[Aisha's Mom]

Hi there! I posted a while ago about my dog Aisha...she's doing great!! She is in puppy training class and learning very well (for a 6mo old with the attention span of a shootstar....lol) and for a while has been doing well with potty training too.

She is at the point where she can stay out at night, granted we have to cover the couch with towels to stop chewing and put everything out of her reach, but she doesn't make potty until morning when she wakes me up (usually we sleep at 2-230am, and she'll wake me at 8-9am then go back to sleep until we get up at a 11am). She has also been very good with not having accidents when she's gated in her "bedroom" (the kitchen) while we're at work, usually 10hours. However, in the past week she has started to have accidents during the day when we're home, usually in the same room. She won't come up and ask us, or bug us to go out, she'll just kinda go. She did it twice today, once outside the kids room while we were in the other room changing and the kids playing in the room, and then tonight right in front of the tv after we just finished diapers and pjs for the kids there... There has also been two days of accidents on the kitchen floor after coming home. She still hasn't gone at night though...

So I'm curious as to how to stop this...tonight when it happened she was just outside not more then an hour before. She goes out at least once every hour and half to two hours (though I know at her age now she should be able to hold it for up to 7 hours or more) and does but is VERY inconsistant about asking to go out (aka, going to the door and barking, or even coming up to us and barking or whining).

Any help would be greatly apprieciated, I know she's still a puppy and we don't punish her accidents, just take her directly outside right after we see it happen... She also is still having horrible chewing issues and her newest trouble is standing up to get on the kitchen counters. She at one point saw me put a treat up there and now won't stop trying to get up on them...even right in front of us to steal a piece of bacon. Her classes don't cover this kind of stuff, but the sits, stays, comes and lie downs she's all learning very well! We do use the positive reinforcement but I'm not sure how to stop the bad behaviors...I don't spank, won't spank and try not to yell either...sorry this got so long!!

Thanks! ~Leah and Aisha

[Matte]

If her accidents are peeing, it could be a urinary tract infection.

She's a teenager, and teenager push on the boundaries. Just be consistent like always.

It could also be territorial, even for a female.

We had this problem with Cessa a few weeks ago (6½ months old). During about 5 days, she (1) walked across the room, stepped into her basket and peed; (2) hopped up on the chair and peed on "her" pillow; (3) peed at the foot of the bed (she sleeps with us) twice while we were sitting there watching TV; and (4) hopped off my husband's lap and started to poop in the middle of the floor. We talked to several people who said that it was probably territorial, and that the reason that it happened when we were there was that she wanted to say "look folks, these are my spots".

We just ignored it, cleaned with white vinegar, etc. like when we were housebreaking and really cheered her on when she went outside properly (we got a little nonchalant about that once she was well trained even though we have always said "good dog" when she's peed outdoors, just not so enthusiastically). Now it has stopped.

Good luck!