Another question posted on my Squidoo lens, this time by Sarah:

“Dudley is 8 months old he is a working class cocker spaniel …my problem is he is fine toilet trained whilst i am in the house and evening during the night although he is upstairs and i do feel if i let him downstairs at night he may wee..but the problem is when i’m at work ..he will do a wee in the kitchen ..if i put paper down i feel like i’m encouraging him i cant tell him off cause he doesn’t know what hes done its too late what do you suggest to solve this annoying problem !”

Here is the reply I posted back….

From what you have said, this could be a separation anxiety or insecurity issue. You could try and tone down your “going out” routine so Dudley does not see it as such a big deal. Make a point of going out a couple of times for say 10 or 15 minutes, then come back in, but do not make a fuss of him until you have been back in a couple of minutes. After a short while, you should see the problems decrease.

Another thing you could try is DAPs (dog appeasing pheromones) to help with any anxiety or stress.

The Ultimate House Training Guide contains all the information you would need to deal with Dudley’s problem.