could my dog be in heat allready? & housebreaking

Question
I Have a Female toy poodle she will not be 6 months old until august 9 can she be in heat allready?  and i cant seem to get her housebroke.  I have a 1 year old male toy poodle he was housebroke until i got the female.  I let her outside to use it and as soon as she comes in she uses it somewhere now my male does it too?

Answer
I doubt she is in heat at 6 months, although I suppose anything is possible. It is usually around a year old before you need to worry about that.

As for housebreaking, I found (to my chagrin) that if you have a housebroken dog and bring one into the home that is not housebroken, it tends to UNtrain the current dog and not the other way around.  All I can suggest is to begin using the same methods you used with your first dog with them both.  Take them out every hour or so and praise them when they do their business where they should.  If you can catch them IN THE ACT, I have found either using a pop/beer can with a few pennies in it or spritzing them in the face with a spray bottle of water while saying "NO" in a low firm voice helps stop the negative behavior - or at least reinforce that it IS negative behavior. Housebreaking can be a long hard job - especially since sometimes poodles can be obstinate - but they are smart and do pick up things quickly.

Another thing you might try is keeping them in a crate at night. It isn't as "mean" as some might think.  They are canines and do have an instinct to like "hibernating" in a secure "cave" if you will.  As long as they have a little water they will be fine. They normally won't have an accident in the place they sleep, and when you let them out in the morning to go pee outside, they'll be ready to go. (Sorry - forgot to put this in the original answer)

You just need to be consistent and firm....and have a LOT of patience.

Good luck!

Kathryn