Could any one give me advise on how to potty train my rescued 4 year old doxie. I like the idea of crate training but this little one spent all her life in a crate. I do take her outside every two hours and she goes but she still pees on the carpet. I certainly don't want to cause her anymore trauma. Thanks.
Juanita

First, let me thank you for adopting a rescue!! I’m sure you will have many years of good times together.

Housetraining a Dachshund can be very frustrating. Just remember, housetraining a dog or puppy requires time, vigilance, patience and commitment. I have adopted several rescued senior Doxies. I worked really hard on housetraining and some did fine, but one just never quite made it. She didn’t mean to, but after 8-9 years of living in a dreadful horse stall full of feces, it was too difficult for her to unlearn what she had done ALL of her life. One important thing to remember is NEVER punish her, or get mad and yell!! That accomplishes nothing.

My suggestion would be to have your Vet give her a full exam including a urine test for possible UTI (urinary tract infection). Many times it is a UTI, so you need to rule out that possibility and any other possible medical problem(s) first. Housetraining is pretty much the same for adult dogs as well as for puppies. If you don’t want to crate her, try an x-pen. This would keep her confined but give her a little more room than a crate. Never let her have full run of the home though until she is trained. Possibly you should take her out more often and when you bring her back in, have her on a tether tied to you, so if she does want to urinate, you will be there to take her back outside. I have found a couple of links I think might be helpful to you.

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&C=144&A=1118&S=0

http://www.cuhumane.org/topics/hseold.html

Two 30-45 min walks a day will help in her regular training.

I really think the following says it all!

Using A Rolled Up Newspaper in Dog Training
Roll up several pieces of newspaper really tightly. Keep it handy
for whenever your puppy or dog does something bad, like chew
up a favorite item, pee on the rug, or whatever. Take the rolled up paper
and... hit yourself over the head with it, while repeating to yourself,
"Watch your dog more closely, stupid!"

Good luck!!

Thanks for all the advice. We saw our vet on Wednesday and Thursday morning our Molly went to surgery. She had 30 stones and 2 spoonfuls of gravel in her bladder. There was also scarring that told him she has had this surgery at least once before. He is sure that she was not physically able to control her urges. Potty training is going very well now that she is not in so much pain. I know I will never get an answer but I sure would like to know why some people think it is okay to treat doxies abusively. My heart ached but my determination is to have Molly live out the rest of her life pain free.

OMGoodness surgery? Poor girl. So glad you (and the vet) found the problem. That is amazing 30 stones plus gravel in that little tiny bladder. No wonder she was in pain. I'm glad she is doing fine and I'm sending lots of positive thoughts that she will have a speedy recovery. ((hugs)) to both of you.

I'm sure Molly will have a healthy, happy life with you as her mom.