SOS, REALLY, PLEASE HELP GUYS...

My dog is a 5 year old Bichon Frise named Stella. We have had her since she was a puppy (we got her family a family that bought both her and her sister from a breeder and then decided that two puppies was too much). Long story short, she's a really great dog and super affectionate and always up for anything (especially cuddles) and we've taken her to multiple obediance classes. She's really smart and knows tons of tricks (I'm not bragging I swear, okay, maybe a little...) which is why I don't understand why she CANNOT grasp the concept of house training. She knows it's wrong when she goes poop/pee inside because she hides, but she won't stop! And I'm not gone for excessive periods of time either, (this morning I left the house at 8:40AM and let her out just before and got home at 11:00AM and she had gone inside). I also feed her when I know I'll be home for a long enough period of time to let her out/take her for a walk afterwards. Not sure what to do at this point, so any comments/tips/advice/success stories are wanted :)

*give a little time to me, we'll burn this out

Have you tried crate training yet?  I HATED the idea of using a crate for my puppies because I just love them so much!  I refused for a long time but once I gave in, it definitely worked for me.  (And they say dogs actually like crates, it becomes a safe place for them to go...but who knows).  And you don't have to leave her in a crate forever, just until she is older and can mature...for some dogs it takes 2 years.  

If you don't wanna crate train, you HAVE to make sure that you clean up the pee/poop with special cleaners that eliminate the smell.  If you just wipe it up, the scent will still be there to the dog and she will continue to use the bathroom there.

Good luck!

I'd agree with crate training, but it only really works if you are consistent about it. Is this a new problem or an old one? You said she was 5, so I am just wondering since if it's new then maybe she should see a vet.

I have two dogs. My doberman I got as a puppy, and my mutt that I rescued from the humane society. The doberman was a breeze to house train because we crate trained her. Crate training is a god-send to anyone trying to house-train a dog. The mutt was not house trained AT ALL and she was 6 months old. It took me about 3 years to actually trust her, but now she's great. I couldn't have done it without crate training.

So here's the skinny on crates and why they work.

Dogs are den animals. They also don't like to make a mess in the area that they sleep in if at all possible. Some dogs prefer when it's made to be darker like an acutal den (with a blanket over top), some don't care. The key to crate training is that when you're first starting out you can't give the dog too much space, or they may be tempted to still go in the back of the crate. Buying a crate that has a built in seperator that can be adjusted is the best way to go.

I would start your dog like your training a puppy. Anytime your dog goes outside OMG BEST THING IN THE WORLD, HAPPY DANCES, TREATS OUT THE WAZOO, etc. When you cannot supervise your dog, she goes in her crate. Again, don't give your dog too much room. The rule of thumb for a puppy is that it should only have enough room to lay down comfortably. If your dog has too much room and it can go to the bathroom and still lay down and avoid it, you've given her too much room. As your dog is more reliable with crate training, you can give her more and more room.

Syndey (the mutt) didn't really dig her crate at first. Now she will go and sleep in her crate on her own. She loves it, she feels safe in it. They are amazeballs. :)

Along with crate training, a feeding and bathroom routine will also help. Feed her at the same times (whether it's once or twice a day) every day, and set up a bathroom schedule you'll be fairly good at sticking to. She'll need to be taken out quite a lot in the beginning so she can learn that outside is for potty, inside is not. Praise the absolute crap out of her when she goes outside. Make it a SUPER SUPER amazing fun experience. It is okay to go over the top with praise while potty training.
It doesn't matter who feeds her or takes her out, as long as it's around roughly the same time every day and as long as going potty outside is turned into a super positive experience. This usually works well because a) the dog won't want to mess his/her sleeping area and b) he/she will learn that it's a good thing to hold on for an upcoming potty break and he/she will get lots of praise.

The feeding schedule will aid in regulating her potty requirements which makes potty training SO much easier. My vet said this to me when I got Chloe: "What goes in must come out, but when it comes out will depend on when it goes in, and that is up to you" lol.

Okay guys!! Her crate training starts tomorrow!! Thanks for all your great advice I will keep you updated :)

ONE LAST QUESTION! If I feed her once a day, what time is a good time? Does it matter?

*give a little time to me, we'll burn this out

Mine get fed once a day (except whiskey because he's still a baby) and I feed them every night at 6pm. Then they usually want to go out to potty twice before bed at 10-11pm. But what time you feed her is really up to you. I chose 6pm because that's when i'm either cooking or cleaning up after dinner and can duck out for 10 minutes to feed the dogs.

We feed Sully twice and take him out 3 times. He gets taken out when Joel wakes up (around 7 maybe) then he eats breakfast. Then I take him out around 5, then he gets dinner at about 7 or 8 pm and then he goes out at 10 or 11 before we go to bed.

Like said above, crate training and routine works wonders.

I feed Buddy around lunch and hes always had eating problems so I leave it out for him for a couple of hours. He then gets taken out to do his business. I don't feed him late because he gets stubborn and won't go when I take him out, and wakes me up at 3 am to make me take him out.

He rarely has potty issues anymore, besides not being crate trained. He's just weirdly human and smart and doesn't like having his poop or pee inside near him at all.