More Housebreaking

I am in a delima with my male and female dogs. They are 17 months old and we have been deligent it trying to train them. We have kept them in crates and not let them have the run of the house and when they are out we let them out to go potty very often. The male especially hikes his leg every where. What can I do? How do I respond?
June Purnell

• Hi June....
  First off are the dogs neutered/spayed?? If not the male will be "marking" alot more. Yes it is a good idea to keep them in their crate. When you let them out how much of the house do they have access to??? If you can not supervise them very care- fully then I would only give them access to the room you are in.

  Too much territory for them to investigate will only cause trouble if you can't be there to correct them. Also get a good cleaner one that will neuteralize the spots where they have gone. Not one that will just cover up the odor. Remember dogs can smell up to 100+ times better than us. (Often when a smell is up to 6 months old!!!)

  Best way to correct a dog is when he/she is in the middle of using the rug, sofa, etc. Yell "NO!" and immediately put them outside for them to go potty. ALOT of praise when they go out- side will also help. "Good dog going potty!!!" DO NOT rub their faces/nose in the mess they have made. Do not yell at them when you come home to find a mess. They will have no idea what you are talking about and will soon become fearful when you arrive home. Dogs do not have a long attention span and can only associate a bad action with a correction for less than 2 minutes. You must catch them in the act for it to really click in that you do not want them to use the house to soil in. Keeping their schedules of feeding, water, and letting out also will help. Good Luck!
  PUG