My dog keeps pooping in the house, what to do?

[scottm]

This male schnoodle is about 6-yrs-old, got him from a puppy mill, and he's been an ok dog. He spends a lot of time in the yard, within an invisible fence. He barks fiercely at every person or dog that goes by, really annoying for us and neighbors (its a subdivision). A barking collar has helped that. He sneaks food off the table if left alone, but knows better when we're around. We brought home a male golden retriever pup about 1.5 yrs ago, and they wrestle and play happily whenever they're together. I've noticed it's not so friendly when they eat, the golden is definitely dominant.

For the last few months this schnoodle has pooped in the house every day. It's been summer, he spends most of his time outside, and sleeps in the laundry room, but he manages to sneak off and poop inside every day. Wife tells him he's bad and puts him in the laundry room. I've begun swatting him and rubbing his nose in it. This happens every day, I usually find it at 5am when I go down to work out. I'm getting more violent, which is unlike me, I love animals, bugs, etc, and don't have a temper. But I had my hands around his neck last time, and I had to think long and hard before releasing him. Wife has agreed to get rid of him if the kids are ok with it, which they're not, yet. I may agree to keep the dog if they agree to clean up the poop immediately when I find it. That should last about two days for two kids.

I may put him on Craigslist, I did see an ad looking for a family dog much like him. But how to keep peace in the family?

 

[Liam]

sounds like you shouldnt own a dog.

 

[Wile E Coyote]

Give him to a relative that you don't like.

Edit: Beef boy is blunt, but truthful.

 

[fsusteve]

I would say liam's right, you two should part company.

 

[decavo]

crate train him.. the dog is pisssed about something and acting out.. did you change his food? rubbing his nose and beating the dog wont help he is a dumb animal and has no idea wtf you are doing.. get rid of the dog or buy a crate and retrain him ti s*** outside

 

[tcb]

WTF is a schnoodle?

agree with the crate. they will not poo in their "room" unless it is an absolute emergency. crate him while he's indoors.

 

[Trevor]

Are you walking him, or just tossing him in the back yard?

 

[NorCalDoug]

I would guess a schnoodle is a schnauzer/poodle mutt.

a house smelling of poo is not a good thing. I would suggest either making him an "outdoor" pooch (as much as possible in the winter where you are or getting rid of the pooch altogether.

 

[Jman]

sounds like you shouldnt own a dog.

crate train him.. the dog is pisssed about something and acting out.. did you change his food? rubbing his nose and beating the dog wont help he is a dumb animal and has no idea wtf you are doing.. get rid of the dog or buy a crate and retrain him ti s*** outside

Some combo of these two is right. Although I disagree with the "dumb" part--Schnoodles are smart dogs. You have done something (changed his routine, his diet, some combo) that has set him off, and you are taking the wrong approach to fixing the problem, he ain't gonna change by you getting belligerent.

You need to spend more time with your dog, get him more exercise, get him outdoors more.

 

[scottm]

He's crate trained just fine, doesn't ever go in the small laundry room. Yes he's pissed about something, seems obvious it's the newish dog. Not rubbing his nose in it is what I've always heard, I tried that. It seems like he needs some reinforcing of the idea that he goes outside. He know he shouldn't go inside, but is making a conscious decision to do so. I've left the big dog inside and played fetch with him, run errands with him in the jeep, he should be happy. He sleeps on my son's bed a lot while the big dog is in his kennel, that should make him feel good.

 

[sirenmoses]

Before you assume he's acting out (although that could be possible, especially with a change in routine & lack of human interaction), have him examined by your vet. He could be having trouble 'back there' with pooping being the only symptom. Trouble could be as simple to fix as having his anal glands expressed, or as complicated as disc, neurological, or cancer.

If you don't wanna spend $$ on the vet, give him away, preferably to Animal Humane instead of a shelter. The dog & the fam will both be happier.

 

[Mr. Toad]

To get the kids to be OK with it, dig their asses out of bed at 5 a.m. and make them clean up the poo. They'll beg you not to let go next time you grab that little schnoodle throat.

(Really, you have to manage that anger a little better.)

 

[scottm]

Before you assume he's acting out (although that could be possible, especially with a change in routine & lack of human interaction), have him examined by your vet. He could be having trouble 'back there' with pooping being the only symptom. Trouble could be as simple to fix as having his anal glands expressed, or as complicated as disc, neurological, or cancer.

If you don't wanna spend $$ on the vet, give him away, preferably to Animal Humane instead of a shelter. The dog & the fam will both be happier.

Hmm, if he's having control problems it hasn't happened outside or in the laundry room, that's where he has spent the majority of his time. I've been giving him more attention, and letting him sleep on my son's bed, because I still want to make the dog happy if that's all it is. It may be that he'll never accept losing his status to the golden, and I'll have to get rid of him.

 

[ATLcrusher]

Show him who's the boss - get down there on the floor and eat it.

 

[scottm]

(Really, you have to manage that anger a little better.)

I once house-sat for a lady with a very dangerous dog. I wore heavy leather coats and gloves he couldn't bite through when he attacked, which he did regularly. I never hit that dog, figured it was a good test of my patience. Maybe I've gotten less patient as I've aged, but my instincts and my judgement are at odds here.

 

[canucksafari]

First off, dogs are not stupid but they respond best to positive re-enforcement. You can train him to poop on command - within reason - but you and your family have to work together on this. I trained my Golden to poo and pee on command within a couple of weeks of training. We had the same problem with her dumping at my mom's house. I think it was caused in part by conflict with my mom's dog and my sister's dogs. Anyways, whatever the cause there is an fairly easy solution.

Usually about 30 minutes after eating, most dogs have to take a dump. So after about 30 minutes, take your dog for a walk on leash. I hope he is properly leash trained and that he clearly knows that you and everyone elese in the family are his alphas. You also need to be feeding smaller portions twice a day: early morning and afternoon. People who just leave a dog's dish full with a lot of food are asking for problems. If you know your dog, you will know the signs (the body movements) he makes just before they have to dump. When your dog begins to take a dump, immediately use the command word you have chosen for it. I use the command "ban~o" for both taking a crap and a pee with my dog. Offer lots of praise while he's letting it go and make sure you give him lots of time to do his business. Now in the dog's mind, taking a crap when commanded is asociated with getting a reward - praise. This replaces the concept of crapping or peeing with acting out or getting punished. Also, if he has done his business when he is under your control - on leash - he won't have anything left to crap on your floors.

 

[canucksafari]

Hmm, if he's having control problems it hasn't happened outside or in the laundry room, that's where he has spent the majority of his time.

Dogs never crap in their cave, where they sleep, unless they are sick or absolutely have no choice. The laundry room is his crate/cave. Some dogs (dogs kept in small kennels 24/7) becuase they have no choice will crap anywhere but they can also be trained.

 

[D'Animal]

Pick up the poop and throw it in your yard. He will get the point that this is the bathroom.

 

[scottm]

First off, dogs are not stupid but they respond best to positive re-enforcement. You can train him to poop on command - within reason - but you and your family have to work together on this. I trained my Golden to poo and pee on command within a couple of weeks of training. We had the same problem with her dumping at my mom's house. I think it was caused in part by conflict with my mom's dog and my sister's dogs. Anyways, whatever the cause there is an fairly easy solution.

Usually about 30 minutes after eating, most dogs have to take a dump. So after about 30 minutes, take your dog for a walk on leash. I hope he is properly leash trained and that he clearly knows that you and everyone elese in the family are his alphas. You also need to be feeding smaller portions twice a day: early morning and afternoon. People who just leave a dog's dish full with a lot of food are asking for problems. If you know your dog, you will know the signs (the body movements) he makes just before they have to dump. When your dog begins to take a dump, immediately use the command word you have chosen for it. I use the command "ban~o" for both taking a crap and a pee with my dog. Offer lots of praise while he's letting it go and make sure you give him lots of time to do his business. Now in the dog's mind, taking a crap when commanded is asociated with getting a reward - praise. This replaces the concept of crapping or peeing with acting out or getting punished. Also, if he has done his business when he is under your control - on leash - he won't have anything left to crap on your floors.

Thanks Canuck. This is a dog that was well trained and rarely if ever had a problem with going outside to do it's thing. He seems to have chosen to disobey, it's not like he suddenly forgot. The new dog is trained to pee on command and does fine. I think it's more complicated than just training, but I'm no expert.

 

[jjbodean1970]

crate train him.. the dog is pisssed about something and acting out.. did you change his food? rubbing his nose and beating the dog wont help he is a dumb animal and has no idea wtf you are doing.. get rid of the dog or buy a crate and retrain him ti s*** outside

i agree with this. i was having housebreaking problems with our pooch until i crate trained and then it was like the lightbulb came on for the dog.