If potty training for your dog was never a problem, the 1st time the dog poops in the house can cause a bit of alarm. So lets look at the best way to sort it out and keep it from occurring again.
Don't Get Angry At Your Dog
Punishing your dog, or shouting at them won't stop it happening again, so stay calm, however revolted you are at having to clear up after them.
Strangely, getting angry with your dog at the situation could have the opposite effect and make it more likely that some dogs will do it again.
I've heard some owners say that their dog has pooped in the house intentionally because they have been left alone and while there may be some truth in that, it won't be for reasons or spite or revenge, as they imagine. Your dog will have a good reason for doing what they've done, so lets look into some of them.
Toilet Training Problems
If its a puppies behaviour in question, the answer could be that they are still a bit young and a little slow to learn. If you come done to find your puppy has pooped in his crate overnight it's most likely that its just a little to long for them to hang on.
If that is the case, the answer is to get up a little earlier to let them out until they are a bit older. By 5 months old they should be able to manage it.
Dogs or puppies don't tend to poop or pee in their own confined space, so if a dog poops in a crate, they will only be doing it if they are caught short or there are other problems going on like separation anxiety in dogs.
On the other end of the age spectrum, older dogs can also start to need to toilet more frequently and some may become a little incontinent with age. The only way to deal with this is to take them outside more often. If you have any concerns about your dogs health though we would recommend a trip to your vets.
Your Dog's Diet
Diarrhoea is perhaps the most obvious reason when a dog poops in the house, which could be caused by the food they ate, or they could have been exposed to some kind of toxins or got parasites. Any sign of blood in the poop should be checked out with your vet as should diarrhoea that doesn't clear up quickly.
Any food related or health related reasons that might cause your dog to poop in the house should not persist once it has cleared up or been dealt with.
Look closely at your dogs diet. Have you made any changes recently, like changing the brand of food you give them? It can take their systems a few days to adjust to new food and vets often advise changing the food you give overtime, mixing the new in with the old to start and gradually increasing the proportion of the new food.
If there has been no changes, try restricting their diet to bland foods - and make sure they get no extras (like the remains of last nights takeaway!) and see if that helps. It may be worth looking into hypo-allergenic dog foods.
Change in Your Dogs Life
If you've now ruled out health, diet and toilet training as the reason for your dog pooping in the house, try looking at your circumstances.
What could have changed and impacted on your dog? Have you moved home, or changed it significantly? Has someone new arrived in the house, or someone they're attached to left? Has your health changed - or anyone else around them? Have you got a new dog or other animal?
There are many changes that can affect a dog and pooping in the house can be a reaction to being unsettled by the change. Sometimes it takes a little bit of time for them to adapt. Be patient, clear up without making any fuss and the situation may sort itself out with time. Sadly, that may not be the case with an anxious dog.
Separation Anxiety in Dogs
Separation anxiety in dogs can develop as a reaction to a change in circumstance, and can cause your dog to poop in the house - though probably not for the reasons you'd imagine.
If we look at the way a dog would behave in the wild we can understand why they might be reacting in this way. Instinctively, a dog uses their poop to either warn away other packs, scent mark the boundaries of their territory or to help their own pack members make their way back to the den.
This might explain why an anxious dog left at home (in the den) alone, who is panicking about where you have gone, might poop in the house. They've just given you a scent trail so you can find your way back. Sadly, they have no idea that our noses don't work as well as theirs.
A dogs anxiety comes about as a result of worrying about you, so the way to get rid of it is to look at who is the top dog in your household. It's often the case that anxious dogs have assumed that they are pack leader and if this is what has happened, they will continue to get anxious every time you leave, because the pack leader is responsible for keeping the rest of the pack safe - which they can't do if you shut them in the house and disappear!
The best thing you can do, if anxiety is the problem, is learn how to show your dog that you are the pack leader and that they have nothing to worry about. If you deal with the anxiety, you dog will no longer have a reason to poop in the house.
Don't Get Angry At Your Dog
Punishing your dog, or shouting at them won't stop it happening again, so stay calm, however revolted you are at having to clear up after them.
Strangely, getting angry with your dog at the situation could have the opposite effect and make it more likely that some dogs will do it again.
I've heard some owners say that their dog has pooped in the house intentionally because they have been left alone and while there may be some truth in that, it won't be for reasons or spite or revenge, as they imagine. Your dog will have a good reason for doing what they've done, so lets look into some of them.
Toilet Training Problems
If its a puppies behaviour in question, the answer could be that they are still a bit young and a little slow to learn. If you come done to find your puppy has pooped in his crate overnight it's most likely that its just a little to long for them to hang on.
If that is the case, the answer is to get up a little earlier to let them out until they are a bit older. By 5 months old they should be able to manage it.
Dogs or puppies don't tend to poop or pee in their own confined space, so if a dog poops in a crate, they will only be doing it if they are caught short or there are other problems going on like separation anxiety in dogs.
On the other end of the age spectrum, older dogs can also start to need to toilet more frequently and some may become a little incontinent with age. The only way to deal with this is to take them outside more often. If you have any concerns about your dogs health though we would recommend a trip to your vets.
Your Dog's Diet
Diarrhoea is perhaps the most obvious reason when a dog poops in the house, which could be caused by the food they ate, or they could have been exposed to some kind of toxins or got parasites. Any sign of blood in the poop should be checked out with your vet as should diarrhoea that doesn't clear up quickly.
Any food related or health related reasons that might cause your dog to poop in the house should not persist once it has cleared up or been dealt with.
Look closely at your dogs diet. Have you made any changes recently, like changing the brand of food you give them? It can take their systems a few days to adjust to new food and vets often advise changing the food you give overtime, mixing the new in with the old to start and gradually increasing the proportion of the new food.
If there has been no changes, try restricting their diet to bland foods - and make sure they get no extras (like the remains of last nights takeaway!) and see if that helps. It may be worth looking into hypo-allergenic dog foods.
Change in Your Dogs Life
If you've now ruled out health, diet and toilet training as the reason for your dog pooping in the house, try looking at your circumstances.
What could have changed and impacted on your dog? Have you moved home, or changed it significantly? Has someone new arrived in the house, or someone they're attached to left? Has your health changed - or anyone else around them? Have you got a new dog or other animal?
There are many changes that can affect a dog and pooping in the house can be a reaction to being unsettled by the change. Sometimes it takes a little bit of time for them to adapt. Be patient, clear up without making any fuss and the situation may sort itself out with time. Sadly, that may not be the case with an anxious dog.
Separation Anxiety in Dogs
Separation anxiety in dogs can develop as a reaction to a change in circumstance, and can cause your dog to poop in the house - though probably not for the reasons you'd imagine.
If we look at the way a dog would behave in the wild we can understand why they might be reacting in this way. Instinctively, a dog uses their poop to either warn away other packs, scent mark the boundaries of their territory or to help their own pack members make their way back to the den.
This might explain why an anxious dog left at home (in the den) alone, who is panicking about where you have gone, might poop in the house. They've just given you a scent trail so you can find your way back. Sadly, they have no idea that our noses don't work as well as theirs.
A dogs anxiety comes about as a result of worrying about you, so the way to get rid of it is to look at who is the top dog in your household. It's often the case that anxious dogs have assumed that they are pack leader and if this is what has happened, they will continue to get anxious every time you leave, because the pack leader is responsible for keeping the rest of the pack safe - which they can't do if you shut them in the house and disappear!
The best thing you can do, if anxiety is the problem, is learn how to show your dog that you are the pack leader and that they have nothing to worry about. If you deal with the anxiety, you dog will no longer have a reason to poop in the house.
About the Author:
If you would like to discover some more about Dog Anxiety we have compiled a useful, free report to help you spot the symptoms of anxiety in your dog, because when a dog poops in house, it could simply be the start of anxiety problems, so catch it and stop it fast.
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