poos only while im at work

Question
we have a 20 mth old female lakeland terrier. she goes to the loo outside without problem apart from when i'm at work. I feed her once in the morning as when feeding her twice she would poo overnight too. she is confined but poos and stands in it and it's in her bed up the walls etc. I thouroughly disinfect the area to remove smells and this pattern has been going on since we got her 3 wks ago...help. she rarely wees inside during the day just poos.

Answer
Dear Su,

Your dog needs a longer walk in the morning after her breakfast, to get the feces out before you leave for work.  Get up at least 1 hour earlier than usual (or start on a weekend when you're not rishing to get to work), bring her outside on leash and stand in one spot for as long as it takes for her to eliminate.   The first time you do this it may take some time for her to eliminate on leash when not walking around, so bring a chair, a coffee, and a magazine to while away the time you are waiting, every so often commanding "go potty" or whatever you like to say.  

As soon as she eliminates, immediately give her lots of praise and a treat and then take her for a very long walk to make sure she has eliminated everything.  This will teach her that the fun starts after she has eliminated and each day following you will find that she eliminates sooner and sooner after you go out, because she wants to get to the treat, praise and walk.

Go to http://www.dogdaysusa.com/housetraining.cfm for more detailed housetraining instructions.

If by confined you mean in a crate, I'd get rid of the crate since it's not working and you're both miserable with the mess and cleanup.  She can be kept in the kitchen, bathroom or laundry room with some newspapers or a potty pad, which will allow her to eliminate without having to stand in it.  

I don't know what your work hours are but if you're away at work for any more than 4-5 hours, you need to hire a petsitter to come and let her out at midday for her potty break.  You cannot blame any dog, adult or not, for eliminating if she has no potty break for more than 4 hours.  (I know I couldn't hold it that long!).   There are many dogs who can hold it for longer than 4-5 hours, but yours is not one of them.  

If a petsitter isn't an option, find a reputable dog daycare to bring her during the day, or fence your yard and put in a doggie door so that she can go outside when she needs to.

Good luck and thanks for writing.
Suzanne Harris, BSc, CPDT
http://www.dogdaysUSA.com