House breaking a rescue dog?

Yes, two things actually. First, rush out an get a book called The Art of Raising a Puppy by the Monks of New Skete. Second, buy a crate and an exercise pen from a pet store..

The Monks book will tell you about crate training; which is widely used as a method of housebreaking. Follow their directions.

You don't have to stay outside with the dog if you can set up a safe environment for him to do his business. Set up the exercise pen right outside your door where you can watch him. About 10 minutes after eating (immediately with some dogs); place him in the pen. Watch him. When he goes potty go outside and PRAISE him lavishly; and then bring him back inside. It shouldn't take too long for him to get the idea. Good luck.

When he goes to the bathroom outside, make a REALLY big deal out of it, give him a treat, affection, ect. I used this on my dog and it worked like a charm.

I can utterly relate in your frustration! In December '07 we followed an eleven-month-historical puppy who used to be rescued from a dog mill. He'd lived all the ones months in a crate, wherein he peed/pood & ate. He used to be additionally very apprehensive -- he'd certainly not visible whatever of truly existence so used to be scared of wind and leaves and sidewalks and men and women and doors and stairs, and all of the common sounds and hobbies of every day existence. It took months to get him acclimated adequate to existence in order that he wasn't a quivering little jello-man at any time when he went external....however of all of the problems we had with him, probably the most devilishly tricky used to be the housetraining. Since he'd lived in a tiny crate wherein he used to be used to peeing & pooing & consuming, he did not have the common aversion to "soiling his area" that is helping for "crate-lowering" systems. Sounds like you are going through the identical predicament. I comprehend it's irritating! :-( But with time & endurance, it WILL get larger! This is what we did: We fed him in his crate (breakfast & dinner) however most effective while the crate used to be blank. We certainly not left meals within the crarte with him even as we had been long past. This used to be now not most effective considering that we do not feel in "loose-feeding" but in addition considering that we desired him to start to realise it wasn't appropriate to devour in an field that used to be dirty. (And likewise, it wasn't appropriate to soil an field wherein he ate. So, later, after we regarded leaving him out of the crate for the day, we might deal with him in quite a lot of locations across the apartment. Interestingly adequate, the one areas wherein he later had "errors" had been the ones locations we ignored within the treating "trips"!) Next, we had been tremendously vigilant approximately looking him after we had been house (= he used to be out of the crate), in order that if he attempted to pee/poo within the apartment, we would swiftly get him external wherein we would compliment him for going external. For the primary many weeks, he might each pee & poo in his crate for the duration of the day. Eventually he might most effective pee within the crate. Then finally he might most effective pee in a single nook wherein he would not lie. And ultimately, finally, we might come house to discover him in a blank crate. (But boy, might he pee after we permit him out :-) Good boy This puppy is 20 kilos complete grown, and he used to be competent to preserve his bladder for nine hours most effective while he bought to be just about two years historical. The smaller the puppy, the fewer time s/he will be competent to preserve her bladder. Some small puppies can not ever preserve their bladder greater than four-6 hours. Since your rescue pooch is not housebroken, possibilities are well she got here from a position wherein she, too, does not recognize whatever distinctive than soiling her crate. So, lowering the scale of her crate would possibly truthfully be running in opposition to you -- she's going to certainly not gain knowledge of easy methods to avert soiling her snoozing field if she does not have room to create yet another snoozing field. Hang in there!! Bless you for rescuing a puppy, primarily person who's now not housebroken. It is a enormous project, and will also be irritating...however you'll do it. Best desires and well success!