Puppy Blues !

[HappyAnika]

I feel your pain!

Except I have a 7 year old Maltese who has decided she isn't house trained anymore.

Basically, she pees on the floor before I wake up in the morning.

My dog (spayed) started developing incontinence at age 6. My vet said its not uncommon for spayed females to start as early as 4. They loose control of the smooth muscles that keep them from holding it. This was easily fixed with medication. There are a couple of options available, some involve a pill 2x a day, depending on the severity of the condition and the dog's response, or sometimes they can go on another type of med, involving 1 pill every 6 days or so, again, depending on the dogs response. We have hardwood floors, my dog would let herself go, then I'd see this puddle and say "Kelly!" and she'd start wagging her fluffy tail, spreading pee everywhere, it was terrible. Not a problem anymore.

Morphine, I feel your pain (no pun intended). Our younger dog, a lab, supposed to be a smart breed, right?, took 5 months to house break. Everytime I'd turn around she was peeing on the floor. Just keep at it, they will eventually get it. I agree with what everyone else has said. For us the crate training helped immensely after she was about 16 weeks. Before then it didn't do any good. Some say until 16 weeks they may just not get it, just cover your floors with newspaper and hope for the best, but keep trying!

[xeney]

I agree with all the comments about crate training, taking the dog out more often, and making the crate smaller. Two of our three dogs were crate trained in this manner (the other showed up as an adult and was already housebroken) and nobody has ever had an accident unless the pet sitter left them indoors for over 12 hours.

[doc]

I agree with what everyone else said, especially crate training. I also have heard success with the bell. But one more idea to add:

Whenever the puppy is out of the crate, have her on a normal length leash attached to you. That way she is never out of sight and you will have the opportunity to scold when you catch her in the act. Even better, you will notice she's giving signs before it happens and have the opportunity to rush her outside.