Help - Dog pooping in house

Question
Hi Charlotte,

Thanks so much for the reply. We did have the vet check him out, and he's 100% healthy - no worms, hip dysplasia, intestinal problems, etc. He has no access to food at night (just water). The last time he eats during the day is at about 4:30pm. Afterwards I take him out to poop at around 5pm. Then he goes out again at around 8pm to pee. Then one last time at 11:30 pee and poop. I always make sure he poops on the 11:30 walk.

At that point he has pooped twice since his last meal of the day (4:30pm), and he should easily be able to hold off on pooping again until 7:30am the next morning when I take him out. In fact I know he can - if I stay downstairs with him for the whole night he will not poop in the house...he won't even get out of his doggy bed the whole night if I'm downstairs.

I'm positive that he's not in any distress during the night that makes him have go. I think he's just doing it because he can, and he's not understanding why I'm punishing him the next morning. When I'm not there it's as if he's thinking - well, no one's around, so why not? Then by the next morning he's kind of forgotten the "act" itself...he just knows I'm going to be mad when I see the poop (or the crumbs), and that's why he runs away on those mornings.

Getting a doggy door is definitely not an option for me, but even if I could I'd bet anything he would not use it. He just isn't understanding that it's not okay to poop in the house when I'm not around. If I could only catch him in the act I'm sure I could stop this behavior.

If I stayed downstairs with him for two days and nights straight, and fed him all day long and all night, he would NOT poop or pee in the house. If I'm around, he would rather explode than have an accident. He just won't do it. But when he's alone in the middle of the night, even if it's not urgent, he'll poop in the house.

Is there any way of scolding him the next morning that will get the message through to him that the "act" itself was wrong, even if it's several hours after he did it? Or do I really have to get a video monitor and try to catch him when he's about to do it, and then charge downstairs?!!

THANKS AGAIN!

- John

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The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
Hello,

We have a 5 year old Labrador Retriever - a truly great dog and member of our family. We crate-trained him from the very beginning, and he has been house broken since he was six months old - never a problem. About a year ago we moved to much larger house and decided to ditch his crate, since we now sleep on an upper floor (our last house was a one-story ranch) and wanted our dog to be able to stand watch over the first floor, and have more freedom as well (he deserved it).

For the first six months, everything went fine - no accidents in the house - ever. We could be gone all day and there was never a worry. But then, for some reason, we started finding poop in the middle of the living room floor about 3 or 4 mornings a week. I don't think it had anything to do with the move because as I said, the first 6 months went fine.

During the day - he will NEVER do this. I can tell he knows it's wrong...otherwise he probably would do it occasionally during the day, but he only does it a some point in the dead middle of the night. On mornings when he's got a surprise waiting for me, he's never waiting at the bottom of the stairs for me as he does on mornings when he hasn't pooped - he runs away as I'm coming down the stairs.

The very last thing I do at night is take him out to poop - usually at 11:30 pm, and he always does. The very first thing I do in the morning is take him out to poop, usually at 7:00 am, and he always does. I asked the vet to check him for worms or anything else that might be causing him to have to poop more than usual, and they said he's perfectly healthy.

I started scolding him in the morning when I would find poop on the floor, but instead of stopping, now he tries to get rid of the evidence by eating it - though he always leaves some "crumbs" so I can tell - yuck.

I wash the floor like a crime-scene cleanup person...it's a hardwood floor (fortunately), and I use bleach, disinfectant, and vinegar. I also spray this stuff from the pet store that says it stops dogs from pooping in the same spot - believe me I am thorough.

He's a very happy dog - lots of companionship (which labs tend to need) as someone is always home. He gets plenty of exercise, etc. We feed him two cups of dry dog food per day (7:30 am and 4:30 pm) as out vet recommends, and we *never* give him table scraps.

The only thing I've accomplished by scolding him on those mornings when I've found poop is to make him think he needs to get rid of the poop by eating it. A trainer once told me a long time ago you should never scold a dog for "poop", only for "pooping"...meaning unless you catch him in the act it's useless. I can see he was right.

So that's my dilemma - how can I catch him in the act when he's doing it in the middle of the night. I guarantee if I slept downstairs on the sofa he will definitely NOT do it. Do I need to set up a night-vision camera, then watch him on a video screen all night from upstairs without falling asleep myself, and then come charging downstairs when he does it?

Of course we could just bring back the crate, but we *really* don't want to do that. He's 5 years old, a great dog (other than this), and we really want him to protect the house by being able to roam the first floor at night. I had 2 labs growing up and they never had a crate and never pooped in the house - not once in the entire lives.

Does anyone have any advice on how I can correct this problem?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

- John
-----Answer-----
Hi John;
This doesn't sound like a lapse in character or training, or spite or any of the other reasons dogs can have for gifting you will poop in the hoiuse.
Does he have a doggy door so he can go out at night if he needs to?
does he have access to food to eat at night, and make him NEEd to go ?
Have you had him checked by his Vety to make sure there are no health problems?
It sounds to me like my german shepherd, when she started losing control of her functions, due to old age, and Hip Dysplasia.
He is young to have such serious problems, but sometimes a little lapse can occure, due to muscles becoming a little weak, and other things.
I would rule out any health issues with his Vet first, and then, if you have a safe, fenced yard he could access, put in a doggy door.
Mine saves me many steps, and getting up at night. We have 4 dogs.
He may just be being asleep and can't wake in time when they need arrises.
He may be wnining or scrtaching at the door, and you are not hearing him.
DON'T bring out the crate.
I HATE those things!!!
They aren't meant to be penned up like that, and you are right, if he does not have to range of the whole house, you do not have any protection.
another possiblilty.
Is there a laundry room, or something like that where you could puyt a litter box, or poop pads for him.
It really sounds to me like he is unable to do anything else, and would rather not do it in the house.
He sounds embarassed, and dogs DO get embarassed.
I don't thik this is something that is his fault.
there are litter boxes for dogs now, with special litter for dogs, and the poop pads are fairly easy to train them too also.
Charlotte

Answer
Hi John;
Well, thn, I would say he is lonely and misses being closer to you when he sleeps.
Why not move jis bed upstairs/
He will STILL guard the downstairs too.
NOTHING will come in that house while he has free range.
One thing though, clean the area where he poops where he can't smell it anymore.
Aftert is cleaned, (waxed, if it is a wood floor) and you can smell nothing but cleaner and freshness, with your nose right against the floor, HE can still detect a smell there, and will repeat that, because that is designated as his place to poop now.
I get Simple Solution at Petsmart, and I think some other stores, maybe even Walmart carries it.
It is supposed to get the smell so there is no odor for them to smell either.
I foster animals for a couple of rescue groups, so sometimes we have an accident for a few times the first few days they are here.
If it happens on carpet, I shampoo with Simple Solution, and there have been no repeats in that spot.
I also foud it is about the best stain cleaner I have ever found, so sometimes, when a grandchild spills what would be a bad stain on the carpet, I shampoo with /simple Solution, and it gets it right up.
I have used it for some stubborn stains in the laundry too.
Maybe he feels like he has been relegated to second class since he has to sleep downstairs and you sleep upstairs.
Charlotte