# What's going here???



## Lizzielou (Jun 6, 2010)

Our dog seems to be totally housebroken one day and the next has accidents left and right. She Knows she is supposed to go outside no doubt! 

We keep her gated in the guest bathroom when we leave. She has never had an accident in there and I had to leave her for nearly 8 hours one day. (she is never left that long). She sleeps with us at night and is fine. 

During the day I'm home. She scratches on the door I let her out. We do this all the time she is great. BUT today I found 4 accidents 2 upstairs and two down. Is she bored? Will getting her fixed help? I really don't know what is going on with her or how to train her. She is trained most of the time. But then randomly has accidents like this some days. 

She is probably between 7 and 8 months now. She humps peoples legs too. Have you ever heard of a female dog doing that? I feel like she is a male marking her territory and stuff like that. Do you think getting her fixed would help? I plan to get that done soon. I had an appointment but didn't feel right about the vet so we are looking for another one.

Thanks for any comments. We love our sweet puppy. She is so great in so many ways.


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## klomanchiodo (Jul 5, 2010)

I had a previous dog that was fine all day, fine while we were up and with him in the evenings, but then he would go to the bathroom while we were alseep. He slept in the bed with us at the time. The vet told us it was a plea for attention and to crate him at night. It seemed to do the trick. This may not be the case with you pup, but it is something to consider.

As for the girl humping issue - our little Willow at 17 weeks has humped her older sister of 5 months. This can simply be a dominance gesture.

Oh the many mysteries of raising of puppy....


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

She is still young and with two floors to deal with, she is just confused. confine her to the room where you are. that way is she starts to squat, you can see and immediately take her out. The humping thing can be discouraged. It is a dominance thing only. She is also getting to the age to be spayed. Patience. It takes a concerted effort to potty train a child and the little dog is not as smart as a child.


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## DorothyS (Aug 11, 2009)

I would concur with what's been said. I would add that 7 to 8 months is young for these guys to be completely trustworthy. We thought Rascal was fine, then at 9 months he had a relapse, so we reinforced the training again. Even now at 17 months, they will have the occasional accident when feeling sick.


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## ls-indy (Apr 10, 2008)

I agree with Lucile: don't give her the run of the house until she IS reliable. Some owners keep their puppy on a leash (on their wrist) in whatever room they are in so they can be sure to catch them when they squat... Then back in an enclosed space for naps...

Daisy and Beau (at 1 and 2 yrs) are equal opportunity humpers. It is a dominance thing. We discourage it - but they still get cranked up when they're running around playing and one will climb on the other.

Daisy does more "marking" on walks than Beau does. She had her spots that other dogs visit that she just has to pee on. Beau pees on top of Daisy's pee whenever she goes....

Both my Havies are 100% reliable in the house. We leave them loose when we go out. We provide them with a potty grass tray in case they NEED to go when we're gone - but its hardly ever used.


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## Gizmo'sMom (Jul 9, 2010)

How close together were the accidents timewise, Gizmo got a UTI around that age and she started peeing FREQUENTLY and couldn't hold it long at all. She even peed in the crate which she never does. 

She also had a regression a few months back which went away in about 2 weeks or retraining. 

Hope your little one does better soon!


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## KSC (Aug 6, 2009)

Kipling is almost 16 months and he still does not have run of the house. He is with us - always in sight. And he is totally reliable but still...

We are just now starting to let him be in other parts of the house while we're home with him but only when we know he's decided to take a nap or settle down. Roaming will only lead to chewing things he's not allowed...who knows...maybe accidents....and definitely sock stealing!

My advice follows others - I'd keep your puppy closer for a bit longer.


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## Missy (Nov 6, 2006)

Hi LizzieLou, if you do a search on here you will find that many Havs are not totally reliable until over a year. 8 months is still a baby, but also an adolescent, and they are trying to figure out what they can and can't get away with. Since you know the pattern of every other day, you just have to up you efforts and not relax on the good days. When we had a set back with the boys, we went back to square one, confining when we could not watch and asking if they needed to go out every half hour and treating and partying when they did. It is a long investment of time, but if you do it, you will be rewarded with 12-15 more years of a reliably house trained Havanese. If you don't spend the time now you may never have a reliable little girl. My favorite book as these were our first dogs-- was "house training for dumbbies." it was step by step. 

As for humping, there are several theories, the most common is that at this age she is trying out her dominance on members of your family. It is likely at this point merely play, but it is time to show her who is boss and she will love you for it. Re-upping the potty training will also help show her who is boss and allow her to relax more too. Also, many say that female Havs are more dominant than the males and also mark as much or more. 

they really want to be good...they just need our help!


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## Lizzielou (Jun 6, 2010)

Thanks for all the replies. I will try your advise! The upstairs is gated and she only goes up there when we go up. But that is usually chasing the kids, brushing teeth etc... That seems to be when she has an accident I guess. I always let her out before then too so I don't think it's a matter of not waiting. She is our first Havanese and I will say that she is the hardest to train of all the dogs we have had in the past. 

As far as the humping goes she used to do it to my husband but now she mostly just does it to strangers. 

Today I started her walking with us to take my daughter to school. She did pretty well she gets so hyper when walking so I'm working on that. For such a tiny little thing she sure can be a handful!


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