our dog Lena

Question
Hi Vicki, thank you for helping us out. we have a 4 and1/2 month old pug, shih zu and maltese mix. she has wild hair, but of all the dogs i have had in my long life, she is the absolute hardest to house break, I take her out to "potty" she knows the word, but always ends up peeing somewhere in the house,shortly after i see her pee outside! which limits her boundry in the kitchen. I can not figure out her personality (breed wise). She is a very well socialized dog,very energetic, and very smart. I foresee nothing but a crate for her, which we do use in out training. How much longer can i expect this to happen. we would eventually love to have her join us in the whole house! I control the input so i can control the output, but she ends up eating snow! she weighs 6.6 and is a little dynamo. what do you suppose will be her dominant breed personality? her mom was a full bred pug.

Answer
Just like children, some pugs are very obedient and want to please their people and some pugs are ornery with an outrageous sense of humor and some pugs are so thick headed (I happen to have one that I adore) you have to tell them to breath in...breath out...breath in...good boy - keep it up. Most pugs are very intelligent with a mind of their own. They can get mad at you and get their little noses out of joint and that is when the adults will potty where they should not. We don't call those accidents, we call them "on purposes." Pugs want nothing more then to be with their people. The males tend to be more affectionate then the females. The males can be more clingy. As a breed, they are the most loving, fun, funny, ornery, cuddly furry little creatures the good Lord ever created.

Hope this gives you more insight into the breed.

To begin with, dogs don't usually get control of their bladder and bowels until they are at least 4 months old. What you have is a BABY. It could take up to 2 years to house break your puppy. She is eating snow because she is thirsty. I would not limit her fluid intake as you can cause problems worse then an occasional "accident". Have you had  her checked out by your vet to make sure she has no infection or medical problems in that area?

I really think you are expecting too much too soon from a baby.

As far as personality, I would have no idea. Best case scenario would be a pug personality but all of the pug mixes I have met have the other breeds traits.

Thanks and good luck with your little one and please be patient with her.