[My Malibu]

Please help! My year old Yorkie has started peeing in her kennel. This started about 2 months ago. She is a fun loving dog, very well trained in all other areas except for this. She has been house broken for some time now, in the past 2 months I come home from work and Malibu and her crate reek of urine. I do not know what to do, I have tried it all. I just recently have been taking the blanket out thinking it would help, but no such luck! She still insists on peeing in her kennel. I love her dearly but this is very stressful on Malibu and myself.

[bushg]

She may have a UTI, I would take her to the vet to rule that out. If it is behavior we have some good people on here that can give you great advice.

[labman]

Nearly all behavior problems should start with a vet check first. You can't train a physical problem away. Also ask about spaying if not already. It sounds like a status issue to me. If so, you are swimming upstream if the dog 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 Raising Your Dog with the Monks of New Skete For more on being top dog, see Establishing and Keeping Alpha Position, Letting your dog know you are the boss