Going in the house

Question
I have a mutt that I adopted about 6 months ago.  He has always been fairly well behaved and not any problem.  About a month ago he started pooping in the house overnight.  He would be good allday and longer if I was there but I will take him outside, he'll do his business and then once inside I'll leave the room.  He'll poop again in the house wihthin an hour or 2.  As long as I'm there he is perfectly well behaved.  I tried walking him longer to try to get him to go outside but he'll only poop once before i have to give up and bring him back in.  I crate him at night now to prevent this but if I forget to lock the door he'll do it again.  I've tried giving treats for positive reinforcement for going outside, I've tried showing him hes bad and giving him a little spanking when he goes inside but he is only doing it more often and is starting to get very timid and afraid of me for the spankings when he's bad.  I don't know what else there is to try to correct him.  Please help me!  My wife is really on my case about this.

James

Answer
Hi James,
It's common for adopted dogs to have a "honeymoon" period of about 6 months when they're on their best behavior. Our first suggestion is that you use a non-physical method when you catch him in the act. A forceful squirt from a heavy-duty squirt bottle (Home Depot sells one brand, Zep, that we like), clapping hands, stomping feet, etc. should be enough to startle him into stopping. The key here is catching him in the act though. After the fact is too late so until this ends you need to have an eye on him or put him in the crate to prevent him from gaining the reward of relieving himself. Think of how uncomfortable you are when you're "full" and how good it feels when you finally get to relieve yourself.

Read our potty training rules (they are 100% effective within 2 weeks IF you follow them; we have never had a dog "not get it" if the owner truly follows the rules). If you are still experiencing problems after 2 weeks, please contact us to arrange a private consultation.

Potty training rules: http://downstay.com/docs/pt-rules.doc