Ask a QuestionHere are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community or ask a new question.
So we have this Jackchi who will be 4 years old in April. We found him over a year ago and he has been a perfect dog since day one. He doesn't bark and he's fully potty trained. He has lived with both me and my boyfriend at both houses for a while and have never had a problem with his potty. He knows how to alert us even if we are sleeping and in the worst of times has even been content and held in his urge to potty to only once or twice a day really quick in the back yard.
Beginning of November my boyfriend and I moved in together in our own house. The first time he peed and pooped in the house we figured, oh okay it's a new house he doesn't realize this is his home yet and that he doesn't need to do that and that he can go out whenever he wants. We also had just put up a Christmas tree which is where he peed, and pooped just across from it.
But then he peed in our room where we all sleep every night. We ended up putting him in his cage when he sleeps (still in our room right next to me in our bed) at night, but stopped doing it unless we knew we where going to be extra tired and sleep in too long. He seemed to be better and realize it's his home.
Today I took him out because he kept going to the door. I waited on the porch for him to be ready to come in and when he came to me I picked him up and took him in the bathroom to wipe him off because he got a drop of pee on his paw. Then I let him down and went into the kitchen and reheated some food. The kitchen is one of the only places he is not allowed to go in and that has always been a rule in every house, So it's not new. But when I finished making my food it dropped (D:) and I looked away from him to clean it up for a mere minute. When I got back up I smelled poop and he was just sitting there looking like nothing's wrong. I haven't changed his food or anything.
This was legit not even two minutes after he came in from going potty. And even more concerning is that he usually looks guilty when he does something bad, like even if we don't know about it he will try sucking up to us and cuddling us to make us not mad at whatever it is. What am I doing wrong?
I'm home full time so he gets to go out whenever he wants and he's not neglected. I just don't understand why he went from this perfect dog to a rebellious little boy. Any ideas? Also, yes he is not neutered, but that has never been an issue either. He's a very healthy little doggo, and the poop was near the hallway entrance where he is daily not in a place he's not allowed. We reprimand him by saying "no" and "bad" and putting him in a time out so he knows it's wrong.
That happened to me a few years ago. I ended up getting a crate for night time. They will not poop or pee where they sleep. She cried a night or two but I ignored it and she quit. If they are doing it in the daytime put a doggie door in.
Sounds like he is just mixed up by the move. Just re-train him when he goes potty outside treat him and praise him. Scold him if you catch him doing it in the house, then take him outside. Tether him to you so you can catch him in the act.
The more chances you get to reward him, the faster he will catch on.
My 11 year old Rottie is pooing and peeing indoors all the time! Initially I thought it was because he was protesting about not being allowed upstairs anymore (he has severe arthritis in his front legs and is on Metacalm and glucosamine for this). I'm a bit strapped for cash and really don't want to take him to the vet (and am scared of what they may say/find). Any suggestions gratefully received.
Try calling your vet and asking for advice. Let them know your financial situation and see if they can give you something to try before bringing the dog in. Sometimes it is a simple fix.
If you don't have a regular vet, contact your local rescue organization and see if they know of a free or reduced care clinic.
Metacam is hard on the kidneys. Our boy is on it and needs yearly blood work to make sure he is stable. Most vets will work with you on costs like reduced fees or affordable payment plans or both.
Sending up healing thoughts for your fur baby.
There are so many possibilities here, old age, your prescription needs to be adjusted, you need to time his meals differently, he may have a urinary tract infection. You really need a Vet to help make your choices to make the right one.
We rescued a dog in the beginning of September and the minute we brought her home she had diarrhea all over our room's carpet! Now 2 months later we are still having accidents in the house. The accidents happen often; then she's really good about going outside. However, then it starts happening inside repeatedly again! We know she was used for breeding and had 1 litter. Then issues caused her to be neutered and the owners left her at the vet. We love her, but can't continue to live like this, it's so gross! Please help.
This is so sad and many breeders don't treat their female dog good. They are normally locked in cages and never taken out for walks or even trained to pee and poop outside.
I adopted my dog about 3 months ago and she's always been very good with doing her business outside. She's a Border Collie and 16 months old. Lately, she has being occasionally peeing and pooping quite often inside. It usually happens right after I take her for a walk, but she poops on her walk! And then comes inside and poops again.
This morning she did it on my bed, which she never has before. I just don't know why she's doing this. She's on new meds because she hurt her leg at the dog park, could that be it? She also poops in other peoples houses I bring her to, but I figure that's more of an anxiety thing, due to being in an unfamiliar place. I just don't know why she's pooping all the time in my place, and how to stop it.
Any advice?
Why a dog pee and poops inside.
I have a 5 year old male Whippet that constantly poops and wees in the house once he's came back in from outside. Is there anything I can do to try and stop him?
Thanks.
I have an almost 5-year-old Australian Shepherd. He's an awesome dog and very high energy. He goes out to the bathroom numerous times daily, but lately he invariably pees and started pooping in my apartment now long after I let him out. So I had a crate in my car that I put up today. I'm gonna start putting him in that. I have never had a problem with any of my dogs before. I have had Australian Shepherds for many years. He gets bones and he gets treats. Does anyone have any advice?
Before you start treating this like a behavioral issue you need to rule out any potential physical causes. Take him to the Vet to rule out say, a bladder infection. Have there been any changes in your home? New pets, new room mates, a new schedule? If this is not a physical problem it may be anxiety. Any new stresses for you or him? Any new dogs he may be feeling territorial about? Even if he just sees them through the window. You mentioned you live in an apartment. Does your dog get to the dog park or someplace he can run on a regular basis? This is especially important for the breed you are dealing with. A tired dog is a happy dog. While crating a dog helps some issues, it can make some (anxiety) worse. I hope you are able to get back to normal with your buddy.
I have a five year old Dachsie female (Abbie) who has regressed to puppy hood. She has had back trouble and has been sick. She pees on the carpet, so I have been keeping her in her crate. She does not drink much when she is in the crate and will not pee outside. After a few days, she will pee and poop on the floor because she cannot hold it.
I do not know the best way to train her again. I am used to her being with me all the time and feel mean to keep her in the crate. I don't know if this makes sense, but I need help. I guess my question is, how to you retrain a five year old? And how long do I let her out to spend time with her? And when I do, she may pee on the carpet. It is too hot to take her outside and spend time with her. How do I make it so that she does not feel abandoned and hate her crate?
By Elizabeth N.
Have you discussed this problem with your vet? He/she should be able to give you some info. For instance, there could be a medical problem causing this break in toilet training. Your vet should be able to advise you about behavioral issues, too. Another excellent source of info is the ASPCA - they have a "virtual pet behaviorist" on their website, ASPCA.org. Also, try calling your local ASPCA and Humane Society for pet behaviorist advice. You could also go to the library and read up on the subject. There are many good sources of info. I suppose you've already tried googling the topic?
Good luck to you and your dog. Please don't give up!
Me again. The url for behaviorist is http://www.aspcabehavior.org
The first thing I would do is take her to the Vet to see if there is an underlying cause for her not being able to hold her pee. In the meantime, I'd invest in a 'puppy pen' you can set it up inside your house with potty pads on the floor so that she isn't being left to "live" (& I use the term lightly) her life away in a small box. Living in a crate is not 'living'.
The potty pads are a good idea. As well as newspapers, just like when you're first training a puppy. Or you could try a container (something similar to the tray made to put under a washing machine to collect any leaks, or even a boot tray, depending on her size) with some dirt in it. You don't need a lot of dirt, just enough for her to smell and associate it with the outdoors. Keep an old rug around it so her paws will clean off a bit when she comes out. One of those artificial grass rugs works well. It ends up being almost like a litter box, but the extra work is well worth it to save your floors. Introduce her to the box once it's set up so she'll hopefully realize that's the place to "go". I'd check with the Vet, too, if this continues. Lots of luck to you!
You did not state what her back-problems were and why she had been sick. In her best interest please consult your Veterinarian she may have a urinary tract infection or a number of other problems. There is only one person who can professionally diagnose this. She is a lovely girl who can't help herself in these situations and depends on you to help her. Good luck.
She obviously knows to hold her pee as you said she holds it for days at a time. I would crate train her which will mean a lot of work on your part. Take her outside regularly (at least every couple of hours) and stay outside for a while to give her a chance to go. Talk to your Vet first and get to the root of the problem! Good luck.
Awww! Such a precious furbaby. She is so cute and what a pretty face. I also love Dashies. I used to have one also but she got too heavy and it broke her back down and her spine broke down into her spinal column and she passed away. I still miss her so much, her beautiful big brown eyes and her long flowing ears and short feet.
You mentioned that your dog has back problems and has been sick. Have you spoken to your vet about the potty problems Abby has been having? If the dog was sick and treated with meds, is it possible that she may have some kidney problems, or a reaction to the meds? Do you have a doggy door in your house so Abby can get in and out as she needs to? The doggy door has been a real life saver for my two dogs. and no more accidents! Also, maybe Abby's back hurts so she won't go outside to go potty? Just some thoughts about the situation, maybe I have mentioned something that might help. Good luck! Give her lots of hugs and kisses!
I have an American Akita who is about 18 months old. He can't seem to go through the night without peeing or pooping in my kitchen. We have an enclosed outside area for him which he can get to in the night, but doesn't. We have tried all sorts of cleaning products to get rid of the scent, but he still does it in the exact same place. We don't know what to do. We give him a bowl full of water in the morning and then with his dinner, but take it away at night. During the day he goes outside to do his business. Does anyone have any advise? I'm open to all suggestions.
Our 2 year old Dachshund has suddenly forgotten that she was house trained. She will not do her business outside anymore. I take her out and she refuses to do anything and comes right back in and as soon as you turn your back she uses the throw rugs. We have taken them up so now she uses the hardwood floor. What do I do? We have a 7 year old spoiled Lab mix that never goes in the house.
I have a 16 month old male, neutered Schnauzer. He is house trained. He never goes upstairs in the house, but he sneaks out of my sight and goes down to the rec room and pees and poops down there always in the same spot. He goes to the far end of the room and goes just in front of the far wall. 
We spend a lot of time at my boyfriend's house and he never does it while we are there, but as soon as I come home he does it again.
He is fed on a schedule and taken out and walked on a schedule and it's the same schedule here as at my boyfriend's house. He has been vet checked and is healthy. It's not necessarily when I go out that he does it. He just randomly sneaks downstairs and goes.
The only thought I have is that my adult son lives with me and his bedroom is in the basement. He is not home much between working and being at his girlfriend's and when he does come home he doesn't really pay much attention to the dog (even though the dog loves him to death) and I'm wondering if the peeing and pooping is an intentional thing to protest my son not being home or not giving him enough attention.
Does anyone have any suggestions? He has ruined my carpet downstairs and I'd really like to correct this before I get new carpet. I've done all the retaining stuff and it didn't make any difference. He knows to go outside and always does, but this behavior in the house has to stop.
Suggestions please!
Thanks for your time!
I have two Maltese dogs that poop and pee in the living room of the house every night. The male is 3 years old and the female is 2 years old. I want to keep them, but I am at the point to where if I don't get this taken care of soon I will take them to an animal shelter and just let them find them a new home. You wake up in the morning to this and have to pick it up every morning.
My Pit Bull is 3 years old. He has the back door open all night, but lately he's been going in the kitchen more than once a night. What do I do?
Don't leave the door open. Your dog thinks another animal or dog can get in. This will keep him overly alert and protective all night, possibly leading to territorial marking behavior like pooping.
Instead, take him out before bed and then again in the morning.
My husband and I adopted a 2 year old Lab Pit mix about five days ago. Since day 1, he has had issues using the bathroom. I noticed immediately that he was not peeing or pooping outside. We live in an apartment complex and when we took him outside he just spent the whole time sniffing everything. He came from a home of two older women who, from what we have assumed, spoiled him and did not train him at all. At his old home, he did pee and poop on walks with his previous owner. When we adopted him his owner told us that he really loved his crate. We did not have one until the fourth day day we had him.
Day 1
We got him late at night so when we first got him we spent some time petting him and interacting with him trying to make him comfortable with us. He very quickly got comfortable with me, but was hesitant with my husband. This is understandable considering he came from a female only home. Eventually he warmed up and we were able to take him for a walk before bed. He did not use the bathroom, but we did not think much of it.
Day 2
I took our dog out in the morning for 45 minutes and he still did not use the bathroom. This concerned me, but I assumed he was still a little nervous. When we came in from our morning walk I fed him. Throughout the day I took him out about 5 times with no results. I fed him dinner and took him out about 2 hours later for 45 minutes and he did not poop or pee. About 20 minutes after bringing him back in he peed on our bathroom floor. While I cleaned, my husband took him out again to see if he would poop and he did not.
Day 3
When I woke up this morning, I realized he had peed on our bedroom floor. I cleaned it up and took him out (he still didn't use the bathroom). I took him out about 5 times throughout the morning and afternoon with no results. When my husband came home in the evening, he took the dog out and he finally pooped outside! We decided to make where he pooped his designated bathroom. After dinner, I took him to his new bathroom spot and he pooped again! We gave him praise each time he pooped outside.
Day 4
I took him out about 3-4 times throughout the day and he did not use the bathroom at all. When my husband came home in the evening, he brought his new crate and our dog was very excited. He made himself at home in his crate very fast. We took him out 2 more times for the night and he did not use the bathroom. This was our dog's first night sleeping in his crate and it was also the first night he did not give us any issues with whining at night. When I woke up to use the bathroom at night, I noticed pee in the dog's crate. I woke my husband up to take him out while I cleaned it up.
Day 5
We took him out almost ten times today because he kept giving hints that he wanted to go outside. However, every time we took him out he wouldn't use the bathroom. We spent 20 minutes to 40 minutes when we took him out depending on his behavior when we took him out. We locked him up for the night and about 2 hours into sleeping I wake up to hear him crying. I go check on him to see that he pooped and peed in his crate and he was in the process of trying to push his poop out of his crate.
I really want to know why he lost his potty training when we adopted him. We have tried using pee pads outside, but they do not help. We already have to teach him basic commands and teach him to not jump on people. Do we have to re-potty train him? If so, do you have any tips? I would really appreciate any feedback.
We adopted our 14 month old pup from a rescue home just 2 weeks ago. Save for her first night in (when she was probably confused as hell), she's been really good with her toilet training. She had a few wee accidents, but otherwise she only went potty in the garden or out on a walk (of which she gets 2-3 a day). At night time she'd just stay in the kitchen in her bed, pay us the occasional visit in the bedroom just to make sure we haven't escaped, but otherwise, she'd happily just sleep through the night downstairs. A couple of times she came up to our bedroom at night time and she kind of seemed a bit restless so I figured I'd let her out in the garden to go and do her business. She did, came back in, went to bed, no bother. Otherwise she rarely needed to go at night time and would happily just go in the garden just before bedtime. Happy, poo-free days (and nights)!
We've installed a stair gate in the kitchen doorway, where she sleeps, just to get her used to being on her own (during the day she follows us around the house everywhere). The first couple of nights with it she was absolutely fine, just didn't need to go at all during the night. I kept an ear out (I'm a really light sleeper) in case I'd hear her get restless, but she never did.
Then a few nights ago we woke up to the smell of poop just wafting through the entire house. We thought, fair enough, let's leave the gate open at night in case she wanted to come up and let us know she needed to go, but couldn't because of it. But she doesn't! For a couple of nights she's been refusing to go potty in the garden before bed and simply chooses to wee and poop indoors instead, once we've gone to bed.
Last night I came downstairs every hour and tried to get her to come out in the garden, but she'd either refuse to get up from her bed, or she'd come out and just sit there and stare at me as I'm trying to encourage her to go. Then at about 3am I went down again, she refused to go out, then when I went back to the bedroom she followed me up. I thought maybe she'd changed her mind so I tried to take her out again, but again she was not interested and instead tucked herself nicely into her bed. I went to bed again, but moments later I heard her walking around the kitchen so I ran back down and guess what? She'd literally just done her business seconds after I'd tried to take her out!
I must admit I got really frustrated and perhaps was a bit too harsh with her, but I just couldn't understand why she'd do something like this. Now going in the garden is an absolute no no, she simply goes out and stares at me, doesn't come to me when I call her, she just waits to be let back into the house.
We are running to the end of our wits. I am 4 months pregnant and my partner works 12 hours a day so we simply don't have the energy to wake up every hour every night, and even that is to no avail. What are we doing wrong? Why has something that used to be so straight forward and hassle free (going potty in the garden), now such a struggle and why does she act as if she doesn't know what I could possible expect her to do when we are outside?
We've done it all, praising her when she goes, trying to teach her words to associate with her business (you will often hear me shout "good girl, you went wee wee" in one of the local parks), going out with her in the garden, being encouraging, being patient, the whole list! And apart from last night we never really scolded her for going inside.
Please help, I am genuinely going crazy with tiredness and frustration, and I know Dora the dog is feeling it which is not helping! But it's a mother of a vicious circle!
I have a dog. He is part Chi/Pom. I got him when he was 4 months old, he is now 1 and a half years. He was fully trained by me when I got him. We moved a year ago and had him retrained. My brother-in-law brought over his new dog and now he is pooing and peeing all over the house. 
He has no health issues. He goes to the door every 1/2 hr, but only to mark his area then comes in and does his duty. He howls when outside and barks and growls all the time. He goes around in circles growling at himself and growls when anyone picks him up, including me. I have tried everything to stop him, from spraying cinnamon or vinegar along with Javex to disinfect.
Last week he peed on my couch for the first time, and has humped blankets, his bed, etc. He is very hyper, he chases the cat all over 3 floors until he is exhausted at least 3 - 4 times a day. He growls and snaps at people when you take a walk with him and refuses to poo outside. He doesn't eat like a normal dog, he picks out pieces of the dry food and puts the rest on the floor making a huge mess. He runs outside when he sees the opportunity to go down the main street, then he comes back when I shout to him. Thus he has to be chained outside each time he goes outside. I am afraid he is going to get hit by a car as it is very busy.
When I first got him the owners said he was a quiet dog, but he has been barking every since. I was told if he peed to rub nose in it, bad mistake wrong thing to do. I was told if he growled or showed any bad behavior to smack him on the nose, bad mistake too. I am desperately calling out for help in this. I am at my wits end with him. Please help me or I will have to get rid of him and I love him regardless.
I have a 3 year old Pit mix. I've had him for over 2 years. He is fully house trained. I recently started dating a guy and my dog goes with me to his house. My dog is now peeing and pooping in his basement. He has never done this before. I don't get it; he doesn't let me know he needs to go out or anything. He just does it. He used to have a cat, but not anymore and also lives in a townhouse with dogs next door.
