My older boxer poops and pees when we leave

Question
We adopted a 6 year old boxer named Tyson.We love him dearly, but everytime we do not take him with us when we leave the house, he peeps and now poops in the house. I have tried everything from rubbing his nose in it, to making him stay outside for hours and then showing him the "spot" and telling him "NO" when he comes back inside. I have also tried taking him outside on his leash just before we leave and having him "go potty". He goes, but when I return, he has left his mark on the kitchen floor, and right in front of the front door.
Please help!!!!!!!

Answer
Hi Cathy,

Punishing your dog for this kind of house soiling is a mistake. It teaches your dog nothing, and may even be adding to the problem. Having an accident right in front of the door sounds as though your dog may have been trying to get out, knowing that it's wrong to soil in the house! (and that he was going to be yelled at!)

You didn't say how long a period of time you leave your dog at home alone. If it's more than 6 hours, it's too long.

Ruling out a medical condition would probably be wise, especially if your dog has been reliably housetrained until this point.

Once a medical cause has been ruled out, it sounds as though your dog has developed a separation anxiety. It can happen at any age, and often results from changes in a dog's life. It would be impossible for me to guess at the cause.

Your first course of action should be not to let your dog have the run of the house when you leave him home alone. Crate him, or restrict him to one room, with the help of a child-gate.

If you come home and scold for damage or housetraining messes, the dog will be even more anxious the next time. This is a truly vicious cycle that many people fall into with their suffering dogs. So from now on, clean up the mess without yelling or punishing your dog.

You can read about how you can train your dog out of his separation anxiety here:

http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pets_separationanxiety

http://www.petlibrary.co.uk/dog-training/separation-anxiety-in-dogs-how-to-treat...

When you leave your dog home alone, you can try using a Dog Appeasing Pheromone (DAP). Pheromones are picked up and detected by an animal's sense of smell (you can't smell it) and they produce specific responses. By replicating this signal of comfort, D.A.P. helps alleviate fear and stress related signs in both puppies and adult dogs. You can read more about D.A.P here:
http://www.doggiesolutions.co.uk/erol.html#497x0&&http%3A%252F%252Fwww.google.co...

There are also drugs that are made for dogs that have separation anxiety if the above methods don't work. Ask your veterinarian about Clomicalm. It's not a tranquilizer, but a drug that calms the anxiety. The hope is that over time the dog will become more calm overall about the process, and you can gradually stop using it.

I hope I've been a help.
Best of luck,
Patti