Love my dogs; hate their potty habits

[cjsmileys]

Ben and Yuki will be 1 year old on May 1st and 2nd. I have been crate training them since we got them from a local SPCA shelter at 8 weeks old. Ben is a Husky, Lab, Border Collie mix: he is gorgeous and affectionate. Yuki is a husky and lab mix: very docile and friendly.

I also have a toy poodle named Wishbone who is 5 years old. Wishbone follows me everywhere from the moment I get home. We love this little man!

I have been having problems with the two puppies for quite some time which is causing me great concern. My eldest daughter was so frustrated the other day that she mentioned finding new homes for the dogs. I can't blame her, even though we love our new pets, it is exasperating to constantly clean up after these two large dogs.

My puppies are being crate trained. They are never punished with the crates. The crates are their dens. I have even tried to keep the dogs out at night: having them coexist with me and my kids; however, they are so fixated on their crates that they want to be in them at nighttime. This is where they eat and sleep.

I have a self-watering dispenser outside of the cage that they have constant access to each time they are out of their cages. On weekends, I have the dogs out for two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon and two hours at night. After the two hours, the dogs go back into their cages for a little R&R. My daughters and I also take the dogs out once in the morning, once at noon, once in the afternoon and once before bed for them to do their business. If warranted by signs, they will be taken out more.

HELP!!! I don't know what else to do. Each dog has its own routine when going to the potty. We religiously make certain the dogs go through their routines before bringing them back into the house. However, sometimes 5 minutes, sometimes 30 minutes, etc.... These puppies will urinate and/or poop (usually poop) several times throughout the downstairs which is all hardwood floors except the kitchen which is tile (Thank God!). We try to keep up with the mess; we are exhausted.

These dogs can be outside in their pen during the summertime but, in the wintertime the pen is not useable. We play with the dogs as much as we can and love them dearly but if they do not get that they cannot go potty in the house by next year; I will be forced to find them new homes. My family will be crushed.

I work during the day and come home religiously to take these dogs out.

Can someone help with suggestions? I would appreciate any that you have.

Thank you.

PS: I have heard of a light that can detect pet urine in the home with a product that can thoroughly clean up past urine stains. Does this product really work? Can someone direct me to one of these products that can really work? (As long as it is not too costly, I would like to try going through my house again with one of these products. I have never used one of these lights before, though.)