I put this here, because I think it is more developmental rather then behavioral issue. If this is the wrong place, please feel free to move it or have me repost.

My little girl is 11 weeks old. She seems to have gotten the "idea" in her head that she is supposed to potty outside. She will whine and/or go to the door when she has to potty. The problem is she still can barely hold it. Often she will whine, take one step toward the door and then squat cause she couldn't make it all the way there before she had to go.

She is still waking in the middle of the night to go potty. If I don't get up instantly when she whines, she potties in her crate.

I just don't know if this is a development issue or something I should take her to the vet for. It has been a long time since we had our last GSD puppy. So I feel like a new mom all over again. Thanks for the input.

I will try to do a better intro with pictures later

Nissa was about 6mos old before I considered her to be housebroken. I considered this a long time. Riley came to us already housebroken so I don't know how long it took for his previous owner to train this.

She seems to have the concept down but she just doesn't seem to have the physical strength to hold it a little longer to make it outside in time. This is good

I don't remember for sure but I think I may have been getting up for middle of the night potty breaks a few weeks after we got Nissa. You *are* a new Mom all over again

Certainly do have her checked by the vet if you're concerned. It's probably about time for a vet check anyway, so tell them about this so they can look for a cause if need be. You need to know if there's a physical problem or not. You don't want to wind up working on housebreaking for a few months only to find out that she's got a health issue that prevents her from housebreaking. You'll only frustrate both of you and if it is physical it may be something painful.

When it comes to crate training, the crate should be just big enough for her to turn around it and lay down comfortably. You need to make adjustments if it's to big. The idea is that a pup will not wet/mess where it sleeps. But make sure to keep an eye that you don't let her get to big before you adjust the crate size as time passes.

Cut down a little on her water consumption a few hours before bed so she doesn't have so much to get rid of during the night.

It is time to upgrade her crate. She fits in it, but you can tell it is time. She can't fully stretch out any longer.

She was really thirsty last night and kept bringing me her water bowl or barking at it. I was only giving her little sips as it was close to bed. But I think it was too much. Thus we were up at 4 am with a wet crate, yet again. She whined to wake me, I just didn't get to her fast enough. ~yawn~

Thanks for the welcome, reply and suggestions!

No more than a couple hours per month in age, else expect a mess...
the fewer accidents, the shorter the time to "house trained".

yeah, she is still a little too young to hold it for long. i remember those days, if he made just a small effort to the door i would be flying over to let him out. always remember that if you take your pup to potty right after eating, playing and sleeping you will save yourself alot of clean up.