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

[canucksafari]

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.

I am no canine behavioural expert either but the idea here is to replace/modify a negative behaviour with positive re-enforcement which re-asserts your's and your family's alpha position. It appears your dog's current behaviour is a form of acting out against the pack for bringing a new dog into the pack.

 

[scottm]

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.

I've had a number of pups learn quickly from crate training, including this one. He is still crate trained, that light bulb is still on, but apparently another one has gone on. I'll have a hard time believing crate training will be helpful, but maybe.

He and the other dog eat at the same time, and are let out after to do their thing. He has pooped in the house before going out if he has time, but it can be any time of day or evening. But it's every day. I left my wife with a steamy pile yesterday evening when I was late for a meeting, I'm sure she was watching carefully this morning.

 

[4xoddic]

Let me preface by saying you've had a source of problems since DAY 1, which has reared its ugly head. You've gotten lots of good advice for a perplexing problem. Here are some points I would make regarding the situation:

This male schnoodle is about 6-yrs-old, got him from a puppy mill,


For the last few months this schnoodle has pooped in the house every day.
rubbing his nose in it

Puppy mill = crowded living conditions since Day 1 I have a lab that was kennel raised as a breeder. Stepping in dog feces is the norm, so a dog raised in that situation is NOT ashamed of its waste. Labs are anal about their feet, yet this one ignores me stepping on hers. Most labs clean their feet a LOT, this one doesn't, licking feces off must not have been flavorful. She was never bothered by having our male dog, Whizzer, whiz on her. Not concerned about stepping in fresh poop.

Rubbing a dog's nose in its feces has been a rule of thumb for many dog owners. IT USUALLY WORKS FAST. I do NOT suggest it as the main way to teach a dog where to defecate (as in on a walk, praising the act when it occurs IN ONE'S OWN YARD, or picking it up elsewhere).

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.

BINGO! I would bet a vet's fee that something's changed. Both Whizzer & our Lab have lived (past tense for Whiz) beyond the point of bowel control. Due to your dog's Puppy Mill background, it's not bothered in the least by this. I get the point that this is a new behavior for your dog, and that it formerly respected your wishes that it defecate outdoors. It's just no longer willing to wait when the urge hits.

Both of our dogs were adopted direct from bad living environments. Whizzer grew up on the end of a chain to his igloo = waste spots were as far as chain will reach. Near the end. he would exit the room we were in to leave his mess in another room. He never grew accustom to a mess in his area.
The lab has reached the point where she would trail droppings down the street as we walked her. Little to NO control. I now walk her only in our 1 acre to begin with, & IF she doesn't poop, we go back to the large dog yard. IF she does, Good Dog!, we walk down the paved street & go .5 mile route on a gravel road, where she's off the leash (positive reinforcement).

I don't advocate placing a dog with bad habits with an Animal Shelter. Our Lab has bitten both a friend & my Mom. No warning, person petting her one moment gets bit the next for no apparent reason. We always keep her on a leash, penned, or chained IF others are anywhere around. Don't allow others to pet her. IF we reach the point, after 10 years now, where we can't protect others or tolerate her behavior, I will have her put to sleep.

The fee for a Vet visit probably = euthanasia cost.

Good Luck with your situation.

 

[scottm]

Thanks. He's not going to a shelter, I'm sure there are families who'll take him. As long as they don't have another dog he'll be fine. 'till then, I'll treat him well.

 

[John Galt]

Every time he poops inside, put him and the poop outside where he can see it. Leave the dog outside till he gets over it.

 

[sirenmoses]

Lotsa good advice here. I'd take 4XODDIC up on the vet's fee bet.

FWIW, my 6yo rescued female (prolly brood bitch) has 1/2 acre yard to play, nap, sunbathe, chase squirrels, yell at loose dogs on the road, and potty. Where does she potty?? Not up in the woods where the other dogs potty -- right in the corner where the best yelling begins. When I first saw her in the shelter she had feces on her feet, so she must've be desensatized to the whole 'don't poo where you play/eat/sleep' thing. The first couple days home she pottied in the house, although she'd use the dog door to see what was happening outside. Thank god that stopped....