Hello, First, if you aren’t already using a crate, I would crate train for potty training. They need to have pottying outside as their only option by limiting freedom to times when their bladders are empty. Take the outside to go potty on leash one at a time, telling them to “Go Potty”, walk around to encourage sniffing but keep them focused, praise and give a treat if they go potty. After they pee, if they haven’t pooped during that part of the day (morning, afternoon, evening) then walk around for another 10 minutes, repeating the process to see if they also need to poop – most dogs start out doing both separate and many will hold the poop even if they pee because it’s more convenient to go poop when its calm inside – whereas pee is harder to hold for many. If they don’t go potty when you take them, crate that dog when you come back inside. Crate for one hour, taking them back outside to try again when the hour is up, repeating the walking on leash, go potty and reward if they go potty. If they still don’t go potty, keep repeating the crating and waiting an hour until they finally go while outside. Basset Hounds can be prone to getting distracted while outside, so the leash helps redirect attention and keep them slowly moving if they start to sniff too much instead of focusing on pottying. The Go Potty command, once taught, can help them remember why they are out there to begin with and keep them on track also. Make sure that the crates don’t have anything absorbent in them – including a soft bed or towel. Crate the dogs separately, not in one large crate. Check out www.primopads.com if you need a non-absorbent bed option for them. Make sure the crate is only big enough for each dog to turn around, lie down and stand up, and not so big that they can potty in one end and stand in the opposite end to avoid it. Dogs have a natural desire to keep a confined space clean so it needs to be the right size to encourage that natural desire. Use a cleaner that contains enzymes to clean any previous or current accidents – only enzymes will remove the small and remaining smells encourage the dog to potty in the same location again later. Check out the Crate Training article linked below.. You will adjust those times to potty trips every 3 hours, instead of 1 hour, and taking back outside every hour if they don’t go potty, instead of every 30 minutes, since your dogs are almost adults. When you need to be gone off, they should be able to hold bladders for longer if they went potty beforehand, but only if they are in the crates to motivate them. At first, don’t expect longer than 5 hours. Once they are used to holding it, the maximum will be 8 hours. Any longer during the daytime and they will be forced to have an accident – enough accidents and they can loose their desire to keep even the right size crate without something absorbent in it clean. Crate Training method: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-german-shepherd-puppy-to-poop-outside If you are still struggling after applying the above suggestions and using a crate, then unfortunately pups may have already lost their desire to hold it while in a confined space. This commonly happens when someone accidentally teaches pup to do so by placing something like a puppy pad on one end of a larger crate or confining a puppy in a cage where they are forced to pee through wired flooring – like at a pet store and some shelters. There are rare puppies who simply do it anyway, even though nothing happened to teach that. In those cases you can try feeding pup their meals in there crates to discourage it but most of the time you simply have to switch potty training methods until the dog is fully potty trained – at which point you might be able to use a crate for travel again later in life. Check out the Tethering method from the article linked below. Whenever you are home use the Tethering method. Also, set up an exercise pen (the study thick kind that pet stores often use for hosting classes due to pup’s size, then tether is to something secure like the corner of the wall in the room where its located) in a room that you can close off access to later on (pup will learn it’s okay to potty in this room so choose accordingly), or choose a small room without any rugs and carpet that you can use in place of the exercise pen, that can be a temporary “potty room”. Sometimes a mud room, laundry room with appliances turned off, or small bathroom can work – if pup is a chewer, choose accordingly to avoid access to baseboards and anything in the room (make sure there are no wires they could get to. Don’t set the exercise up in a main area of the house like the den or kitchen. Tethering method: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-german-shepherd-puppy-to-poop-outside Use the Exercise Pen method from the article linked below, and instead of a litter box like the article mentions, use real grass pads to stay consistent with teaching pup to potty on grass outside – which is far less confusing than pee pads (Don’t use pee pads if the end goal is pottying outside!). Since your goal is pottying outside only use the Exercise Pen at night and when you are not home, and tether when you are home. When pups will hold their bladder while in the rest of the house consistently and can hold it for as long as you are gone for during the day and overnight, then remove the exercise pen and grass pad completely, close off access to the room that the pen was in so they won’t go into there looking to pee, and take them potty outside only. Since they may still chew longer even after potty training, when you leave them alone, be sure to leave them in a safe area that’s been puppy proofed, like a cordoned off area of the kitchen with chew toys – until they are out of the destructive chewing phases too – which typically happens between 1-2 years for most dogs with the right training. Exercise Pen method: https://wagwalking.com/training/litter-box-train-a-chihuahua-puppy Real grass pad brands – Also found on Amazon www.freshpatch.com www.doggielawn.com You can also make your own out of a piece of grass sod cut up and a large, shallow plastic storage container. Since you say you have tried everything; if you have already tried this or you try it and pup isn’t improving, I would consider a trip to your vet to see if something is causing incontinence. If pup is healthy and there is not incontinence, then I would work in person with a private trainer who specializes in behavior issues and has a lot of puppy experience and rescue experience (this is often an issue with rescues even if your dogs aren’t rescues) so they can ask more questions and do a bit of trial and error to help you make progress. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Aug. 31, 2022