My husband and I have a great dog. There is only one problem with him. Whenever we go somewhere and we leave him home he either pees or poops in the house. It is only when we are gone and he has never ever gone in the house when we have been there. We take him out before we go anywhere and we have this big goodbye ritual where we give lots of attention to him before we go. The average time that we are gone is like 30 minutes to like two hours, and since he does not do it when we are there and he goes for longer sometimes when we are there we know it is not a medical problem. We were wondering what we could do to stop this? We have gotten onto him for it and it doesn't work, but we have also just ignored it because we thought it would be his way of trying to get attention, but that didn't work either. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
2006-07-23 13:35:28 · 28 answers · asked by Mike and Gina 4 in Pets ➔ Dogs
Oh yeah FYI: We can't just put him outside, we live in an apartment.
2006-07-23 13:49:12 · update #1
I am so glad that you found a dog that you really love. A lot of dogs do go to the bathroom when left alone in a home. And a big part of the problem is that your dog loves you so much. (I know, that shouldn't be a problem, right?) We too have an "emotional pee-er" and she will go whenever we leave her alone, even if it's just in another room. At night and when we leave, we put her in a crate. Supposedly, dogs never pee where they sleep. Eventually, the dog will figure out that you are not leaving him forever and he will not get as upset. Also, you said you have this big good-bye ritual. Of course, it is good to show your dog lots of love, but some dogs get nervous about big goodbyes. A simple,
"I have to run to the store, I'll be back in an hour" would suffice. Definitely tell him where you are going, but don't make such a big deal about it like it's the last time you will see him. Best of luck to you and your dog.
2006-07-23 14:04:19 · answer #1 · answered by Lana 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He's either angry with you for leaving or he has separation anxiety. Don't make a big deal out of it when you leave him, just tell him you'll be back in a little bit. You may want to crate him while you're gone because he will not want to eliminate where he lays. The crate also can give him a sense of security. If he cannot be crated, gate him in a small room with NO carpeting (maybe a bathroom). Do not allow him the run of the house. When you return home, don't make a big deal out of it. If he has not made a mess, when you release him from the room, then you can praise him and give him a treat. You may also want to buy some of those "busy" toys-the kind where they have to work to get the treats out of them. They can stay busy a long time with those. Good luck!
2006-07-23 13:47:58 · answer #2 · answered by sweetiepie 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I agree with everyone else about the separation anxiety. Don't make your depature a big deal and be careful not to do the same things everytime before you leave. We often make patterns of our lives such as turn off the coffee maker, check the back door and then put on our shoes. The dog will remember that when you turn off the coffee maker, you'll be leaving soon so the anxiety often starts a while before you leave the house. My 5 year old pointer had separation anxiety but I was able to lessen it by working on leaving him alone for different periods of time. I also installed a squirrel feeder outside for him to watch while I'm gone. Just have patience and good luck!
2006-07-23 15:14:51 · answer #3 · answered by Princess Diana 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Crating him would be a good idea or getting a child's gate and containing him in the kitchen if you have tiled or linoleum floor. Doing this often and not just when you leave will help. I would also say don't make the goodbye a huge deal. Just walk out the door like you are walking into another room. Make the coming home a big deal. Also, putting up his food while you are gone (he won't starve to death in that short amount of time) will help with the bowel movements.
2006-07-23 14:01:08 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you make a big deal out of leaving, maybe try NOT making a big deal out of leaving? Walk out, come back in 5-10 minutes later, and make coming home not a big deal, either. Next time, be gone for only a couple of minutes, then come back in. Next time, go for half an hour then come back. Don't make a big deal of leaving or of coming back in.
Dunno if that will work, but it seems to me that maybe he's associating the "big goodbye ritual" with separation anxiety or issues.
2006-07-23 13:40:34 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like seperation anxiety, prozac may help alleviate the symptoms. Also dont have a goodbye ritual b/c it will only make him more anxious. As far a stopping the behavior without drugs, I cant imagine that would happen because it is already a bad habit that really cant be punished 30 minutes later without causing more anxiety. D
2006-07-23 14:22:49 · answer #6 · answered by D 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Dogs often act out their dislike of being alone in one fashion or another. Some destroy the house; some poop, some tip over their water and food dishes. The answer is the back yard. Throw the mutt out for those thirty minutes to a couple of hours. We had our in-laws beagle pup to baby sit. Our dog loved it. Outside the beagle liked to dig and escape. We tied a rope from point A to point B parallel to the ground and hooked a leash on the rope and the other end on the beagle pup. When we left the beagle pup went on the leash run. The two dogs kept each other company. In fact having that beagle pup helped our dog to not act out when alone. Our dog was happier. Those dogs loved to play. They are both females. Pup was maybe 6 months old to 9 months old. Our dog is 3 yrs. old.
2006-07-23 13:47:45 · answer #7 · answered by pshdsa 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Look I'm not really the old and that smart but I know so much about animals. I study them at my high school. I'm training to be a vet. Like the women before said buy him a crate. Give him some toys to put in it and a blanket. If he pees or poops in it dont worry because he will soon figure out that he has to sleep in it and he will be attached to it and know that its his own little hang out area. Believe me I had a dog that did that. If you have read the book Marley and me my dog is just like Marley.
2006-07-23 13:46:04 · answer #8 · answered by Spenser W 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your not supposed to make a big production when you leave your dog alone. But because he already is trained that way one of the things you can do is to crate train him make sure his crate is big enough for him to stand up and turn around in but a potty pad in there in the beginning he will learn to wait until you take him outside. A dog doesn't understand when you disipline them for something that they have already done when you come home and disipline him for relieving himself in the house he has no idea what he did wrong just that you came home and he got in trouble. With dogs if you don't catch them in the act you have to clean up the mess and disipline yourself for not training your dog properly from the beginning
2006-07-23 14:21:20 · answer #9 · answered by oilpatchbrat79 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Chances are that he knows that since you're not there he can get away with it. You can't scold him for it later, because two minutes after the fact, he's already forgotten. Try locking him in a room where the floor is tiled or putting him outside, and then it'll at least be easier to clean up.
2006-07-23 13:39:35 · answer #10 · answered by heartbroken 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋