She isn't doing it out of spite. Scolding her when you get home won't help because she doesn't understand why she is in trouble unless you actually CATCH her peeing and interrupt her.
I agree that it could be the weather. Loki's first winter (last year) brought a few accidents by the door or in the living room. He just didn't want to go out. He also really wasn't ready to be unsupervised or have as much freedom as we gave him, so we also went back to crate training. This year we haven't had a single problem even with the icky weather. He's 2 now and hasn't had an accident in over 6 months. (We also went through some UTI's so it's best to rule that out. Just take a sample to the vet, no need for a visit.)
I think bringing the crate back out will help. She probably isn't ready to roam yet. Maybe crate her in the morning but have dad let her out at 2:30 until you get home at 5. Our neighbors did that - they would crate in the morning and then let the pup roam from lunchtime on. Or maybe she'd do better being free in the morning. We ALWAYS crate Loki when he is home alone, but he also isn't left alone during the day every day either.
As for the time she peed on the couch - maybe she DID go to the door and bark like usual but no one was home to let her out?
I would skip the pee-pad completely if she is trained to go outside. Those breaks seem like they are sufficient. You don't want her to start thinking it's OK to pee in the house. |