Q: I have recently adopted a 7-year old Gordon/English Setter from my local Animal Rescue Force. Unfortunately she is not housebroken. She had always been an outside dog with the previous owner, who had her from a puppy. I live in a townhouse, so she primarily will be an inside dog now and needs to be housebroken. She has been with me a week, and I have been working with her when I'm home. I work during the day, so most discipline comes in the morning and at night. I have read some of your responses to others, and you seem to be an advocate for the "crate method." I'm concerned with this for Carmel, as she is used to an entire backyard for herself. I currently confine her to my bathroom when I cannot supervise her, with baby gates up. Will this suffice, or do you still recommend the crate? If so, how long do you use the crate for,
i.e., 1 week, 1 month, or more? My bathroom is not much bigger than the crate for her size. Thank you in advance for your advice.
A: The baby-gated bathroom is fine, yes, especially if she is not relieving herself in there. Even if she is she still might eventually get housetrained with just that confinement for when you can't watch her, never using a crate.
A crate is a good emergency thing to be able to resort to with a dog in time of need, so I recommend giving every dog a chance at crate-training. The easiest time of life to do it is in puppyhood and it fits nicely with housetraining. But it is not the only way, and some dogs can't tolerate a crate for various reasons.
Keep her in the same room with you whenever possible, using the confinement only when you can't watch her. Take her outside (go with her) about once an hour, and praise her whenever she relieves herself outside. It won't be long before you get a feel for how often she needs to go out.
If she starts to have an accident in the house, just say "No, Outside" at the very same time you are running out the door with her. It's worth the risk of leaving a trail of urine or feces if need be, to make this connection in her mind.
Don't waste time stopping to punish her when she has an accident in the house, because it doesn't work for housetraining and it can create much more serious problems. White vinegar doused liberally on any accident does tend to deter the dog from wanting to mess in that spot again, while at the same time neutralizing the odor IF you treat the spot before it dries.
When you find an accident after she has already finished doing it, oops, your mistake, just clean it up and go on with your life. Punishment in that situation will only mess up your dog's mind and her trust in you and won't teach her anything.
Although I would try to get her used to resting calmly in a crate just for her welfare when she has to stay at the vet's or in emergencies, I think I would do as you are doing for the longer periods of time while you are housebreaking her, confining to a bathroom instead. She's a large dog of mature years, and hours of confinement to a crate might cause some joint pain and stiffness.
For housetraining purposes, you only need an area small enough that she would be reluctant to foul it, and will try to develop the needed sphincter control to keep your house clean. I expect you'll do just fine!