It's not a pleasant problem to have to deal with, but a dog pooping in the house is a surprisingly frequent issue that dog owners ask me about.
The first thing you need to do is rule out health related problems and consulting your vet is the best way of doing that. You also need to consider whether it could be age related. An old dog pooping in the house might just be getting a little incontinent, while a young puppy could be struggling to get to grips with the whole house training thing.
Equally, some dogs need to be let outside more often than others and if work means that your dog does not get access to the outside for long periods of time, this could be the reason behing the mess you come home to.
However, if you've ruled out these possibilities as the cause of your dog pooping in the house, which all have pretty straight forward solutions, its time to look at what else could be behind this unwanted behaviour.
Other Reasons Your Dog Might Poop in the House
Your dogs behaviour is a way of showing you how they are feeling. They operate on their instincts and this particular bit of behaviour has 3 potential interpretations of what they are trying to work out:
*Grab your attention
*What's my status - am I leader of this pack?
*Cope with dog separation anxiety
To fully understand what's behind each of these questions we need to go into a bit more detail. Getting your attention with this behaviour may seem a little bizarre, especially if you're going to be angry with them, but if you consider a lot of teenage anti-social behaviour, its done for exactly the same reason. They've got your attention and don't really care about the consequences.
A dog has a natural driver to establish who is the pack leader, and as it's an instinct designed to keep the pack strong and ensure their survival, it's also very important to them, which means they'll ask you this question as a direct challenge. Its like saying If I choose where I poop, does that put me in charge here? To achieve this a dog will wait until you are watching, or in the same room as them before doing it.
The third reason is slightly related to the second in that separation anxiety is caused when a dog actually believes themselves to be the pack leader. They will generally poop when you have left them home alone or with very anxious dogs it could even be as soon as you are out of sight, like in another room where they can't see you.
One of the big myths I hear from dog owners frequently is that their dog is pooping in the house on purpose to upset them. A bit like saying 'serves you right for leaving me in the first place'. The one accurate bit about this will be that the dog is actually doing it on purpose and the rest of it is untrue. This behaviour is driven my separation anxiety in dogs which will make them panic while you're out, and this is the only way they know to try and help you find your way back home.
With a dogs extremely sensitive sense of smell, a dog's poop becomes a valuable way of letting the rest of the pack know where they are, so they use it instinctively to mark their territory (like a big keep out sign), and to signpost the rest of the pack back home. It works for them, so they assume it must work for us too.
Next Steps to Stopping Your Dog Pooping in the House
Observe your dog closely to identify what you think might be causing your dogs behaviour and try to rule out the possibilities one at a time. Get this right and you'll them be able to go out and find the right solution to successfully deal with this problem. Still not sure why your dog poops in the house? Then seek out some professional help.
The first thing you need to do is rule out health related problems and consulting your vet is the best way of doing that. You also need to consider whether it could be age related. An old dog pooping in the house might just be getting a little incontinent, while a young puppy could be struggling to get to grips with the whole house training thing.
Equally, some dogs need to be let outside more often than others and if work means that your dog does not get access to the outside for long periods of time, this could be the reason behing the mess you come home to.
However, if you've ruled out these possibilities as the cause of your dog pooping in the house, which all have pretty straight forward solutions, its time to look at what else could be behind this unwanted behaviour.
Other Reasons Your Dog Might Poop in the House
Your dogs behaviour is a way of showing you how they are feeling. They operate on their instincts and this particular bit of behaviour has 3 potential interpretations of what they are trying to work out:
*Grab your attention
*What's my status - am I leader of this pack?
*Cope with dog separation anxiety
To fully understand what's behind each of these questions we need to go into a bit more detail. Getting your attention with this behaviour may seem a little bizarre, especially if you're going to be angry with them, but if you consider a lot of teenage anti-social behaviour, its done for exactly the same reason. They've got your attention and don't really care about the consequences.
A dog has a natural driver to establish who is the pack leader, and as it's an instinct designed to keep the pack strong and ensure their survival, it's also very important to them, which means they'll ask you this question as a direct challenge. Its like saying If I choose where I poop, does that put me in charge here? To achieve this a dog will wait until you are watching, or in the same room as them before doing it.
The third reason is slightly related to the second in that separation anxiety is caused when a dog actually believes themselves to be the pack leader. They will generally poop when you have left them home alone or with very anxious dogs it could even be as soon as you are out of sight, like in another room where they can't see you.
One of the big myths I hear from dog owners frequently is that their dog is pooping in the house on purpose to upset them. A bit like saying 'serves you right for leaving me in the first place'. The one accurate bit about this will be that the dog is actually doing it on purpose and the rest of it is untrue. This behaviour is driven my separation anxiety in dogs which will make them panic while you're out, and this is the only way they know to try and help you find your way back home.
With a dogs extremely sensitive sense of smell, a dog's poop becomes a valuable way of letting the rest of the pack know where they are, so they use it instinctively to mark their territory (like a big keep out sign), and to signpost the rest of the pack back home. It works for them, so they assume it must work for us too.
Next Steps to Stopping Your Dog Pooping in the House
Observe your dog closely to identify what you think might be causing your dogs behaviour and try to rule out the possibilities one at a time. Get this right and you'll them be able to go out and find the right solution to successfully deal with this problem. Still not sure why your dog poops in the house? Then seek out some professional help.
About the Author:
Before you make the next move to stop your dog pooping in the house,grab Tony Knights free report on dog anxiety symptomsand benefit from over 10 years of his dog training experience successfully getting rid of bad dog behaviour.
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