It happens, even when you think it won’t! The Dog has an accident inside the home. Here are 4 reasons why, and how to treat each one. (NOTE: this is specifically about poop, not urinating inside.)
1 – The first is the easiest one, and it’s just an accident. There are no issues or behaviors that need modification. Simply, there was bad weather and you didn’t have time to take them on a proper walk, or it slipped your mind; a one-off. Sometimes dogs go out in bad weather but the wetness and climate cause their natural instinct to shift to explore and survive, instead of relieving themselves.
SOLUTION: No need to panic. Just clean up, wipe with a spray that contains enzyme remover to make sure no odors remain, and you’re done. Now, if it’s a puppy, and you haven’t properly housebroken them, then calling this a “problem” would be like saying that ‘if an infant baby can’t change their own diapers, it means they are behaving badly’ which is absurd! We can’t allow dogs to “figure things out” like this and expect 100% good results.
2 – The dog poops inside after every meal, but also outside, randomly. This one has a few causes.
It mostly revolves around their physiology and anatomy. The most common cause is that the dog’s probability of pooping revolves around meals. Their system is used to expelling the previous meal, when a new meal is introduced- sort of “pushing it out” like an assembly line. This means that if you allow too much time to pass between when the dog eats and when you let them outside, their chance of pooping inside is higher.
The second most common reason is their diet and daily routine. There is a lot to be said here, so for brevity, I’ll just give a couple of scenarios. The food they are eating may not contain enough nutrition, or contain ingredients their system is not handling well. For this one, you first consult a vet and have them run tests, to see if there is a deficiency or high levels in one of the lab tests, which will help you determine what you need to give your dog more of, or less of.
This final one is related to the dog’s age. As your dog gets older, and *depending on the breed and overall health, he or she might be too tired, stressed, or just not able to hold it in for too long. At the geriatric age, it could just be too darn far for him or her to walk to when a certain spot inside is much more convenient to walk to, or on top of. *By breed, I mean that certain characteristics are tied to certain breeds, or breed mixes. Understanding them helps steer you in a better direction of finding out if the cause is related to health and tiredness, or stress, and gives you a good starting point. Some dogs, like the German Shepard, are more prone to developing hip issues that other breeds of the same age don’t. Just look for the signs.
3 – The dog poops inside, but when you are not in the house, and holds it in for long periods of time when you are in the house, including through one or multiple walks.
Now things get trickier! There are a few reasons this happens, and they are all very different from each other, and not chained like the ones above that revolve around one main factor.
First, and many owners don’t like hearing this, but honestly one of the reasons could simply be the way you may have addressed previous accidents. When we don’t understand how dogs think, many reactions and ways of “disciplining” backfire, and create an undesirable outcome, without you ever suspecting it. A simple adjustment, to your approach, is my recommendation for owners that may be doing this currently. If you aren’t at the point of seeing pooping inside yet, you can prevent it from happening. If not, it is much, much harder to remedy once it starts.
Pooping inside is not a desirable behavior, so often times, owners address this behavior like an act of disobedience, or being a “bad dog!” For new and unaware owners, this leads to frustration, and that leads to the dog perceiving that you are punishing him JUST FOR THE NEED OF POOPING when nature calls, and NOT because of the area where they shouldn’t have pooped! Plain and simple, unless they are in the middle pooping, and you see them and catch them in the act, and handle it the correct way, any attempt to correct them beyond 2 seconds after they poop is causing psychological damage to them, and futile.
How do you solve this? Well, at this point you need the help of a professional specialist, because there are just too many variables to determine the correct approach to rewire the dog’s brain.
Secondly, this type of accident can be rooted in the a dog’s previous owner, if they are a rescue or you are not the original owner, and the owner’s habit or method of handling how they went to the bathroom. Yet another case, that requires a professional’s keen eye and exposure to thousands of dogs throughout their career, to be able to notice the common patterns between sets of factors, and reach a conclusion. My advice is to implement some of the suggestions already given, and perhaps taking them out on longer walks, and try different areas, while testing different lengths of times revolving around meals. Usually, you find a sweet spot that you can “hack” and use to re-condition the dog.
Thirdly, to “simplify” this kind of case would be skipping over a few necessary evaluations and neglecting several other factors that should be considered. But, for the sake or brevity, the rest of the possible causes could be anything from other dog housemates to the actual human household members and their patterns or routines. Once again, it would take a professional to screen and then assess the dynamics of the household, in order to rule out the least likely causes, and find the root cause.
4 – The last one is commonly caused by deep-rooted, “mental” issues that require a sensitive, calculated approach, after a thorough assessment and consultation by a canine behavioral specialist like myself.
For example, there could be some prior trauma, cognitive associations, or psychological conditions like anxiety, fear, or aggression and territorial display. Yes, dogs can have mental health issues, too. But, they don’t go further than the aforementioned ones, and there is a misconception in the ownership world that they can also be “depressed” and “moody”.
It’s a misconception because any behavior a dog exhibits is related to their immediate surroundings and environment, not based in the past or some accumulated grudge or disorder like humans can have. The closest thing to an accumulated “disorder” is prior trauma- such as abuse and being treated poorly. But even that has it’s limited reach, as dogs can change from one moment to the next with the proper leadership and patience, thereby giving them renewed confidence and peace.
Certain types of poop (like fear pooping, or stress, regular, etc.) release different particular additives, such as pheromones and enzymes, which they can easily distinguish from other poops. If the pooping is stress related, but outside pooping is normal, then smelling the “stress poop” outside, not inside, can help them understand a little better the rules of going to the bathroom. But never try this without consulting an expert! Doing this the wrong way, can significantly regress them and make matters worse. There is a “configuration” of different methods paired with timing, a proper assessment, and the mindset that you approach this with.
Not all of these behaviors can be solved overnight, but, with the right approach, patience, and consistency, they can absolutely be solved within a couple of days, and at most a week. Yes! Deeply rooted issues, specifically these mentioned here, can be solved almost immediately, because all that is needed is to know the way to communicate with your four-legged family member, and rehearsing with them the alternatives. They gladly, and proudly, accept any challenges that please their owners, when done correctly!
Hope some of this helps!
Thanks! And remember, no issue is impossible to solve!
Hope some of this helps!
