How do I stop my dog from peeing and pooping?

Question

How do I stop my dog from pooping and peeing in the house?
We got the dog from a rescue. She is about 2 years old. We had no problems with her for several weeks, and now in the last few days she has pooped in the house 3 times and peed once. She doesn't cry or dance or anything to indicate that she has to go, so we've had to take her out every couple hours. How do we train her to let us know when she has to go? Why is she going in the house now when she's been having no problems? Is she having a power struggle with us? She is already crate trained and she doesn't go in the house all the time, it only seems like she goes in the house when she is mad at us and trying to have a power struggle.

Answer 1

She could be sick. Sudden changes in bathrooming can mean the pet is sick. They hide illness from even trusted family, so she may seem OK, but it's worth checking out.
Try getting her to go on command.
Everytime you take her out say over and over "go potty". Praise her when she does. Soon you will notice that when you say "go potty" she will get right down to business. After she will go on command, take her out and "empty" her often so she can't mess in the house.
You have to catch her doing it. Otherwise she won't understand what she did wrong. When you catch her, yell "no" and take her outside.
It could very well be a power thing. Watch her closely for her triggers. My auntie's dog hates to be left alone and poops by the door when she leaves. Even if it's to run to the mail box. She was never able to break the dog of the habit, because someone had to be there to "catch" her doing wrong, which meant she wasn't alone and didn't poop. My aunt has to keep puppy piddle pads at all the dogs "favorite" spots.
The fact that you got the dog from a rescue bugs me a little. Bless you for it, it's the right thing to do, but I have personally been aware of times when shelter attendants will gloss over, or just not mention, potential problems with a dog because they want to get the dog adopted. Consider calling the rescue and asking if there is any more information about her. Ask how many homes she has had and why she was surrendered, if you don't already know. Ask if there are any classes or advise they can give you.
Be firm, be patient (after all, it's only been a little while, maybe she just needs to test the waters a little), and be consistent.
Hopefully she will come around.
Good Luck

Answer 2

Ok, I think many of us dog owners have had this problem right? First of all, spanking his butt will not help him to stop peeing or pooping unless you catch him right in the act, and even then it'll have limited results. Second, you say he pee's on the carpet, if it's the same carpet, I would guess his scent is there, no matter how much you clean it, so maybe he would just keep going there to mark territory Third, if you really don't want him to mess on the floor, you're going to have to keep him in a confined space when he sleeps at night. A healthy dog normally won't mess in their own little spot. But when you give him lots of room, he can go wherever he wants with no consequences. So maybe put him in a comfortable kennel at night or a room. See what happens. These are just suggestions and I'm sure there are lots of exceptions to these rules but it worked for me, so I hope it works for you too!!

Answer 3

The best way to solve this problem is to do a combination of things: Put a bell on the door that leads to the backyard (if you have have). If you don't have a backyard then put a bell on a door anyways. Since the dog is 2 years old, it's reaching a point where learning new things will become more and more difficult. Therefore, you are going to have to lead the dog to the bell if you can identify the time when the dog usually needs to go to the bathroom. In addition, you are going to have to punish the dog a little bit for peeing and pooping in the house. Tell him/her that's she's a bad dog, maybe give a little slap on his/her butt. Then put him/her in a crate. Crating is probably one of the most effective methods. Dogs hate this. They learn eventually.

Answer 4

after she pee's or poops in the house you need to discipline her! Either put her in her crate or put her outside for an hour after she does it and have a loud No, or Bad doggie. That is what my vet told me to do, I have a puppy and I crate trained him and if he had accidents, which all dogs will, then to do those things. I kind of does seem like a power struggle if she does it when she is mad at you, that is when you need to have strong discipline to let her know that you are the alpha dog and she is not.

Answer 5

I've had luck training a puppy by taking him out a lot but when inside and I don't want to watch him constantly I would put his leash on and keep him close to me. There were not accidents while doing that. I also had a friend who tied a bell on a rope to the doorknob. Before long the dog would actually go and hit the bell when he wanted to go outside. Good Luck.

Answer 6

Both of my rotts have done the same in the past. My female was bad about going on our beds! I never found a cure for her before I had to put her to sleep. My male will still do it if I leave him home alone. I have gone uptown for 15 min & come home to a mess. I have learned, they've got to go outside when I leave.

I had my female for 9 years & my male I've had for about 5 years now.

Answer 7

Thank you so much for rescuing a homeless pet!!!

Poor thing - she's still adjusting to being in your house, and most importantly still adjusting to YOU! Since she was rescued, she may or may not recognize the words for urinate (we use tee-tee) and defecate (we use poopies), and most importantly the word OUTSIDE. May I suggest that when you take her out to do her business, go with her and when she pees, give her praise! ("Good girl, you went tee-tee outside!") Do the same for #2 as well. Soon all you will have to do is ask her, "do you need to go outside?" and she'll head for the door. Give yourselves time to recognize HER signs for needing to go. Don't give up! You'll get there sooner than you think - God bless!

Answer 8

Simple: Make her sleep outside - and don't let her inside even during the day. Thus she'll grow accustomed to go peepoo there. After a month or so, let her sleep in (I don't mean sleep in late - limit her to two martinis per day). If she still peepoos inside, smack her with a rolled-up newspaper (not your hand), stick her nose in it, then put her firmly outside.

But the first month outside will do it, I'm sure. I've had many dogs - it always works. (I've always done this with puppies; she, older, may be more difficult.) Be stern. Your disapproval looms large to her.

Answer 9

it is possible your dog could be sick. that is strange she would be doing so well, and then just stop. we had a terrible time getting our bichon to be potty trained. he never did let us know when he had to go, and we had him almost 2 years. have you consulted an actual dog trainer? how about those puppy pads?? good luck!

Answer 10

she my be seeing the crate as her home and your house as the out side. i dont have dogs to help any more than that