Number one get a covered cat pan and put against the wall so the dog can't get into to it. Dogs love cat poop and scoop-able cat litter will can kill your dog if it eats very much by causing a blockage.
Two as much as we love to have our dogs sleep with us sometimes it's just not the best idea when the dog thinks it's the alpha of the world, which your dog does.

Kennel training is great, keep it up. Dogs are den animals and putting the dog in the kennel will be the best thing you can do for it.

When you clean up the next accident in the house use a cloth rag and stake it out in the yard. Then take your dog out to this spot at regular intervals when you want her to go potty. When she does go PRAISE her, and tell her "GO Potty" before pointing at the area and when she does it. Soon she will associate this word, or whatever word you like, with going potty. Then you just ask her "go potty" when she's in the house. If mine don't have to go they just kind of go about what they were doing, otherwise it's a bee line for the door. Of course I usually have my dog door open, so it's not much of an issue but my old dog can't use it well anymore.
The aggression with other dogs is about the threat to her and the pack, your the pack leader, at least should be. I think that she believes she's the alpha because you put her on the same level as you when you sleep. I know tons of people will say "my dog sleeps in my bed and it's fine" I say great then you're and strong pack leader and don't need to worry about. She an adult dog that has to learn a new pack leader, I bet she was alpha before.
The mistake a lot people make with small dogs is not treating the same as big ones, they are still dogs.
They usually get picked up and cuddled whenever they are threatened or acting aggressive.
A good book to read is Cesar Milan's, Cesar's Way. I am a dog trainer, while I don't agree 100% with everything he does it is very good at explaining the basic pack and how to take care of problems.
One of the main thing he teaches is "mastering the walk". Since you are alpha the dog should heal and walk beside you, NEVER on an extended lead. Also they MUST be walked EVERY DAY. It helps with the dogs mental health, builds your bond and helps teach the dog you are #1 besides burns some energy. Poms have TONS of energy in the little body which can come out as negative energy if not addressed.

When you train your dog remember that the energy you put out is what you get back. If your high strung your dog most likely will be too. The more calm you are the calmer your dog will be.

I would even think about knocking his ego down a bit by having people ignore him if the aggression continues. It can help sometimes, if a dog is too fawned over, face it Poms are cute! Then it can get the idea even more that it must be the alpha.
Hope this helps a little.
You probably should look into a dog training class in your area.

I think training. I don't have a Pom, but if DD had her way, we would have one so someday I may need to refer to this post. Friend at work had a Pom, she was a great dog, but I kind of got the impression that the Pom trained my friend....

As for the poop. My 2 two boys enjoy a cat poop anytime they can get at the box. I have a covered box that I turn toward the wall but I still catch them with litter on their lips. Dead giveaway:-)

Enjoy your new Pom!

You train an adult pom just like any other dog.

It might take a bit longer to potty train an adult dog, but the methods are just the same.

Sign up for an obedience class in your area... you can learn a lot.

My experience with toy breeds is that they rarely ever learn to actually scratch on the door to go out. They might walk to the door and stand and stare at you or walk back and forth from the door to you, but that's about as good as it gets. Most of the ones I've had required me to be diligent to remember to let them out often without a sign from them. Toys are hard to break and some never become reliable.

As far as the growling at other dogs, make sure you don't speak soothingly to her when she growls. People think they are calming the dog, but in the dog's mind, they are being rewarded for the behavior and so will likely repeat it. The same goes for any situation where the dog might feel frightened and you might be tempted to talk sweetly to her to reassure her.

I have 4 dogs and 3 of them will pant, dance around, go to the door, whatever is necessary to get someone's attention to go outside.

My toy poodle however will do nothing. I have had her 1 year now - but her previous 18 months were probably spent in a cage at her backyard breeder is what I am guessing.

So for her, its a matter of remembering to let her out, or she will just go. She is much improved over when we first got her... she rarely pees in the house, but she has never once given an indication that she needs to go outside.

Good luck with your new pup! I agree, obedience class is a great tool to learn how to handle her and the aggression issues. I wish there was a surefire method to use to get them to paw at the door to go out.

Sher

I think you have received some good advice! We're going thru a similiar thing with the wetting accidents. I'm still trying to get my dog to alert me when she has to go out, but for now I stick to a strict schedule for potty breaks. Our dog also eats things, weird things, like a piece of soap, tissues, paper towels, and oh God cigarette butts! How weird is that? Just the filter section, but it can't be good. We don't smoke, but our neighbors do and we find cigarette butts on our driveway sometimes. I have to keep my eyes peeled for any potential object she may see as edible. We are making progress on "leave it!" but if she gets it in her mouth before I say it, forget it. I have taken to carrying treats on our walks and say, "Drop it" and try offering her a treat so she'll drop the item, but she usually just gulps it down. I've know some Poms and they are high energy, but fun. Just get some training and keep at it. That's my plan, anyway!

Debi 18 said"As far as the growling at other dogs, make sure you don't speak soothingly to her when she growls. People think they are calming the dog, but in the dog's mind, they are being rewarded for the behavior and so will likely repeat it. The same goes for any situation where the dog might feel frightened and you might be tempted to talk sweetly to her to reassure her".

I just had to give this one a double ditto! It's the most frequent mistake made, especially with small dogs. If it's acting agressive don't pick it up, that's a reward. Just firmly say no "leave it" and walk away.

There are tricks to teaching "leave it" and "Drop it". Drop it is the easiest. You hold out your hand in a downward fist with the treat inside and say "drop it". The dog gets the treat, even if you have to pry the toy or whatever out of the dogs mouth to start. Trick is finding the treat the dog will jump out of an airplane without a parachute for. Then after awhile you don't have the treat all of the time in your fist when you give the command and just praise the dog.

A good training basic too is house first, yard second world last, for ANY command you teach your dog.

I do suggest finding a trainer sooner than latter, the longer you wait the harder it will be to retrain. Speaking from experience. I wish you luck!

I have two shih-tzu's, one is four and the other 6 months. Oldest one will jump against your legs and wag her tail to let us know she wants out. The other one will go to door and whine if that doesn't get our attention then she barks. Friend has the same breed dog and he won't let her know. She just has to keep taking him out at different times. My mother has a seven year old pom and he'll go a long time doing real good then for know apparent reason he just goes in house.

Concerning housebreaking, a lot of people just assume that a dog will know what to do outside. They do not. You must go out with them and praise them when they urinate or defecate, so they will associate the praise with the action. You didn't state where you got her, and she may not have been housebroken to begin with. Small dogs are frequently allowed to "go" in a kennel, where the waste is easily cleaned or hosed out. You will more than likely have to train her as if she were a puppy. Take her out as soon as she wakes up, after she eats, any time she seems restless or is roaming about the house, and PRAISE, PRAISE, PRAISE her for the appropriate action! And DON'T scold her for eliminating inside, unless you catch her in the act...then just a firm "no", then take her outside even if she's finished. If you scold her, or go on and on about her "accident", she'll start associating "attention"(good or bad) with eliminating inside. Use a good odor eliminator on the spots where she's gone. Consistency is very important. I know it's hard to do, but small dogs are typically hard to housebreak, and it will pay off in the long run. Sorry to go on so long(just finished my morning coffee :D). The very best of luck to you and your new girl!

I have always had great success in training my dogs backwards. In other words, when they are outside on their walkies, and they are peeing or making a touchdown. I give the command. PP OUTSIDE or whatever you choose. Dont use TOUCHDOWN if you or your boyfriend watch alot of football!!! Anyway, make your voice light and sweet and squeeky, and fun (always when commanding a dog, it should sound fun, after all they just want to please us) Praise your puppy immediately after it goes as if it just dug up a bag with a million dollars in it. This makes your dog associate going as a good thing. SOon you can ask your dog if it needs to go PP OUTSIDE, my dog will react by raising his ears. He knows the difference between walkies, which we do whether he has to go or not, a touchdown and pp outside. This is great because if for any reason I have an appointment and we have to break schedule, I can start our walkies with his commands and he knows h needs to do his business not just scratch and sniff. Good luck, let us know how it goes and what you find works for you and good luck with your new pup.

There is nothing like obedience training to really build a bond with your dog. Nothing! it's a blast. But it is also a "way of life" not just an exercise you perform for however many weeks. Training is on-going, and perpetual. That's the fun of it.

Agree totally about the alpha thing. My dog is a lot bigger than your's and the JERK behavior is always there. Loud, bossy, and always corrected (but no dogs in our area with whom we may "practice"). It's scarey when the dog is big, even if he's a weenie.

My boss has two little dogs, untrained. I love one of them, but the other? I wouldn't trust that little man as far as I could throw him! Just as Jenme and Deb mentioned, his dominant behavior is perpertually rewarded by someone who doesn't understand that she's being controlled by her dog. When he oversteps his bounds she screams at him and then loves him up when he cowers/retreats. At all of 13-15 lbs. I view him as potentially dangerous and won't have in the shop when I'm there. Size is of not consequence, all dogs speak the same language. And once we learn it, they make great companions.

"Leave it" and "Give" are two of my favorites. Another is, Wait". My big dog will walk right by a dead animal in the road with "Leave it", will drop it if he found it before I did, with "Give". He will remain in place with a stern, "WAIT!" and while he fusses a lot, "Leave it" helps control the jerk behavior when we meet another dog on our rounds.

Those are all commands we learned in Basic and Advanced Basic Obedience. I can't wait to go to another class.

I think housebreaking is as much about routine as anything. Food at the same time everyday. Out at the same times. Pick up the water dish if you're away during the day. I agree with the praise for "completion of dooty". Our dog has yet to soil in the house, and it's been over 2 yrs. now. But we operate on a schedule, too.

THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH FOR YOUR REPLY!! I will try some of the things and post later how it goes. Thanks again =]