Puppy has started pooping in the house

Question
QUESTION: I have a 6 month old male Maltese dog named Peanut.  We got him at 8 weeks old and began potty training right away.  He is kept in a gated area of our kitchen but let to roam a lot after successfully going outside.  He had been doing GREAT with jumping up on one of us (me my husband or the kids) and barking or yelping or doing the same while jumping at the gate when he needed to be let outside.  He get's lot of praise and a healthy little treat every time he goes.  We thought he was pretty much trained as we hadn't had an accidnent in the house for a while.  All of the sudden, he will still continue to let us know when he needs to pee pee and hasn't had an accident in weeks.  The same cannot be said about pooping.  There are times when he will let us know he needs to go out and will do a poop but there are more times where he WON'T let us know and just does it on the floor.  If we catch him, we say "No no Peanut" and take him outside.  There are many times where we DON'T catch him as we are not in the same area or have our backs turned and we find he has done a poop.  He never does this with a pee pee, he always makes sure we come and take him out but this sudden pooping in the house has me baffled.  We don't scold him if he has an accident just talk a little more sternly and say "That's a no no Peanut" or something.  We have even had him outside and he will run to the door when he is finished.  Then sometimes he comes inside and will poop a short time later.  There hasn't been any significant changes in our home or anything that might have prompted this.  I just don't know what to do.  Any help you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
ANSWER: Hi Rhonda;
First, I don't ever give food as a reward. It can lead to them doing a thing till it drives you nuts, just to get a reward.
I only praise as a reward.
You give him a food treat, after he poops, and they need to poop after eating.
That may be why he needs to poop again. OR, does he do the indoor poop, fairly soon after he poops outside?
It could be that he goes some, and needs to wait a little before he goes again, and is just not finished.
He could be smelling where he pooped inside, and thinks that is a place to go.
You can scrub a floor with clorox, and they can still smell it.
I use Simple Solution to scrub up where they go, on a bare floor or carpet. It is a great stain remover for other than puppy stains too.
these little critters can sometimes get it in their heads, that something they think is a fun game to play, so they will latch onto that and keep doing it.
If I have one that poops in the house ( or pees) after it has been taught well enough, and I KNOW they know better, I do shame them.
I take them to it, point to it and say, "Shame on you, you know better then that. You do that outside".
A little nagging goes a long way. LOL
Remember when you were a kid, and you did something you knew you shouldn't, and you wished your mother would just beat you rather than lecture? Dogs that are raised like kids are like that too. Guilt seems to stick longer than punishment alone.LOL
when I am nagging for something one of mine has done, they hold their head like they are saying, dooooon't. LOL
I use time-out for punishment. That means a half hour or so in the small bathroom, with no toys, nothing to do but lie on the bathmat and contemplate their sins, and they can hear all that is going on they are missing out on.
After they have gone to time out a few times, and they start misbehaving, asking if they want to go to time out, makes them straighten up and act right.
He may have gotten into the habit of doing part of it outside, and expecting to go inside to finish.
Strange, but with kids and dogs, they get some odd ideas in their little heads, that make us wonder why.
Try keeping him out longer, and keeping him active. Running around, playing etc helps make his bowel muscles want to act. When he finishes, heap on the praise like he won an academy award.
Scold and nag a little when he has an accident in the house.
There is a possibility too, that the treat you are giving him has a slight laxative effect.
Hope that helps.
With out observing what he is doing, I just have to guess.
Write anytime you feel I might be able to help.
Charlotte

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks so much for your answer/help.  I guess my main concern is that he NEVER pees in the house without letting someone know he needs to go out and will hold it until we come to get him, although at times when he has been out of the gated area, he has peed on the floor without coming to let one of us know.  Same goes with poops but there are many times he is in his gated area and doesn't even attempt to let us know he has to go and just does it on the floor.  He didn't always do this so don't know what has changed.  I may not have been very clear in my last message but he doesn't poop outside and then finish in the house.  He will pee outside or do nothing at all after beng out for a while.  He usually runs to the door when he is 'done' and ready to go in.  He has been taken out to pee or as I said maybe will do nothing and run to the door after a while.  Then he will just poop in the house without letting us know to take him back out!  As far as being out of his gated area, how do I get him to let come to someone or go to the door and let us know when he needs to go out.  Is he just used to doing that in his gated area but doesn't know what to do when he's somewhere else?  I will start scolding a little bit more with the poop accidents and maybe even the time outs.  Thanks again.  Rhonda

Answer
I think to running to the door when he finishes peeing is the signal.
Maybe he thinks he is SUYPPOSED to do the rest in the house.
He may be confused, or he may have some silly game going, or he may be just asserting his independence and I will do as I please.
Make him stay out until he poops, they throw a fit, like he just did the greatest thing in the world. Scold and nag as much as it takes, to make him not want that anymore, so he will learn to do what gets him praised, insteda of scolded.
Sometimes, with a stubborn one, you just have to out-indure them until they give in and do it right, because sometimes they are trying to out-last YOU, and get to do it their way.
Be tough, mom.
Charlotte