Melinda Meahan - take out TRASH to reply spoke
these words of wisdom in :

She gets food twice a day just like our other dogs.
that probably isn't enough for such a small dog.



She gets one 1/4- to 1/2-mile walk in the morning, which is really all I
have been able to handle at one time because my back has been bothering
me, with walks on the shorter end of that spectrum at other times. She
is usually really good first thing in the morning but not throughout the
day. What I generally cannot do is keep repeating walks multiple times
until she finally goes potty, and then there's the rare occasion when
the walk has to be postponed an hour or two so I can get my work in.

Well as Janet suggested, Tethering IS your friend.

I had a Jack Russell terrier once that took me 3 months to reliably
housebreak. I was dedicated to the task. Morning noon and all night.
Tethering, regular food cycles, exercise, match sticks, crates, .. Some
dogs just take longer than others.

And i was willing to devote the time to make it happen.



Then she gets a shorter walk in the afternoon some time and then time
outside in the evening with a walk or not, depending on the state of my
back.

She also plays with our border collie in the house during the day. They
get along well, but I do keep my eye on them, but that gives her more
activity and some fun.

The ADHD can be helped along by making sure she gets out more and sees
and gets to investigate lots and lots of stuff. If you don't have time
for that, hire a dog walker. The dog still needs it's needs met, and
your schedule is not it's fault.

I have the time to walk her. I just can't put those walks on a rigid
locked-in schedule. Her morning walk is anywhere between 5 and 9 am;
her afternoon walk is anywhere between 1 and 5 pm, and her evening walk
is between 7 and 9. I try to make sure it's spaced out. But she still
can go on a walk and do nothing only to come back in the house and go
within 3-5 minutes -- VERY frustrating. If she can learn to go potty in
the yard, which she does perfectly well on some days and not on others,
sometimes but not always depending on what's going on outside, then it
won't be a problem at all.

If you can't make the commitment to do what this takes, then this is going
to take much longer and be more difficult. Your physical abilities as
well as your schedule is not the dog's fault (putting this into
perspective) And if you can't manage this, I suggested hiring a dog
walker, who can.



As for making it like your other dogs... not going to happen.

Really? I didn't think it was an unreasonable to expect a dog to go
potty shortly (read: 5 minutes or so) after they go out if they need to
go or to expect them to be able to go potty without having to be taken
on a walk to do so. Can you please explain why you think it won't
happen so I can understand your reasoning, because it almost sounds like
you are trying to say that expecting her to be completely housebroken is
an unrealistic expectation, although I might be misunderstanding you.

OK, my bad. I thought you wanted this individual to be like your two
other dogs. And didn't read the part about wanting her to have potty
habits like the two other dogs.

Yes she can be. But you know what? i can't potty on demand. I think it's
unrealistic to ask my dog to do that. I think in terms more of their
needs than my convenience.

That said... stimulating the orafices with a match stick causes just
enough temporary irritation to move things along on schedule.