I took our puppy to the vet today because he didn't want to eat, he threw up, and his #2 was starting to look less solid. They did a test on his sample I brought in, and told me he has a disease called Coccidia. The woman at the reception desk said that now that our puppy has done #2 in our yard, that Coccidia is in our yard FOREVER. She said to immediately pour an abundant amount of bleach water on EVERY spot he has done #2 on. That would mean spraying that all around our Forsythias! She said if I don't, he will continue to reinfect himself. She said the organism will easily survive the winter outside. I called the breeder, because we had a 10 day health guarantee and well, we paid a large amount of money for our dog. I'm just stunned he's sick! The breeder was saying that woman at the vet is an idiot, that organism is everywhere, in every lawn in America because it's in mud puddles and bird droppings, and she even said voles have it. She said if I pour bleach on my lawn I will kill everything on it including everything I've planted. The she said if you want, I can give you your money back and I can take the dog back. What? Is she crazy? This is a member of our family now, not some business transaction. I told her no way! She offered to pay for the vet visit and the Albon. If I dilute the bleach enough will it still kill my lawn? I don't know who or what to believe right now. I appreciate everyone's responses so much. I know Crate training is an appropriate way to train. My sister did it with her Bischon. But hearing him whine and cry and paw at the cage made me (and dh) feel like we were imprisoning him after taking him away from his family of 9 brothers and sisters. Our dd was crying and saying get him out mom, he's so sad, look at him. We have trained him already. He now paws at the door with his little paw when he needs to relieve himself outside. We had another day today of no accidents. Dh definitely doesn't want the dog sleeping with us in our Queen bed when he's full grown. I just figured when he got too big we'd move him to his own bed next to us on the floor. We are excited to train him to become the great dog I know he is, but since he's so sick right now, we're backburning doing any training until he's well again. This post was edited by ilovemytrees on Tue, Oct 14, 14 at 1:46

Tinker....I had a problem so bad that I had to remove all the HWF and subfloor on the first floor. Trust me, if you can smell it, even faintly, the animals will continue to use that spot. My house had a virtual Noah's Ark living here..you couldn't be in the house more than a few minutes before needing to leave. I had to remove the HWF and subfloor, had the basement beams professionally sandblasted, soaked with Kennel Odor Eliminator (KOE) by Thornell, then sealed with polyeurthene...and it did the trick. Not trying to scare the bejeezus out of you, but I learned that urine has ammonia salts that last long after the urine has dried...and every time it gets damp, the salts are reactivated. That's why it smells bad when it's humid. You might start with KOE in the carpet, but be prepared for it to also in the subfloor. So getting rid of the carpet and treating the floor is likely your long term solution. And trust me, although KOE is more expensive than what you can get at Home Depot or Pets R Us, it's what professional kennels use...and it was worth its weight in gold. Good luck! Jen

Now going on 20 years or so I bought a Kenmore canister vac with a powerhead for the carpets (mostly hardwood then as now, with carpets here and there). It was reconditioned and not expensive. It's still around, with only a couple of changes of the powerhead belt when I caught it on fringes. It's been abused -- picking up plaster dust and drywall mud after sanding -- and it won't quit. The same basic thing, Kenmore/Panasonic is still offered. I picked up a more modern version (controls on the handle) on ebay for something like 50 bucks in order to have one vac that lived on the second floor. We have dogs and cats.

My granddogs are horrible for this. All the dogs are neutered, but they will mark over each other; it's a territorial thing. Even the most submissive dog will do this. It does not have anything to do with housebreaking! One tip I read is to fill a plastic pop or water bottle with a few dried beans. When you see the dog go near an item that he'd likely mark, shake that bottle up to make the beans rattle. The dog will get the message that that item is off limits and after a time, will likely avoid it. You have to keep on the dog until he learns not to bother the item. I had a VERY unpleasant surprise the other day, we're dog sitting my son's dog and we just had him neutered so he's finally stopped the marking thing. But my DD brought HER dog over and he apparently is very alpha...and he peed all over the new curtains in my bedroom. New WHITE curtains. Luckily they're washable, and I used vinegar in the rinse water, so it took care of the smell. I now watch him like a hawk and don't let him out of my sight when he's over.