[Jaxonw316]

My girlfriend has a 6 month old border collie who we have been trying to potty train for some time. He has a lot of accidents, but not in the usual sense. We take him out quite often, and he goes every time we do. He is trained in that regard. He is also trained to come, sit, and other basic things. He is very energetic and wants to play at all times. I personally believe he is going in the house on purpose.
When he is being ignored, or sometimes when he is put in his cage, he will go on the ground, even if he has been out recently. I think it’s because he knows he will get attention from it. We have tried most training methods (well fitted cage, getting to go outside, eating and going schedule, etc.)
Also keep in mind that he ONLY goes to the bathroom inside when we are home. When he is alone he holds it. This is partially why I think he does it for the attention of yelling his name and leading him to his cage (or out of his cage, if he did it there,) to clean it up. We don’t like the idea of hitting him or letting him sit in his own mess.
I’m seeking any advice. It’s pretty specific so that’s why I’m bringing it here. I’d really appreciate any help! We are new to training.

 

[LeoRose]

Has he been to the vet to rule out a UTI?

Are you sure that he's done pottying before you bring him back inside? Some dogs like to pee two or three times before they are empty.

If he is being "ignored", is it possible that you are missing his signals that he needs to go out?

It's possible that the peeing upon being put into his crate is submissive urination. If that's the case, he may or may not grow out of it.

 

[Jaxonw316]

Has he been to the vet to rule out a UTI?

Are you sure that he's done pottying before you bring him back inside? Some dogs like to pee two or three times before they are empty.

If he is being "ignored", is it possible that you are missing his signals that he needs to go out?

It's possible that the peeing upon being put into his crate is submissive urination. If that's the case, he may or may not grow out of it.

We are still training him to give signals we can see, but he’s slow with that so we are mostly working to just get it out of his system whenever possible. He can hold it, sometimes he does, and sometimes he doesn’t, if that makes sense.
and referring to if he’s done before coming inside, I usually THINK he is. He gets distracted easy and sometimes I suppose we take him walking around after going as being “done.”
would you have any advice if it were to be him seeking that attention? I know that might sound crazy. I don’t know. He doesn’t only pee, though,occasionally it’s both.

 

[LeoRose]

Frequently, my girls' only signals that they need to go out is that they seem restless and can't settle. If they are really desperate, I will get a nose poke. However, it took a long time before either of them figured out how to "tell" me that they needed to go out, especially my German Shepherd. She was also nearly two years old before she quit needing an early morning potty trip two hours before we normally got up.

At six months, he's really young, and it might just take him a while longer to figure out how to tell you he needs to go. In the meanwhile, make sure that he has ample opportunity to relive himself, and don't immediately bring him back in after the first pee, but give him the time to sniff around a bit as see if he needs to pee again.

Any accidents in the house should be thoroughly cleaned with an odor eliminating cleaner. If you catch him pottying in the house, just calmly say "Not there" and take him outside. Don't scold or yell at him, as all that does is teach that pottying in front of you is scary, and doing it after the fact is useless, since they don't connect the "thing they did wrong half an hour ago" with the "you're yelling at me now".

 

[Mitchdog]

Border collies are super smart, probably the most intelligent dog breed so thankfully you should have an easier time solving this problem than you would with many other breeds. Although its easier to train a young dog certain habits from young, it is fully possible to change the habits of an older dog so don't worry, you won't be stuck with this problem forever.

By avoiding negative training methods you are doing the right thing. Dogs don't respond to negative training very well but can learn things fast when being trained with positive reinforcement methods.

Dogs don't usually want to use their crate as a toilet, so using a crate that is small, but big enough for the dog to move around it is important. When you take your dog out for a walk, take some treats with you and every time they go toilet you should quickly reward them with a treat and praise. It's crucial to be fast with this as dogs will get confused about what they have done right if you take too long.

If you do happen to catch them in the act of peeing or pooping in the house, all you need to do is give them a firm "No!" and send them out into the garden. This helps them to understand what they did wrong and where they should go to do it.

I had this problem my dog and those were the techniques I used to correct it. Take a look at this site that I learned a few things from when i had this problem. Let me know if it helps. https://graduatedogs.com/how-to-train-a-border-collie/

I would say there's lots of information about this online and the same techniques would apply to any dog breed. I think the fact that you have an intelligent breed is in your favour and you should be able to correct it a lot easier.