Hi, my DH and I are the new owners of a peekapoo pup. She is a darling puppy(15 weeks old) but we are having trouble house training her. Our last dog was house trained within a week but this one we have had over a month and still can't get her to go to the door. Even if she has just been outside, she urinates or defecates on the floors. She also has terrible seperation anxiety even if we leave her for a few minutes in the crate. It is really frustrating us. Does anyone have any ideas that would help us?

[mightymite]

Hi there! Congrats on the new puppy. I just responded to someone with a puggle under the thread "House Training Mess" - some of what I wrote would apply to you as well.

It doesn't sound like you are crate training. I would first start with that. While dogs with severe seperation anxiety (and unfortunatly almost all toy breeds are prone to it) do not do better in crates (and it is not recommended that you crate train if that is the case) for milder forms of SA - a crate can be a great help - both for the housebreaking and for the calming of your dogs anxieties.

You want to make the crate a safe and comfortable place for your dog. Build up a reward history by tossing great treats inside the crate -that you dog only gets when she in IN the crate. I use people food for such training to make a distinction of how super it is to be in your crate.

Other things you can try:

Bachs Rescue Remedy
An alarm clock, heating pad and a stinky undershirt of your own in the crate
A puppy kong toy stuffed with frozen cheeze wiz (my spoiled darlings get Laughing Cow cheese)
a D.A.P air diffuser
The "Anxiety Wrap" - this is an outfit made to "hug" nervous dogs based on the teachings of Linda Tellington Jones and the "T-Touch method."

[wishbone]

Hi Kris and to your silly dog, bless her!

If you could enroll her in an obedience class, that will help both of you a lot on her training.

here is some additional info - the kongs are available at most pet stores & do a great job of entertaining a dog while alone.

Kong Stuffing

this is on the Bach flower remidies - available at health food stores

Buy Bach Rescue Remedy/Spray/Cream at iHealthTree.com

actually for SA honeysuckle & red chestnut are the ones recommended