colleen1994

I need major help please!!!

Hi i have a mini poodle Sophie who is 7 months old she is potty trained to go in a crate in the house along with our 3 year old Pekingnese who is my parents dog. I live with my parents and they can not walk Sophie for me so i figured it was easier, it had been going fine until i allowed Sophie to come onto my bed and sleep with me. She peed on my bed when she was a puppy so she was no longer allowed on my bed i figured since she was older and potty trained i wanted her to sleep with me figuring she would love it. Well she did fine until maybe a month ago was the first time she peed on my bed it was in the middle of the night and i didnt catch her in it i thought maybe she just had an accident. it has happened 4 times since then. My stepmom said maybe i wasnt paying enough attention to her so i started taking her out more and letting her play and run in the yard and playing in the house. She did fine last night but she just peed on my bed tonight, i dont want to kick her off my bed but i cant stand this any longer! She is very loved and spoiled n a good way she doesnt get away with doing things but she is a very good dog that is why this doesnt make sence. :(


PLEASE HELP ME!!! I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO. This is my first dog.

fjm

Welcome to the forum.

First things first - is she peeing more than usual during the day as well as during the night? She may have a slight urinary infection, which is making it more difficult for her to exercise bladder control. Or, if she is not already spayed, she could be coming into heat, which often causes bitches to need to go more often.

As you say this has happened several times, I think you may have confused her by teaching her to toilet in the crate - does she also sleep there? Does it have soft, absorbant material in it? Material that to a dog feels very much like your bed?

House training makes use of a dog's natural instinct not to soil the area where it sleeps - crates are usually used as a sleeping area, so that the puppy avoids toiletting there. Once she is old enough to have some control, she is taught that the whole house is "den", to be kept clean. If a dog once learns to pee and poo where she sleeps you have a bigger job on your hands to retrain her.

If the crate is set up as a dog toilet, rather than with soft materials, does she have easy access to it at night, when she is sleeping with you? If she has been used to being able to reiieve herself during the night, she may find it very difficult to last till morning. Either make her a bed where she can get to her toilet area, set up a toilet area near your bed and make sure she knows how to use it, or train yourself to wake up and take her out every few hours! If you set an alarm, you can slowly increase the time you sleep until she can cope with all night.

Don't make a fuss if you find a mess - and if you catch her in the act a do a quick interrupt, lift her onto the toilet place, and treat and praise her for doing it in the right place. Toilet training is all about ensuring the dog has the minimum opportunities for getting it wrong - which is why teaching them to go outside, where it is so obviously different, is usually easier than teaching them the difference between permitted/not permitted areas in the house! But many people have successfully taught their dogs to use an indoor toilet - the key seems to be to make it as different from carpeting, bedding and other soft furnishings and floor coverings as possible.

Finally, you will need to use an enzyme cleaner or biological washing powder on your bedding to remove all the smell, or the scent of urine will continue to encourage her to use that spot. Don't get too discouraged - she is still a puppy, and with calm, kind management and training you will both get this sorted.

__________________

To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden,
where doing nothing was not boring- it was peace.

~ Milan Kundera

colleen1994

She is 7 months so i asked the vet if she could be going into heat and the nurse said she is too young which made no sense since my stepmoms dog went into heat i think at 7 or 8 months. She isnt crate trained never was since she was being trained to go potty in the crate. She has the crate downstairs and just the papers in my bedroom where she really has never had a problem going potty on except when she pees on my bed but could it be confusing her since she doesnt have a crate upstairs in my room just the papers? I will get a crate if that helps her. My stepmom said she that has been noticing that Baby our pekingnese has been smelling Sophie more often lately could that be a sign that she is going into heat? Also we havent noticed her peeing more often than usual so i am deffinitally leaning to the going into heat. Will she get out of this? i really love her sleeping with me but her peeing on my bed is a big problem.

fjm

It does sound as if she could be coming into heat - 7 months is on the early side, but not excessively so for a small dog. I would make sure she is taken out, or to her toilet crate, in the middle of the night and first thing in the morning - and then gradually extend the time.

__________________

To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden,
where doing nothing was not boring- it was peace.

~ Milan Kundera

colleen1994

Thank you so much for your help it