Dealing with a dog pooping in the house is never easy, whether you come down to it in the morning, or return home from work or shopping to find it waiting for you.
Now, if you're handling a young dog, that is understandable for a short while, and the same thing applies to a poorly or old dog, but when it happens on a consistent basis, it can indicate a different kind of issue altogether.
Ineffective Methods to Stop Dog Pooping
There's a variety of alternative approaches that could be used when a dog poops in the house, but ironically two of the most widely used are probably the least effective, and could even make things worse.
The 1st is to make a giant fuss and bellow at your dog and scold them to show that you are angry with their behaviour. But while shouting at your dog may make you feel better, this approach can backfire and essentially make your dog more certain to do it again for the attention they get! That's because some dogs would instead rather have your attention, even if you are annoyed, than no attention from you.
The other technique is to rub their noses in it to teach them a lesson. But given what dogs are quite happy to sniff at and even eat, I can't see this is much of a deterrent. This method is also very unlikely to work if they had done it a couple of hours earlier as a dog lives in the here and now, so if you come home a few hours after the event and rub his nose in it, he is unlikely to relate it to the fact that he should not have done it in the 1st place.
So Why Is Your Dog Pooping in the House And What Should You Do?
When you disqualify age-related or medical reasons, we want to return to a dog's nature to realise why it might be taking place.
We all know that dogs will scent mark their territory. In natural settings this is typically done by the leader of the pack for 2 reasons. The 1st is to warn off possible trespassers and the second is to give their own pack members a unique way to find their way back to the den. Remember, dogs use their sense of smell far more than folk so this is a useful system in nature, but isn't appreciated in our world!
You might find that the commonest place that your dog poops is at a main door to the house, because that is where you leave from and the external world comes in.
Separating Dog Anxiety From Attention Seeking
Some dogs will poop in the house for the attention they get, despite the fact that it will not be positive. They're most likely to do it where you can see them, so the most effective way to react is to pay no attention to the dog when it happens. Don't look at them directly, or talk to them. Instead put them out of the room where it has happened and clear up without making any fuss. If your dog gets no attention for this behavior they'll after a while stop.
But if your dog only poops when they're left alone, this points toward separation anxiety in dogs as the cause. Fundamentally, in your dogs panic at not knowing where you have gone, the best they can do is scent mark the house as they'd do in natural habitats, in the hope you'll be able to sniff your way back to the den.
Separation anxiety can be more difficult to address than attention seeking behaviour, but if you believe this is what is driving your dog's behavior, a good de-sensitisation training programme and a lot of patience will stop this taking place. Anxious dogs especially benefit from you being leader of the pack, so learn how you can do that too.
Now, if you're handling a young dog, that is understandable for a short while, and the same thing applies to a poorly or old dog, but when it happens on a consistent basis, it can indicate a different kind of issue altogether.
Ineffective Methods to Stop Dog Pooping
There's a variety of alternative approaches that could be used when a dog poops in the house, but ironically two of the most widely used are probably the least effective, and could even make things worse.
The 1st is to make a giant fuss and bellow at your dog and scold them to show that you are angry with their behaviour. But while shouting at your dog may make you feel better, this approach can backfire and essentially make your dog more certain to do it again for the attention they get! That's because some dogs would instead rather have your attention, even if you are annoyed, than no attention from you.
The other technique is to rub their noses in it to teach them a lesson. But given what dogs are quite happy to sniff at and even eat, I can't see this is much of a deterrent. This method is also very unlikely to work if they had done it a couple of hours earlier as a dog lives in the here and now, so if you come home a few hours after the event and rub his nose in it, he is unlikely to relate it to the fact that he should not have done it in the 1st place.
So Why Is Your Dog Pooping in the House And What Should You Do?
When you disqualify age-related or medical reasons, we want to return to a dog's nature to realise why it might be taking place.
We all know that dogs will scent mark their territory. In natural settings this is typically done by the leader of the pack for 2 reasons. The 1st is to warn off possible trespassers and the second is to give their own pack members a unique way to find their way back to the den. Remember, dogs use their sense of smell far more than folk so this is a useful system in nature, but isn't appreciated in our world!
You might find that the commonest place that your dog poops is at a main door to the house, because that is where you leave from and the external world comes in.
Separating Dog Anxiety From Attention Seeking
Some dogs will poop in the house for the attention they get, despite the fact that it will not be positive. They're most likely to do it where you can see them, so the most effective way to react is to pay no attention to the dog when it happens. Don't look at them directly, or talk to them. Instead put them out of the room where it has happened and clear up without making any fuss. If your dog gets no attention for this behavior they'll after a while stop.
But if your dog only poops when they're left alone, this points toward separation anxiety in dogs as the cause. Fundamentally, in your dogs panic at not knowing where you have gone, the best they can do is scent mark the house as they'd do in natural habitats, in the hope you'll be able to sniff your way back to the den.
Separation anxiety can be more difficult to address than attention seeking behaviour, but if you believe this is what is driving your dog's behavior, a good de-sensitisation training programme and a lot of patience will stop this taking place. Anxious dogs especially benefit from you being leader of the pack, so learn how you can do that too.
About the Author:
Author Venice Marriott first learned about dog anxiety with her own rescue dog Sherlock, and has been finding out about the effects of anxiety and the most useful methods to reduce it ever since. Get more information on how to stop your dog pooping in the house when you vist her blog.
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