Dutch is regressing.

Question
Hello - I have a 9 month old Bernese Mountain Dog that started to regress. We got him at 3 months of age and was potty trained by 4 months of age. He was crate trained. He has been on Science Diet Puppy food and now Science Diet Adult for Large Breed for several weeks now. He's always had either soft stools or runny stools. But has never had anything wrong with any fecal tests we have had done with him. For some reason in the past 2 weeks he has started pooping in the hallway out of our bedroom at 4 AM. He gives me no warning that he is doing this which is not typical of him. His abdomen is not distended or painful. My husband deployed about 2.5 weeks ago but he's always been more attached to me than him. Any ideas on what could be going on?

Answer
Changes are hard on dogs just like they are hard on children. Regardless of how attached he is to whom, in your family, he is still going to get upset because of hubby leaving. You need to make sure he knows that things in his world are going to stay the same. I would go back to crating him. No food after 5pm no water after 9pm and make sure he knows his routing is going to be ok. He just needs to feel secure. Also take him out as late as you possibly can at night and make sure he is getting plenty of time to potty. Sometimes all dogs need a bit of retraining. He also is going to pick up on your moods and needs. Just give him some reassurance, reemphasize his potty training for a couple of weeks and I think he'll be fine
Diane