2.5 yr old dog peeing and pooping while Im at work

Question
QUESTION: I have a 2.5 yr old Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever who does suffer from separation anxiety. I have tried distractions and other tips. It's getting a little better, we'll continue to work on that. Now I have a new problem that seems to be very prominent at the moment. She seems to be peeing and now pooping during the day while we are at work. I'll describe a typical day so please bear with me.  
- 7:30am morning 10 minute walk; everyone is getting ready for school or work. She normally pees and poops during her walk. She's home all day alone no crate.
- 4pm daughter arrives home from school takes her for a walk/play. She at least pees.
- 8pm I take her for a walk. She normally pees and poops
- 9pm I pick up her water for the night
- 11pm I take her for a 10 min walk before bed
- Everyone goes to bed, our bedroom doors are closed. She has access to the house, main floor
- When we wake up we have occasionally found pee in the same spot in the morning
- When my daughter comes home at 4pm recently she has found poop in the house (everyday this week)

Just before Xmas she had a case of pancreatitis and because of diarrhea and vomiting we kept her in the laundry room with her blanket and water overnight. There were no incidents of pee or poop during this two - two and a half week period while she was being treated for the condition. She was never comfortable with the crate during her puppy years but isn't destructive in the laundry room. Except for the occasional pee and now repeated poop she's not destructive at all.

What is the answer to this pee problem? I've always taken her out routinely so we've never picked up on any signal to us in some way that she has to go out. Maybe that was a mistake. The training manuals I've read say when you catch a puppy peeing indoors, scold her, take her outside to finish peeing, praise her and eventually she learns to only pee outside. We never really went through that as a puppy because we took her out routinely. What do I do now that she's 2 and a half? How do I retrain her? She's a great dog otherwise.
Thanks  


ANSWER: You didn't say when you feed her. Does she get one or two meals a day? You may have to tweak her feeding time(s) a bit.

Have you tried confining her during the day/night when you're not home or asleep, so she doesn't have access to the entire house, but instead just one room (preferably one with an easily cleanable floor)?

It's difficult to say what has suddenly gotten into her. Do you have any way of knowing >>when<< she is going to the bathroom during the day? It >>could<< be related to her separation anxiety. If it >>is<< then you may have to consider doing something to ease her stress. The DAP plug-in is something you can try, even now. It is similar to those scented oil plug-ins, and contains pheromones similar to those that mother dogs put off during nursing. I've used it whenever I have fostered dogs, or added a new dog to the family, and I believe it helps everyone settle in a little easier. It may also help calm your girl and make her feel more at ease.

Do you leave her with anything to DO while you're at work? Keeping her occupied may help. Does she like to chew? Is she very food motivated? You might try giving her a Nylabone before you leave, or a frozen raw bone (with minimal meat on it), or a frozen Kong with something yummy smeared inside. That might be something to think about and try.

You need to thoroughly clean the areas that she has already gone potty in the house using an enzymatic cleaner that will remove all traces of the odor. Just because there is no stain and/or YOU can't smell anything doesn't mean that SHE can't. Dogs tend to want to potty in the same area. You need to remove the odor so she's less likely to continue to potty there.

It's difficult, if you cannot crate or confine the dog, to stop accidents from happening while you are not around to correct it and take the dog out. Do you have a fenced yard? Could you install a doggie door for her? Have you considered teaching her to use some sort of 'litter box' so that if she >>does<< need to potty during the day, and cannot go outside, she has an alternative to using the floor?

Have you considered something like doggie daycare or a 'pet sitter' a few days a week? That might break up the monotony and give her a little bit of an outlet to, again, help lower her anxiety/stress level.

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

QUESTION: She does get two meals a day, one at breakfast one at supper. She currently has access to the main floor of the house. I can confine her to the laundry room during the day. She does have chew toys and I give he a knog with peanut butter inside and put a talk radio station on before I leave in the morning. Her anxiety is when we leave she barks like crazy almost to the point of being aggresive. I have a feeling if I solve that everything else will take care of it self. She is not destructive to anything else in the house. Doggy door, daycare and litter are not an option. What is a DAP plug in?

Answer
I'm going to suggest a desensitization routine, Tino, since you say she is most anxious right when you leave. Please note that this routine is going to take up quite some time, and it isn't going to solve the problem in a day. Ideally, you will want to begin on a Friday evening, and go through the entire weekend, without leaving the house for real until she is no longer anxious when you leave. I realize this is probably not going to be possible, so just do the best you can and understand that it may take a bit longer.

This technique requires that you practice leaving, when you aren't actually going anywhere. Get ready to leave, just as you always do, while saying nothing to the dog. Completely ignore her. Go to the door, open it and go out, and then close and lock the door, count to 1, and then go back in. Don't make a big deal about leaving OR coming back. You would gradually increase the amount of time you were outside the door as your dog became comfortable with you going out. If she freaks out as soon as the door closes, then start out by NOT closing the door all the way. The key here is to go >>just<< far enough so that you can progress, but >>not<< so far that she begins to spook. Eventually, you should be able to go out the door, walk to your car, get in, and drive around the neighborhood without her becoming anxious. At this point, you should be okay to take short trips to the store, etc. without crating her. Gradually, she should be fine at home alone all day.



Here's a link that explains and shows you what a DAP plug in is: http://www.smartpakcanine.com/productclass.aspx?productClassId=3403&GCID=C11284x