I leave my Sasha alone from 6a.m. to 5p. I take her out early am and she goes, but once I leave for work and return she usually has a puddle waiting for me. And she has this sheepish expression on her face, because she realizes this is what she has done. This is usually a daily habit now, but if I am home all day she holds until I take her out, and there are no accidents at night. What's my next step?

I don't have an answer for you - I think she's alone with no means to toilet herself for an extremely long period.

I would not be able to "hold it" from 6AM to 5PM.

Would you?

I don't have an answer for you - I think she's alone with no means to toilet herself for an extremely long period of time.

I would not be able to "hold it" from 6AM to 5PM.

Would you?

I agree. Sounds like the OP needs to have someone stop by during the day to let the dog out.

I was thinking the same thing. That is a very long time for your puppy to not be able to go out side. I absolutely hate puppy pads, I think they are the worst thing made, but maybe you could try barracading her off in a section with those pee pads or some news paper. Is there anyone who could come over and let her out during the day? Are you excersising her before you go to work in the a.m or is she tied or left to wander the yard on her own?

When you are home, do you, make her wait eleven hours to go to the bathroom? At night, she is probably sleeping more and doesn't need to potty as much. During the day she would be up and active and have more of a need to pee.

When you are home, she knows there is someone there to let her outside if she needs to go.

However, if this is a new problem (in other words, she was holding it that long with no accidents), then you need to take her to the vet for a check up to rule out any medical issues.

If you are gone for 11 hours you might need to train her to either use puppy pads inside or get a friend or neighbor to let her out during the day for a run/potty.