Thanks WoodyOak! ! I thought I had a notification system on this if someone responded, sorry about the delay. We used to have the entire fenced 3 acres encompassing the back of the house, so we had no barrier and our dog could go in and out. When we got our rescue cocker she would sit and scratch at the doors and windows endlessly, so we did fence off a square area for the house, then if we wanted them out of that area completely though, we'd have to herd them from the door of the house, through the small yard, to the gate, and through it and most of the time at night they'd do their business in 'our' yard adn rush right back to the door. We put in a door to the 'office/dog room' that used to be a bed room and are trying to utilize that as their only point of entrance. We had to put up a temp fence from that door out while they relevled the ground around the house, it's hard to explain. Definately plan on using the arbor, we have two and have wisteria growing elsewhere we want to transplant onto it....although....the wisteria did a number on our old arbor even though we thought it was strong enough (is ANYTHING strong enough for old wisteria?) Anyyyyway...we did plan to fence off an area , just can't come up with a plan for the 'alley' the dogs use to go in and out into the bigger yard. Yes, we are in the country, so the barking is no problem. THey are only out during nice days and they settle down fairly quickly...it's when they can SEE us/me in the windows or moving around they go nuts. Maybe I shoudln't be so nice to them? haha Thanks for your ideas!!! (I could arrange those dogs for ya! haha)

I agree with what has already been posted, I will just add a few. *First. I have a Hound/Shepard that I adopted about 2.5 years ago. At the time I got her, she was about 45 lbs and of course not house trained. She did the same thing. I have trained many dogs, she is the third female of the household, and she would just look me straight in the eye, squat and pee on the floor. It took me about 9 months to train her, typical training techniques used on other dogs simply did not apply here. *You mention that the vet said she was O.K., I assume this means a UTI was ruled out (this may or may not have been part of my problems). Also, assuming she is spayed, you need to rule out spaying incontinence, something else I had to deal with. It may or may not take this form. This is becoming more typical for numerous reasons, good news, it's easily treated. *After these two issues are completely, without question ruled out, you need to consider that you are the 4th or 5th different human for this dog. Some dogs deal with being bounced around, some don't (mine was completely traumatized before I came along at 4 months by it). All this time later, I am still dealing with it. *Doing things already suggested, and getting the dog on a schedule etc. she can depend on, is key to any house training issue. Additionally, you need to consider that, after ruling out medical issues, you might be dealing with a 4 year old dog, that is acting like a 4 month old dog. For some reason, she just has never "gotten it". The key is to figure out why, be it medical or otherwise. The only way (take it from me and tons of frustration) you are going to figure out what the behavior problem is and correct it, it to treat the dog like a 4 month old pup. This means: *Supervision every second, with a leash (yes that's what I said, it's work, but worth it) for at least a month (maybe more!) when dog is not crated. You simply must commit yourself to this no matter what it takes. Lots of people make more out of this than it really is. Offer your dog a toy or bone, a soft bed, make her lay where you can constantly keep an eye on her. She needs to make progress before being allowed unsupervised freedom. *The instant the dog comes out of the crate, no matter what, (don't stop to put your shoes or clothes on) take the dog out, and when she squats to pee or poop, use tons of praise, say "good poop" or "good pee", go crazy with high pitched voice praise and pets, and give a quality treat used for this purpose only. IF the dog does nothing, crate her when you go back in, wait for a while, and repeat. The idea is to get the dog used to going out when she comes out of the crate. It will give her something to look forward to and build a schedule on. Eventually, you work your way to going out the door. *When she starts to squat and go inside when you are supervising her, instantly in a very loud voice say "STOP" (you may need to clap your hands or pound on a table), anything to get the dogs attention, grab her leash, and out you go. When she goes outside, do the praise treat thing. Your goal should be building on small successes the dog has, turning them into larger ones, having no accidents for 9 months, and getting her weaned from the crate. All of this may take a while given her age, it may not. Either way, it is something that simply must be corrected and this is the easiest, best way to do it. Good luck! SG

I tried not to be too emotional in my reply because one thing may very well be the case: The OP may have the potential or will to be a responsible dog owner and just need a little direction Calmly showing that doghouses, while they are popular, especially here in GA where all the rednecks leave their dogs chained to a tree in every weather extreme, it's easy to assume that dogs live in dog houses and that's OK. Well it's not OK, well not really. It kind of depends. The most ideal situation, no matter what is to start this puppy off right. This isn't a breed that does best living outside. You may think just because dogs pull sleds and have a heavy coat means they do fine in cold... well no they really are kind of like humans in the sense they have to get acclimated to temperatures. They said a few words about this on our TV news a week ago when we had lows in the teens. I'm willing to giv ethe OP the benefit of the doubt. Last time I checked we still do not have a badly needed licensing/permit system for obtaining dogs and so most people are without a basic education on modern day pet care and management. The OP probably will not return after reading the replies or will say something nasty. Although we feel very strongly about people leaving dogs to rot in their yards and never have any human contact, it is because a lot of us see what can happen. So OP, I hope that if even you don't reply, please, please, please pick up a book on puppy care. Browse the Internet for some information, get involved with a local chapter of your labrador retriever society. You will make friends, have a much happier dog and you will be a model pet owner who can then teach others the ropes some day. We must all start somewhere and we all make mistakes. This is an easy one to fix. Instead of using a doghouse, although thoughtful of you to construct one, go to pet supply store and get a durable wire dog crate that will accomodate a fully grown lab. They grow extremely fast. Train the dog to use this crate by making it a rewarding experience. The crate, being indoors, will be a much safer housing instrument for the puppy and will enable you to potty train the puppy like a breeze. Find some places where you can solcialize your pup and sign up for puppy obedience classes. Labs are extremely intelligent and you will be amazed if you bring out the potential in your dog. Please give your dog daily walks. Labs need a moderate amount of excercise and keeping a dog inside or in the yard all the time will make the dog go batty. Sort of like cabin fever in humans, the dog feels the same way. Go for all your vaccinations and take your dog in at least once a year for checkups. That's really all I can offer you at this point other than to say If you have any questions, click on the my page link and send me an email privately, and I promise I will not give you a hard time.... only support. On behalf of the other posters I submit an apology for we really don't know what's up here. Please let us help you and you will soon understand why we feel the way that we do.

There can be several reasons why she's peeing in the house. 1. It's not unusual for dogs to pee on new carpet. Not sure why but a carpet layer told me he see's it all the time. Something about the smell of new carpet. 2. It's possible your MIL's dog has had some accidents she's not aware of and your dog is marking where's the other dog has gone. 3. Just because a doggy door is installed (anywhere) doesn't mean your dog will use it. It sounds like your dog hasn't gotten into the routine of living in a different house and the stress of the move has probably caused some anxiety. Plus, there may be something on the other side of the doggy door she doesn't like. 4. Your dog could also have some urinary problems, either stones or an infection, so it warrants a trip to the vet to rule out that possibility. For now, I'd suggest you walk your dog outside often so that she becomes comfortable with the surroundings. There could be a neighbors dog or something else outside that she's afraid of. Take her out thru the door that has the doggy door and when she does pee/poop give her lots of praise (treats are optional). While outside, observe her reactions to anything in the general area. Purchase a black light to find any missed pee spots and treat them with a product made for pet urine. The black light will also show if your MIL's dog has had any accidents. The little things that show up with a black light can be scary. :) Also, don't assume every spot is pee. Food and liquid spills can also leave spots that show up with the black light, so to determine if it's truly pee.......you'll need to smell it.