6 month old shih tzu, peeing in the house

Question
QUESTION: I have a 6 month old shih tzu, she's started peeing in the house, right in front
of me, she is paper trained and potty's on the balcony.  But now for the past
two weeks she's started peeing in the house, in the living room, in my
bedroom.  I had or thought I had trained her not to pee in places she's not
supposed to pee but she is starting to do this.  I'm gone for 11 hours during
the day (at work) and leave out a potty pad for her to pee on.  But when I'm
home with her on the weekend, she starts to pee right in front of me, looking
straight at me, while she's peeing.  She knows to go on her potty pad and the
balcony because I leave the door open, she was doing well for sometime but
has now reverted to peeing all over the house.  Help...what am I doing wrong.  
I luv her and don't want to get mean with her because she's just a little puppy
but shouldn't she know where to pee by now?  Please help, I'm kinda going
out of my mind, thanks.

ANSWER: A six-month-old puppy is just that... a puppy, and very, very few are reliably housebroken at that age. She needs reminding of what she is supposed to do. You need to start over with her and begin training her again as you did in the beginning, having her confined when you are gone or when you cannot watch her. (A puppy this age should never have free rein of the house anyway.)

The other thought is that she might have a bladder infection and that is the reason for her inappropriate urination. It wouldn't hurt to have a urinalysis run on her just to make sure that everything is okay in that department.

Karen

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: At what age does it register to a puppy where they should eliminate and pee.  

Thank you.

Answer
That really is an individual thing, and a lot depends on the dog's intelligence and the owner's persistence in training.

I once had a three-month-old bitch at my parent's house for the first time, and she went to the front door, wanting to go outside. We had entered through the back door and she had never gone out through the front. I still don't know how she figured that one out.

Most dogs I wouldn't trust loose on their own, particularly in regard to housebreaking, until they are over a year of age. They may know *where* to go, but their minds are like busy toddlers, and their "holding" capacity is limited.

I once had a singleton puppy who was so wonderfully housebroken that I unthinkingly began treating him as an adult. It wasn't long before he was pottying in the house as he just could not last as long as the adults. That was MY fault, not the puppy's. Back to Basic Housebreaking 101, and he improved again.

Just keep being consistent with her and letting her out frequently (with you there to watch and praise her) and she should come around. Do watch for her signals that she is needing to go... such as sniffing and circling, etc. Don't forget to have that urinalysis done, too, just to make sure that there isn't a physical reason for her sudden backsliding.

Karen