House trained dog is having accidents

Question
I have an almost 5 year old shih tzu that is house trained.  Well she goes either outside or on potty pads (mostly pads).  We keep the pads in the same place and always pick up the dirty ones once they are soiled.  We have not added any new pets, babies or any other living beings to our house.  I don't understand why she is having accidents.  She will do great for a few days and then have an accident.  She is eating, drinking and playing just like she normally does.  I have cleaned the carpets multiple times and she is not have accidents in the same area.  We are going to be dog-sitting for a friend and I don't want the other dog marking her territory or we'll be swimming in dog urine!  HELP!!

Thanks so much!

Anita

Answer
A change in behavior may be difficult to trace to an origin. I have never recommended the use of pads because it frequently encourages the dog to think it can go anywhere in a house. That aside have you taken the dog to a vet to see if there is any biological issue, diabetes, infection, injury can cause the dog to have issues with going potty.

Keep in mind that dogs hear much better than we do, and the dog may be irritated by sound from neighbors or outside that you are not hearing, or are not noticing. I can easily hear dogs over a mile away from my house, so my dogs can certainly hear much farther than that.

Without being able to find a clear cause, I can't offer a behavioral answer. I would suggest you find a local dog expert to visit and observe the dog. Secondly, try crate training for now to see if that clears that the dog is not needing to go frequently from a behavior stand point. How frequently the dog goes is usually determined by training. With pads available all the time the dog simply goes when it wants and not on a proper schedule set by you.

Regards,
Henry Ruhwiedel
Westwind Kennels LLC  
www.dogkennel.org