Thanks for the helpful replies and queries. We're a 100% rescue family, and I'm not going to give up on a dog easily. Anyone who suggests rescues are a bad idea is basically going to be ignored by me. I mostly know what I'm doing, just stumped by this particular dog, and looking for the wisdom of crowds to weigh in and see if there's something else.

So - to dive deeper for those who would offer suggestions/help:

She was rescued from a backyard breeder who apparently used to be oK, but as he aged has simply become neglectful. She was outside in a cage 100% with no socialization whatsoever for nearly a full year.

We have not yet written down the cycling to see if there is a pattern, though we discuss it frequently. There might be, but it's not obvious- it's not tied to storms, for example, or any specific triggering event.

She is on a good food - California Natural. And if there's one thing we are good at it's consistency. She is fed exactly the same thing at exactly the same time every day, and is walked three times a day on a consistent schedule. That's been enough for every other dog we've ever had, but somehow it's not working. Even when she is not having accidents in the house, she does not reliably poop on every walk.

I mentioned she had a horrible time with intestinal parasites. initially, and we went through through several cycles of treatment.

We have wondered if this is medical, but had her thoroughly checked. The vet initially suspected Addison's, but that test was negative. My husband suspected more parasites, but we had that tested, too, in more advanced tests and negative. Her stool varies a lot, and is looser and with mucus during her bad episodes. So we'll have several days of her basically mostly on some sort of schedule (pooping at least two of the three walks a day, sometimes only once, generally semi-solid consistency with the right look and color). Then suddenly she skips two or more poops in a row, might even poop on the night time walk, then we wake to find poop in the basement. She may or may not poop during the day on walks, may or may not poop in the house for 1 or 2 or 3 nights, then with nothing changing she'll be back to "normal."

For example, this most recent case. She pooped fine Sunday morning. Did not poop Sunday after dinner, but had a very large poop Sunday night. Monday morning we woke to find a very large, semi soft poop in basement. She did not poop Monday morning. Pooped in house during the day (soft), did not poop on evening or nighttime walk. Crated her last night, and poop this morning was perfect.

She is a very cute dog, and sometimes quite sweet. The children adore her, and she is very, very good with them.

I just don't know. Nothing in particular seems to trigger a bad period, and nothing in particular seems to get things back to normal.

We're giving her probiotics, and the vet suggested adding metamucil to her diet, a tablespoon a day.

We're going to start actually tracking to see if there is anything we can identify. We'll do the metamucil.

I am considering starting a training class - perhaps increasing her confidence in training may lead to increased confidence in regulating her BMs.

The vet has said there's nothing else to test unless we want to have her seen by a gastroenterologist, which quite honestly we can't afford. Is there a specific, better food you'd recommend? Any other behavior training? Anything you see that I'm missing?

Some rescue dogs are the best dogs ever, BUT some are not. And some of the problems are not solvable--there are many great dogs to choose from, but this one does not sound like the best for you. Terriers can be very difficult. Return sooner rather than later. Maybe this dog will do better in another setting. Not your fault, I mean with ohter dogs, other circumstance, etc.

Another rescue owner here -- our dog was over a year old and picked up potty training just fine. I don't know of a single rescue that didn't and I know tons of rescues.

22:40 needs to stop wearing his ass for a hat.

OP, what is your yard situation - do you take your dog on walks? I suggest a regular feeding /walking schedule (augmented with treats at the appropriate time during walks) and then, and only then, can you resume use of your fenced yard (if you are trying to use that).

Try to remember that the reason she was in the state she was in and has the issues she has is because too many people think dogs should just be a pleasure, and that's why backyard breeders breed them.

Have you consulted a trainer? Seriously, do one of those training classes at petsmart (they're not that much). It might help you bond better with her and help you communicate better. And while in class, ask the trainer for suggestions with the poo issue.

There are also products that will attract the dog to poo in certain places.

you mention that she'll be fine for some weeks and then have a few accidents in a row. Have you identified any possible triggers? For example, if she is afraid of storms, perhaps when it storms, she gets derailed and poops in the house out of fear.

if you can identify a trigger, then you can put her in a crate with a pee pad if you expect a storm is coming.

And lastly, given her trauma, it's possible that she would benefit from anxiety medication. I had a cat who was peeing outside of the box. I put him on an anti-anxiety med prescribed by the vet, and sure enough, he stopped. it was fairly cheap (i ordered it from an online pharmacy. they would call the vet to verify the prescription). It worked very well.

In response to the jerk who says rescue dogs are problems, all of my dogs -- 4 total -- have been rescue dogs. All of them were housebroken just fine. In fact, they're way better than a friend's dog. (the friend got the dog from a breeder and it still has accidents, even after crate training).

My adopted dogs were seriously awesome dogs. The first was with me for a long time, and it was hard when he died. The second was a big love bug. It was sad when he died.

The other two are my current dogs, and they're very well behaved. No accidents.

So it's possible to adopt a rescue dog and have a wonderful experience.

That said, dogs are individuals. And some respond to past trauma in different ways.

To the OP, don't give up. Just be open to trying new things. I agree withe PPs about a consistent feeding schedule. The good news is that pee is harder to clean and control. but dogs, if fed consistently, can get on a pretty predictable poop schedule.

Perhaps you could buy those scented pee pads and actually put one *outside*. When you take the dog out for an after-dinner poo, walk over to it. It might be the cue he needs.

don't give up. You'll find something that works. It just might take some trial and error. You made progress with the pee situation, and that's definitely a good sign.

Whoever is stating that most rescue dogs are no good, you can go screw yourself because that is so uneducated!! It's because of idiots like you that more and more animals are being put down at animal shelters around this country.

So....would you also say that adopting a child from an orphanage would mean that they are damaged goods?

It's not like we are comparing McDonald's to Red Lobster here. Get a clue.

This has absolutely nothing to do w/coming from an animal shelter. I have adopted two animals from a shelter because I refuse to "shop" for pets. I loathe breeders and blame them for the high euthanization rates in our country.

My animals are loved unconditionally by my family.
Sure, they may have their quirks, but I have a responsibility. Animals are not novelty items. They are not something you take on, get tired of or sick of, then cast them aside.

They deserve to be loved unconditionally. Just because they cannot speak and express themselves, doesn't mean they do not feel pain. Or love.

Please I beg you OP, do not give up on this dog.
I know being a parent has many challenges, but please as a responsible pet owner, do the right thing and love this doggie unconditionally. He loves you unconditionally I promise.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We rescued a year old terrier just over two years ago. She was at a backyard breeders and just kept in a cage, with no socialization. Thankfully she was rescued before being bred.

She spent the first 6 months of life with us simply hiding under the couch or bed. We mostly let her be, hoping we'd gradually win her over. She wasn't housebroken whatsoever, so we gently wored on that. Did not crate train her since she was so shy and really, kind of picked under the bed as her den. I I think that was our initial mistake.

She turned out to have a pretty severe worm issue, so many cycles of treatment. We were patient through it all and simply cleaned up messes.

At close to a year, I finally lost it after a bad week of lots of poop in the house, and yelled and punished her. That actually seemed more than anything to get her to understand no poop/pee in the house.

Now, two years in, she's pee trained fine. But we cannot get her poop trained at all. Took her to the vet for every test imaginable and there appears to be nothing physical. We walk her three ties a day, and she does not poop on every walk (previous dogs have all been regular poopers - you walk them, they'd poop). She might be ok for a week or so, but then there will be several accidents right in a row.

We're at the end of our patience. Tried going to a crate but she would just mess in the crate, which was worse for clean up. Seriously we have reached the point where she's more of a burden than a pleasure. There is no pleasure.

What's our next step here? I'm at a loss.

Honestly, I know you meant well and had the best intentions, but rescuing a dog often results in stories like yours. People romanticize it, but a lot of these dogs have problems and they never fully adapt. You can't teach an old dog new tricks, and a 1 yo terrier is kind of past the housebreaking stage. You will eventually give the dog back, so I recommend you look into it sooner rather than prolong your agony.

Go scratch yourself! You must be beyond ignorant or a troll. Dogs of all ages can learn potty training. It takes time. My old dog learned at age 5 after living his life tied to a tree.

OP, terriers are very head strong. I have a 14 yr old and he rules the roost. He too hid in places, like his own little cave. Thats what terriers do. PP's had good suggestiins about the food. Plus he should be placed right outside after eating to do his business.stay with it and the tide will change soon

Hey dipshit, I've BTDT with rescue dogs. Stop with the bullshit. Most are very damaged and don't belong with families, full stop.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We rescued a year old terrier just over two years ago. She was at a backyard breeders and just kept in a cage, with no socialization. Thankfully she was rescued before being bred.

She spent the first 6 months of life with us simply hiding under the couch or bed. We mostly let her be, hoping we'd gradually win her over. She wasn't housebroken whatsoever, so we gently wored on that. Did not crate train her since she was so shy and really, kind of picked under the bed as her den. I I think that was our initial mistake.

She turned out to have a pretty severe worm issue, so many cycles of treatment. We were patient through it all and simply cleaned up messes.

At close to a year, I finally lost it after a bad week of lots of poop in the house, and yelled and punished her. That actually seemed more than anything to get her to understand no poop/pee in the house.

Now, two years in, she's pee trained fine. But we cannot get her poop trained at all. Took her to the vet for every test imaginable and there appears to be nothing physical. We walk her three ties a day, and she does not poop on every walk (previous dogs have all been regular poopers - you walk them, they'd poop). She might be ok for a week or so, but then there will be several accidents right in a row.

We're at the end of our patience. Tried going to a crate but she would just mess in the crate, which was worse for clean up. Seriously we have reached the point where she's more of a burden than a pleasure. There is no pleasure.

What's our next step here? I'm at a loss.

Honestly, I know you meant well and had the best intentions, but rescuing a dog often results in stories like yours. People romanticize it, but a lot of these dogs have problems and they never fully adapt. You can't teach an old dog new tricks, and a 1 yo terrier is kind of past the housebreaking stage. You will eventually give the dog back, so I recommend you look into it sooner rather than prolong your agony.

Go scratch yourself! You must be beyond ignorant or a troll. Dogs of all ages can learn potty training. It takes time. My old dog learned at age 5 after living his life tied to a tree.

OP, terriers are very head strong. I have a 14 yr old and he rules the roost. He too hid in places, like his own little cave. Thats what terriers do. PP's had good suggestiins about the food. Plus he should be placed right outside after eating to do his business.stay with it and the tide will change soon

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We rescued a year old terrier just over two years ago. She was at a backyard breeders and just kept in a cage, with no socialization. Thankfully she was rescued before being bred.

She spent the first 6 months of life with us simply hiding under the couch or bed. We mostly let her be, hoping we'd gradually win her over. She wasn't housebroken whatsoever, so we gently wored on that. Did not crate train her since she was so shy and really, kind of picked under the bed as her den. I I think that was our initial mistake.

She turned out to have a pretty severe worm issue, so many cycles of treatment. We were patient through it all and simply cleaned up messes.

At close to a year, I finally lost it after a bad week of lots of poop in the house, and yelled and punished her. That actually seemed more than anything to get her to understand no poop/pee in the house.

Now, two years in, she's pee trained fine. But we cannot get her poop trained at all. Took her to the vet for every test imaginable and there appears to be nothing physical. We walk her three ties a day, and she does not poop on every walk (previous dogs have all been regular poopers - you walk them, they'd poop). She might be ok for a week or so, but then there will be several accidents right in a row.

We're at the end of our patience. Tried going to a crate but she would just mess in the crate, which was worse for clean up. Seriously we have reached the point where she's more of a burden than a pleasure. There is no pleasure.

What's our next step here? I'm at a loss.

Honestly, I know you meant well and had the best intentions, but rescuing a dog often results in stories like yours. People romanticize it, but a lot of these dogs have problems and they never fully adapt. You can't teach an old dog new tricks, and a 1 yo terrier is kind of past the housebreaking stage. You will eventually give the dog back, so I recommend you look into it sooner rather than prolong your agony.

Time for the rainbow bridge.

^^your wrong about terriers. They can take up to 2 years to house train. They are BEYOND BELIEF STUBBORN. THEY WILL NOT SIGNAL YOU IN ANYWAY and they are constantly circle and sniffing and almost never lying down so yeah, no cues at all. Airedale terrier and JRT here. Once a week I want to stuff them in a pillow sack and take them down to the rivah ....Yeah they're cute and all but FFS I hate the potty training of these stubborn sorts of dogs--I mean I fell like I'm going to loose it a couple times each week.

Anonymous wrote:We rescued a year old terrier just over two years ago. She was at a backyard breeders and just kept in a cage, with no socialization. Thankfully she was rescued before being bred.

She spent the first 6 months of life with us simply hiding under the couch or bed. We mostly let her be, hoping we'd gradually win her over. She wasn't housebroken whatsoever, so we gently wored on that. Did not crate train her since she was so shy and really, kind of picked under the bed as her den. I I think that was our initial mistake.

She turned out to have a pretty severe worm issue, so many cycles of treatment. We were patient through it all and simply cleaned up messes.

At close to a year, I finally lost it after a bad week of lots of poop in the house, and yelled and punished her. That actually seemed more than anything to get her to understand no poop/pee in the house.

Now, two years in, she's pee trained fine. But we cannot get her poop trained at all. Took her to the vet for every test imaginable and there appears to be nothing physical. We walk her three ties a day, and she does not poop on every walk (previous dogs have all been regular poopers - you walk them, they'd poop). She might be ok for a week or so, but then there will be several accidents right in a row.

We're at the end of our patience. Tried going to a crate but she would just mess in the crate, which was worse for clean up. Seriously we have reached the point where she's more of a burden than a pleasure. There is no pleasure.

What's our next step here? I'm at a loss.

Honestly, I know you meant well and had the best intentions, but rescuing a dog often results in stories like yours. People romanticize it, but a lot of these dogs have problems and they never fully adapt. You can't teach an old dog new tricks, and a 1 yo terrier is kind of past the housebreaking stage. You will eventually give the dog back, so I recommend you look into it sooner rather than prolong your agony.

Do you give her incentives when she poops outside? If she's never pooping outside, pick some up with a paper towel and place it outside, preferably where she pees. Encourage her to go poop there. Even when she pees, give her an on-the-spot treat and lots of praises. If/when she poops out there, double the rewards and encouragement.

We just adopted two rescue dogs three weeks ago and had lots of challenges with accidents during the first week. Our girl dog wouldn't poop outside, despite the long walks twice a day- the moment she came inside she'd go poop, ug! A vet friend said to bring her to the backyard even after the walks, and just stay out there until she finally pooped. She finally figured it out, and I thnk the immediate treats and encouragement also helped her to make the connection.

Also, steam vac your carpets/floors, if you don't already. The smells of previous accidents will naturally draw your dog back to pooping in the same site. Nature's Miracle and a steam vac have been invaluable for us.

Good luck!

Is your dog on a feeding schedule?

Sorry if this is TMI but is its poop a healthy consistency? (solid and firm?) if not, find a better food.

You should be able to get them on a regular schedule where they poop about an hour after eating but they need to be on a consistent food schedule and eating the right kind of food with enough fiber.

We rescued a year old terrier just over two years ago. She was at a backyard breeders and just kept in a cage, with no socialization. Thankfully she was rescued before being bred.

She spent the first 6 months of life with us simply hiding under the couch or bed. We mostly let her be, hoping we'd gradually win her over. She wasn't housebroken whatsoever, so we gently wored on that. Did not crate train her since she was so shy and really, kind of picked under the bed as her den. I I think that was our initial mistake.

She turned out to have a pretty severe worm issue, so many cycles of treatment. We were patient through it all and simply cleaned up messes.

At close to a year, I finally lost it after a bad week of lots of poop in the house, and yelled and punished her. That actually seemed more than anything to get her to understand no poop/pee in the house.

Now, two years in, she's pee trained fine. But we cannot get her poop trained at all. Took her to the vet for every test imaginable and there appears to be nothing physical. We walk her three ties a day, and she does not poop on every walk (previous dogs have all been regular poopers - you walk them, they'd poop). She might be ok for a week or so, but then there will be several accidents right in a row.

We're at the end of our patience. Tried going to a crate but she would just mess in the crate, which was worse for clean up. Seriously we have reached the point where she's more of a burden than a pleasure. There is no pleasure.

What's our next step here? I'm at a loss.