Hi!

Im hoping someone can help me, I have two bichon frise a boy 7 and a girl 6 and have had them since puppies. They are the perfect little dogs the majority of the time, but when they are left in the house by themselves for even an hour or so they are fouling and urinating alllll over the kitchen. We have tried everything, they are taken out before being left alone and we have tried feeding them after we come home. I work full time and My mam worked from home so it was never really an issue, but we are moving house and my mam is getting a part time job two days a week. We are going to try and cage train them and wondered if anyone has done the same for older dogs if they have never been in a cage? and can they be caged together as they are only small and love cuddling up together? or any tips for stopping the fouling without a cage? The landlord of the new house at first said we could not take them but we have won them round , so we don't want to give them any reason to say they need to leave, when we first found out we had to move quickly and we couldn't take them we thought the only option was going to be rehoming and I cried for a 3 days haha, so any tips or advice of any kind would be amazing! Or even advice on a structure for them when they are going to be left alone during the day?

Thankyou

Bichons are notoriously difficult to housetrain and do not like being left alone, they do tend to wee.

I had one and he was exactly the same, lovely dog but I would never own another one for the same reason.

> Bichons are notoriously difficult to housetrain

I had been told the same, some are never reliable and owners resort to belly bands

This sounds like their form of separation anxiety and crating them may be your only option to stop them 'spreading it around' but in individual crates alongside each other.  Not together.  However, you may find they don't take to being crated (and they may still mess in there) so this may mean having them in say your kitchen on flooring that can be easily cleaned.   If you are renting especially, please don't let them foul everywhere  All too often once a landlord has a bad time with dog owners they will take that property off the market to dog owners.  And it's hard enough these days to find rental properties that will accept dogs, even in the remotest of countryside places.

If nobody is at home during the working week, you may well be looking at finding them another home, very sadly, if you can't alter your life-style.  Assuming there's no medical reason for what's going on.    Is there somebody willing to come in with them?

When are you moving?  If this is separation anxiety, then you need to start working on it immediately, sooner the better, to minimise disruption when you move.  Although if that's soon, you may not have time to sort it, unless you can arrange a sitter to stay with them any time they have to be left, between now and you building up the time they can cope with until it's just a little more than a normal working day.  That takes time though.

I would have them vet checked for possible UTIs etc. if they’re cleared I’d suggest putting them in diapers while you’re away — my mums yorkies magically toilet outside when in diapers no problems as they don’t like messing on themselves.