I have two female dogs. My female beagle mix has recently started peeing in the living room. We though maybe we weren't leaving them out long enough, so started doing that. We thought maybe we weren't taking them out enough, so started doing that. But this doesn't seem to be the problem. Sometimes we will be gone most of the day, and she won't pee in the house. Other times, it may only be 2 hours and she will pee. She does it pretty much in the same spot. It doesn't seem like marking, and besides we have had her for 2 years. We just had the carpet cleaned two days ago, and then she went on the carpet when my husband left for 2 hours. We have one crate and I am thinking about maybe just crating her when we leave, but I don't know if it is a good idea to only crate one of the dogs. However, we don't have the money to go out and buy another crate. Would it be wise to crate them together? It's a big crate and they both would fit, but they would be snug. Can anyone give me advice on this?

Personally I would not crate 2 female dogs together. If the one behaved OK in the house alone I would only crate the pee'er. Have you had her checked at the vet for a UTI it could be a medical problem and not behaviorial.

While nearly all behavior problems need to start with a vet check, this sounds like a maturing dog challenging your behavior. That is even more likely if she isn't spayed.

The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/ For more on being top dog, see http://www.dogbreedinfo.com./topdogrules.htm

When you are around you need to keep a close eye on the dog. Use closed doors or gates to keep it in the same room as you are, and perhaps as I do, a short chain fastened to the computer desk. If you catch it in the act, give it a sharp ''Ah, ah, ah!'' and take it out. When you can't watch it, crate it.

I don't see a problem with only crating one dog. My friends keep 6 dogs in their house, crating the younger ones as needed and leaving the older ones loose if OK. If you need it, new, small, beagle sized crate isn't that much and sometimes you can find them at a garage sale or Craig's List.