Why has my 9mth old GSD started doing wees/poos in house?

Question

My 9mth old GSD has started to wee and poo in the house, she was going outside but has now started to do it in the house aswell. If i let her out she won't go unless i go out there with her, if i leave her out there she just jumps up at the door to come in. She is quite a timid dog and is a bit nervous and wees with excitment occasionally. Could she have a medical problem? I have recently gone back to work part time for 3 days of the week so she is on her own for 5 hrs a day, but she doesn't do it during the day she only seems to do it at night we are in bed. My husband gets up first and is starting to get on at me about the mess and the smell!!Please help!!

Answer 1

The first thing to do when a dogs behavior changes is to have a vet do a check up just in case. Since she is doing it at night give her a good long walk just before bedtime. If she is healthy and the walk before bed time does not help try crate training or see a dog behaviorist.

Answer 2

First and foremost, you should see your veterinarian just to be sure she does not have a urinary infection or medical problem.

Secondly, urinating when she gets excited is nothing unusual. Many dogs, particularly puppies, do it and most puppies out-grow it (keep in mind she'll essentially be a puppy until she is 18 month-2 years).

In terms of not staying outside without you, that may be a matter of her not being confident. Keep in mind that many GSD go through a "fear" state anywhere from 6-9 months- usually it occurs at 6 months but can be later. It's somethign the dog will just one day come out of, but until then you have to treat them no differently than you did before.

When she jumps at the door, you need to either tell her "no" or find a way to squirt her with water (without being seen...she needs to associate it with jumping on the door and not a person or she may continue to do it if noone is around).

Lastly, start crating her at night. She likely will not do it as she will not want to lay in her own waste. Crate training is something all dogs should have in case they ever have to spend time at the vets. There is nothing worse than a dog that's never been in a crate and the vets is the first time-These dogs tend to be loud, obnoxious and destructive of bedding/matts/paper while there; and it does not seem to matter the breed (Veterinary technician until 1/07...career change)

Answer 3

Has she been spayed? Entire bitches can have trouble with urinary continance. There has been a considerable change in her environment, so this undesirable behaviour could be due to stress. If she is also trying to urinate frequently in small amounts, that is a sign of urinary tract infection such as cystitis.

There is a product on the market by the name of D.A.P. It comes in the form of a plug in, rather like Air Wick air fresheners or such like. This plug in releases pheremones identical to those that the mother would have released when her pups were nursing from her. This has a very calming effect for nervous dogs, and also those with inappropiate behaviour and elimination. From personal and professional opinion, I would strongly recommend that you try this. It is only available from licenced veterinary surgeons, but can usually be bought over the counter.

An important thing to remember for both you and your husband - you must NOT reprimand your dog for this behaviour. By doing this, you will increase her anxiety, and increase the scale of the problem. However inconvenient or unpleasant it is, do not make any fuss, or show any emotion.

Instead, when she eliminates in the right places at the right times, praise her, and offer a small healthy treat so as Pro Reward Liver treats. By doing this, she will associate the correct behaviour with being rewarded.

If the problem persists however after trying all the above, please do visit your vet, who will be able to help you both further after performing a full examination. Good Luck!

Indianna
Veterinary Nurse

Answer 4

It could be separation anxiety she misses you.
You will have to retrain her take her out when she goes outside praise her warmly, does she have a clean place to poo outside they can be very picky.
When ur out leave on the radio and give her toys and a good strong chew to play with.
Don't feed her before u go out.
I know this weather is not the best for taking your dog out but try and as the spring comes in and the lighter nights walk her more. try to find a safe place so she can have a run. She will become ur best friend if u give her a chance but it takes time. At nine months she should be on one or if u prefer two meals a day which should regulate her bowls movements.

Answer 5

I'd say she is stressed.

Invest in a special spray from the pet store that will rid the smell and the stain...no problem.

Wouldn't hurt to take her to the vet for a check up.

Get her used to being outside by doing fun things, such as feeding her outside, giving her bones outside, playing with toys.

Take her outside in the evening every hour and praise her when she goes to the toilet, I think it's just about re-conditioning her.

If she's making a mess, confine her to a tiled floor or a crate over night.

Answer 6

Your dog has no medical problem.
Experience tells me that generally, dogs like to wee & poo on the exact place they did before. Before doing so, they first smell the area, sniff at the exact place where they did their wee & poo, & once they've confirmed the exact place or spot, then they do what they have to do.
Try to observe your dog and her urinary & bowel movement. Is it done at the exact place?
The solution to this is to entirely clean the mess and the floor, so that the dog won't be able to smell it anymore. And, to cover the exact place with thick newspapers so that she will wee or poo on the papers. not on the floor.

Answer 7

I will suggest that this is due to anxiety at night. As dogs develop they go through different 'fear' periods. One is at about 11 weeks (thats why puppies should go to their new home and socialise lots before then) and another is at about 8-9 months as they go through adolescence and are starting to move out of protected puppy status.
One symptom of anxiety is defecating in the house when the dog is otherwise house trained. As she doesn't do this in the day there is obviously something at night that is making her anxious.
This happened with my 8 year old retriever when I moved house. He was totally reliable and just started doing it. It lasted for about 2 months until he settled! ARgh!
The things that I found helped to settle him down in the end were:
1. Made sure he had a last chance to go toilet at night.
2. Made sure he settled before I left him alone at night.
3. Made sure he had a nice chew to occupy him if he woke up
4. Left no tempting food or stuff out to stimulate him at night
5. left the radio on quietly sometimes
6. When I come down in the morning, I ignore his excited greetings until he calms down. This helps him relax and learn that me coming and going is not a big deal. Never react crossly when you find the morning poo. This increases the levels of anxiety when you aren't there because the dog is worried about your return!

To improve your dogs feeling of security over all, especially as she is a nervy girl, make sure that she knows that you are the top person in your 'pack'. If she has any reason to think that the responsibities of the pack rest on her shoulders she will be very nervous. For example, never feed her tit bits while you eat (to a dog this means you are promoting its status), always feed her after you have finished your food, make sure you determine when you go on walks and don't let her be possessive over toys etc.
You'll sort out her fears with patience and kindness. Good luck!

Answer 8

You say she goes when you take her outside? then that is the answer really, you need to stay with her until she performs, give her plenty of praise, basically a bit of re-training, and take her outside as late as possible at night, may be something has spooked her while she was out there, my Border Collie was spooked by an Owl one night so i had to start going out with him again until he was OK with it.

Answer 9

You dog has just realised that it is blinking cold out side and it is easier to poo inside the house