HELP!!! My Shiba is going downhill on house training

[sgurganus]

I have a 8 month old shiba inu. She was completely house trained and crate trained before she was 6 months. However, once she turned 6 months she started urinating and pooping in the house and her crate. The only thing that change around this time was we upgraded her crate. She was in a smaller crate and I felt she was getting too big for the crate so I upgraded the crate so she had more room. I have tried putting her back in her small crate with no luck also so I don't think that is the problem. This is the only problem I have with her. She pretty much knows all of her basic obedience commands and will do them well. I don't even have to tell her multiple times what I want her to do. It is just the house training part that has seemed to start going backwards. Does anyone have any advise on how to get her back on track?

[kjd]

Hi, sgurganus,

Can your dog stand up, turn around, and lie down in the smaller crate? If so, please put her back in that crate.

Then, at some point, I'd take her to the vet to make sure there is no health issue. This is probably teenage acting out, but I would want to make sure of that.

Now, I would forget that she was ever house trained. Go back to the beginning and retrain her. (Forget she was house trained so that you don't get frustrated with her -- "You already know this; why are you putting me through this?")

And while you are at the vet's, unless you are a professional breeder, I'd ask the doctor his/her opinion of the best time to spay her. (I lost the only unspayed female I've ever had to mammary cancer at the age of 10.)

Let us know how things come along,
kjd

[sgurganus]

kjd thanks for the reply....I have already moved her back to the smaller crate and I did read earlier at a different site to restart the house training process. I had started hooking her to a rather long tie out when she went out to potty and giving her a toy to play with, but since reading the article earlier today I have started taking her back out on the leash and staying with her the whole time. She actually has an appointment with the vet in a couple of weeks to finish some shots and I plan to schedule her an appointment to get spayed then. My vet actually sends me postcards when its time for shots, checkups, etc, and I had already inquired about getting her spayed so they sent one last week letting me know it is time. Thanks for the advise and I will let you know how everything goes.

[kjd]

Great, sgurganus, and doesn't it feel good to know that you aren't seeing contradictory advice? She got over the whining, so I am sure she will get over this problem too.

kjd