Potty upstairs in the house, but not downstairs

I had the same problem for a little while....I did the same as you, the dogs had access to the master bedroom/bathroom and hall, but all other doors were shut and the stairs blocked by a gate. One of them would sometimes potty in the hall or occasionally in the bathroom, but not the bedroom. Someone I know suggested that maybe the dog was seeing the bedroom as his den but not the other areas...I closed the door to the bathroom and bedroom, not giving them access to the hall and bathroom anymore, and the accidents pretty much stopped.

Another thing I would suggest if the accidents are happening at night is taking him out for a "last call" potty break. I had to take mine out at midnight and again at 6 am for the longest time....just recently (and they're almost 2 now) I've moved last call back to 10 pm and they're doing ok.
 
A good alternative to de-scent your carpets is plain old white vinegar. Dilute it with some warm water and test a spot first to make sure it doesn't affect the carpet color. Then dab it on with a wet sponge and just let it soak in. You might have to do a few treatments but it does work.
 
I used Simple Solution, its used for pet stain and odor removal. I got a free sample of it from Petsmart. Its clear so discolour carpet and it smells really nice but at the same time doesn't have an over powering scent like some cleaners.

After using this on the spots where Sadie had accidents she never went back to those spots again. Before trying this product I'd often see her going back to the spots and sniffing around.

Here is a link to the product:

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752005
 
Just a thought...do you spend a lot of time upstairs? Or are you mostly downstairs? We spend about 90% of our time downstairs, so I think Bentley didn't consider the upstairs part of the house. He used to go to the bathroom upstairs even when he was 100% housetrained downstairs. We tried playing with him more upstairs so that he knew that that was part of the house just like downstairs was.
 
Thanks everyone.

DH and I decided to try the "last call" for a bit. It's been helping a lot. No accidents. Also, I've noticed that he's been whining, but mostly in the morning, if he has to go. Its progress. I think I'll try the Simple Solutions, mostly because Miracle's Cure hasn't done a darn thing.

Someone said maybe he doesn't see the upstairs as his den, or maybe not the hallways. I think you're probably right. I mean, we are in the bedroom, or downstairs, but typically we don't hang out in the hallways. I was thinking. When I'd be on the computer (in our second bedroom) DH would lie down in the halls with the dogs and Koji never did anything back then. Maybe I should go up there and just read (I need to study this week).

As for his crate. I decided not to go to his crate. Why? Because he has two. One wire one for his daily crating. It's oversized, so he can lie out on his side and still have room (I think it's sized for a Lab, lol). His other travel crate is sized for him, so he can't lie sideways and stretch out. He has enough room to turn around, and lie down on his tummy (how it's supposed to be for travel). And that's the one we keep upstairs. And since Koji lies on his side, then on his back, lol, I just felt bad. I figured, we'd try one thing at a time.

Thanks everyone. I love this board (and the main website. I canNOT get enough of cute Sheltie pictures)
 
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