at all possible.
I finally went to the use of a dog door which fully solved the problem.

(Your post does appear in "Tell a little about yourself" You need 5 posts approved initially. )

I've done it a handful of times. Its harder because they pee more but easier because they don't need to pee as often.

Just keep an eye on her, "Good Girl!" when she goes outside, and maybe a treat. And don't let her out of your sight in the house.

Yes obviously others at better at it than me.

I had a German shepherd once that was outside only until roughly the same age. Crate training helped and then just treating it as you would a puppy. The bonus is you don't have to take it out every 20 minutes lol. If you're taking her out every 2 hours and still having messes then shorten the time. She'll get it. They're smart.