41/2month yorkiepoo trouble w house breaking

Question
Our female puppy goes "potty" outside when we take her but continues to have "accidents" in the house.  We also have a 10 month old King Cockapoo that is her buddy who is completely housebroken.  She knows she has done something wrong when she goes in the house but doesn't seem to grasp going to the door to let us know she needs to go out.  I am losing my patience! Please help!

Answer
Hi Betty,

Dogs are individuals, some just take longer to house break than others. It's not unusual for it to take a full 12 months to get a small breed dog completely house trained.

Don't wait for your puppy to tell you she needs to go out! Take her outside, on a leash at specific times during the day. Praise or treat your puppy when she "does her business" outside. If she doesn't "do everything" when you take her out, put her right in her crate when you get back to the house. In 15 minutes take her outside again.

Because you can't trust your puppy NOT to have accidents in your home, when you can't be watching her, or when you leave your home, she needs to either be crated, or contained to part of a room with a child gate or two. She should not be having the run of your home.

Preventing accidents before they occur with frequent trips outside, and supervising your puppy so accidents can't occur are important points when house training.

Best of luck,
Patti