Puppy Potty Training

She's not going out enough. When you let her out, MAKE SURE SHE GOES, even if it means sitting outside with her for 20 minutes. You can also get a 'potty stick' (they sell them at Petsmart, I don't know what you have by you), which you put in the yard and let's off a pheromone that makes the pup WANT to go to the bathroom there (to kind of mark their territory). Be consistant... much like potty training a toddler. Even if you don't think she has to go, let her out, and often. Give lots of verbal praise when she goes outside! Good luck with that pup!

Normally dogs poop really soon after they eat. Make sure she isn't eating in her cage or when she is let out in the middle of the night.

If there is poo n the cage at 9, try waking up around 8 instead. If there is poo, wake up at 7 then next morning. Eventually you will find a time when there is no poo, and that's when you need to get her outside and stay there until she goes. When she does, lots and lots of praise. If your wife lets her out from 3pm-8pm, and you are letting her out from 9am-2pm, then that is 13 hours you are expecting her to sleep without going out... not really possible for a 5 month old dog... Heck, I can't even go that long! Also... are you SURE crate size isn't the problem? It should be big enough for her to stand, turn around, and she should fill it up when she is laying down. (Not crammed in there, but no 'extra' space.) Like the others have said... it is very RARE that a dog will 'go' where they sleep.

Ok, chances are her crate is too big, dogs will only "go" in their crate if there is room to get away from it. You can get a crate that is for her adult size that has a "sizer" in it to make the crate smaller until she is fully grown. You have to teach her to hold it. At 6months 4hrs seems appropriate so it appears to be that her crate is too big allowing her the space to do this. I had two puppies that we trained at the same time, we kept them in the same crate together and we made the mistake of having the crate too big as well, once we made it smaller they started holding it for longer.
"...Be certain that your puppy has fully eliminated shortly before being crated. Be sure that the crate you are using is not too large to discourage your pup from eliminating in it. Rarely does a pup or dog eliminate in the crate if it is properly sized and the dog is an appropriate age to be crated a given amount of time. If your pup/dog continues to eliminate in the crate, the following may be the causes:..." go to the website for the causes it you wish to continue on ... congrats on the new puppy!

http://www.inch.com/~dogs/cratetraining.html

Don't get rid of her!!! I have a GSD...They are such good dogs!!!! The dog if eating and drinking should be going out every 20 minutes...! Plus the crate might be too big...Dogs tend not to mess where they sleep so obviously there might be too much space. Also, try to make sure she is not crated too long...I know we are all busy and I am sure you will want her to be able to roam a bit when she's older...

What do you mean by crate size isn't the problem either? She needs a small crate where she can not poop on one side and sleep on the other. She needs to know that this is her den where she sleeps only. The crate should be only as big as she is to turn around in circle and lay down. Hope this helps!

When is she fed? She should eat and then go outside for a WALK and then she will poop. She really needs to be exercised, and by that I do mean going for a nice long walk. Sometimes that is what it takes to get things moving inside them. Obviously your wife isn't walking her enough (or at all) in the early morning. That's one of the duties of owning a dog. It needs to be regularly walked. You also need to have a dog this big in training classes. There they will give you tips and pointers on how to do things properly. You can't just wing it with a shepherd. You really need to get her into training.

And you can't just get rid of a dog because she isn't pooping how you'd like. This is your dog for life in my opinion. You have to make it work.

I totally don't get why anybody would bash you for crate training. You didn't ask for that. It's a good way to housebreak a dog. Once she is housebroken though, I'm hoping you'll let her out more often.

I know its the new 'trend' to crate train all dogs but I do not agree with that, at all.

Dogs do not belong caged up all day/night! Good grief! So cruel...

Why even buy an animal and make them part of the family if you are going to lock them up and away for a good portion of the day and all night long? I just don't get it?

~Maybe your dog is pooping in the cage to send you a message that you are being cruel and that she does not want to be caged??

I did not read through all of the replies. I will tell you what we did for our dog. We have a German Short Hair Pointer. We bought from a farmer she is supposed to hunt pheasant and quail. I wanted her inside, so I had to do the training my self. She was crated for an hour, then taken out on a leash to go to the bathroom. I would do 4 to 5 laps around my yard which was about an acre and a half at the time. If she did not go then she was put in her crate for another hour and I did this all day long. Every time she went to the bathroom outside then she got to stay out of her crate for an hour. However once I thought that my dog was house broke she was still having accidents because she would not tell us by crying at the door, barking, or scratching the door to be let outside. I finally bought some ribbon and large Christmas style bells and strung the bells on the ribbon and hung it on the door. Now she rings the bells when she has to go outside. Our dog was 6 months old when we got her and had never seen the inside of a house or a crate for that matter. Now at almost 2 years she is only crated when I am not at home.
One of the other things that you want to make sure that you and your wife are not doing is putting your dog in her crate right after she eats. The dog needs to be taken outside to go to the bathroom about 20 min. after they eat. If you hear your dog crying in its crate then get up and check that it does not need to go outside and to go to the bathroom.
The other thing that the trainer that we spoke to told us to do was while we are walking our dog is to say over and over and over again go potty go potty go potty or go poop go poop go poop, or whatever words you and your wife want to use. Then when the dog does go give it lots of praise not treats but praise!! Treats make it need to go to the bathroom.
Like many did say it should be no larger then for her to be able to stand and turn around in. If she is going to the bathroom in it then it is too big for her and you need to put some boxes or something in it to make it smaller.
I hope this helps.