Housebreaking Issue

Question
We have an 8 1/2 month toy aussie (he is 17 lbs) and I am having trouble with housebreaking.

He will do great for a couple weeks - make it til we get home from work (6 hours) or throughout the night 8-9 hours.  But then there are days where he will pee twice in the 6 hours that it takes us to get home from work and once throughout the night.

We can't crate train him as he would bark the entire time he is in the crate (tried for a week - cried for 8 hours straight throughout the whole night) so we have him in our kitchen since it has tile floor.

His water is taken away at 9PM and his last time out it 11PM.  We have the water down for him in the morning and at lunch but not while we are away at work.

I feel like he knows he is supposed to go outside as he always pee's right by the door and we have not had a problem with him pooping.

Is it normal at 8 months to still have so many frequent accidents especially b/c he was not crate trained?

Thanks,
Kelly

Answer
Most standard Aussies are house trained in 2-3 months.  He may know that there is a preferred toilet outdoors, but he doesn't know that the house is forbidden.  A dog your dog's age should be able to hold it for the length of time you are gone, so if he isn't, the problem is a break down in the training, and is not the dog's fault.  Try the crate in your bedroom - some Aussies will bark/cry if you are not in the room, but are quiet in the crate if you are;-)  Unfortunately, the only method that might be available to you now is tethering the dog to you so that you can interrupt him if he tries to go (no scolding - that might make him want to "hide" his actions), and take him outside.  If you think his pee mistakes are too frequent, then get him tested for a urinary tract infection just to rule it out.  If you still have trouble, great little book: "Way to Go" by Patricia McConnell, goes into house training an older dog in much better detail.