Maria contacted me with this problem:

“I have a 19 month old chihuahua mix and a 5 month old chihuahua. My 19 month old was already potty trained but since we got the 5 month old she has picked up the pup’s bad habits. Now they both leave their mess all over my kitchen,dining room, and living room. In the mornings we take them outside to do their business and pick up after them. I also do for lunch and dinner. What is it that we are doing wrong because my husband is getting fed up with them and i do not want him to leave them in a shelter?”

I asked her for a little more info about where they slept, how much freedom they had in the house, what the walking/exercise regime is and I got the following extra information

“We take them out in the mornings,afternoon, and evening. They usually have half of the house when we are home. When they are alone i put them inside their gate. That’s also where they sleep at night,have their food,water, and their potty spot”

By the looks of things, Maria is doing everything she should here, so I will have to offer a couple of different suggestions to try out.

One question I forgot to ask was the sex of the puppy - if they are both bitches, the mess could actually be rivalry between the two. Consider getting them both spayed as a matter of course, which could help with this and also provide other health benefits (and stop you being affected by the problems associated with bitches in season).

OK, onto my other suggestions.

> First of all, you will need to ensure all traces of soiling are cleaned and neutralized, otherwise they will continue to go where they can tell they have been before.  What I guess has happened is that your older dog has smelled where the pup has been and thought “what’s good for her is good for me”.

> Decide whether you want them to be trained to go only outdoors or whether you are happy for them to use paper or pads.  If you do not want them to go indoors at all (and to be honest, this is a feasible option for you if you have time to take them out on an afternoon), then you might be as well using a crate and not giving them the option of going on paper or pads.

> Until they are reliably clean indoors, limit the time they can spend outside of the confinement area.  Have them with you in the living room when you are able to supervise them both closely, otherwise leave them in the gated area.  Look for any patterns in their toilet regime and try and predict when you are most likely to need to take them out.  If you give them more chances to succeed than to fail, they will soon both start being more reliable.

> If you have opted to allow them to toilet in a specific area indoors, make sure the allocated toilet spot is as far away from the bed/food area as space will allow. Feed them separately to avoid fueling any problems with rivalry

> Do not leave food out for them to eat as and when they like.  Give them set mealtimes and stick to them

> When you are out of the house, consider keeping the two dogs apart until the puppy is housebroken.  If your older dog was used to having freedom before the puppy arrived, she may revert back to being clean just as quickly as when she started soiling if her territory is away from the pup

Although there will be some trial and error, hopefully one of these actions will sort out the problem