Doggie accidents

[lmx0]

I have a 3 year old maltase who is house trained and never as any accidents while we are at home however if we go out to work (i know its a long day which i cant blame him terribly much for) or even out for an hour or so most of the time lately he has had accidents and its really getting to me as i know he can hold it and we always take him out to the toilet before we go anywhere (he knows this is routine as he jumps into bed when he comes back in again) im also 33 weeks preg so any help or advice would be great!! Thank you 🐶

however if we go out to work (i know its a long day which i cant blame him terribly much for)

Does this mean you are leaving him all day? If so then as you said it isn't surprising he is having accidents. Then you can't really blame him for doing it when you are gone for an hour or so as it's probably formed a habit. Is he stressed when you leave thinking he is on his own all day? A camera will help you see and they are cheap, mine was £40 and streams live to my phone.

I think you need to work on getting him company on work days and making sure he isn't stressed when he is left for the shorter times.

How long are you leaving him for? Sounds like it could be a bit of separation anxiety to me. Not all dogs cope with being left for even an hour, let alone all day!

He is left all day 2 days a week and him having accidents is to be expected and thats not where my problem lays as he will only have to deal with being left alone all for for three more weeks then i finish work. Its short periods of time that are the problem which could be as little as an hour. He didnt used to be this bad but lately its nearly every single time i go out i dont think could be separation anxiety as he is happy when he is left (as in not sad or crying) we have the same routine before we leave i get myself ready, take him out to the toilet and he runs into his bed before we leave sometimes as im getting ready he jumps into bed but i always take him to the toilet before i go. Could it be habit? Ive never thought of that! @BiteyShark

Sorry OP but it sounds like classic separation anxiety to me. He doesn't know that you'll be back in an hour as opposed to all day (which is far, far too long to be leaving him on his own) so he panics and goes to the toilet.

I don't think there's anything you can do to stop it. Either give him outdoor access or accept that if you leave him alone, he'll have accidents. He might be fine when you leave but you don't know what he's like when you're not around.

If he's used to being left alone all day he probably gets quite anxious. Most dogs cannot be left that long - even if they don't toilet most will be very stressed at being alone for huge portions of the day. I'm sorry if that's not what you want to hear

You shouldn't be leaving him on his own all day. I'm really shocked at this to be honest.

You need a dog walker and then you can deal with the separation anxiety.

I would get a camera. I found my dog seemed to be ok when we left and when we returned but when we got a camera to check he was really upset in between. It wasn't seperation anxiety but without the camera I would never have known what I needed to fix.

With a camera you will be able to see how he is reacting. It could be anxiety in which case you can start to tackle that but equally it should tell you if it's a habit because if he thinks you might be out all day he may not bother holding it at all because no one would come back and let him out iykwim.

OP There's a brilliant book called In Defence of Dogs, by John Bradshaw. He has a section on separation anxiety. They looked at dogs that had it, and dogs whose owners said they were happy being left. They found that several of the 'happy' dogs were in fact terribly distressed, two so much that they recommended immediate intervention. My point is you can't always tell, even if the dog seems fine. Yours doesn't sound fine, and very few dogs would cope left alone all day.

It may not be separation anxiety if the only symptom is weeing.

However if you allow him to wee indoors sometimes how is he to know when he can not wee indoors?

He does not know how long you will be gone for so as far as he is concerned he is allowed to wee indoors.

He really should be given the opportunity to go outside to wee.Can a friend,neighbour let him out in the middle of the day (at the very least - he should have more time than that tbh)

@adaline do you think? That is true i dont know what is going on while im not here i think ill look into the camera as @BiteyShark suggested ill also look into the book @JesusInTheCabbageVan thanks for your suggestions and @smashhits90s your shocked at what exactly? For anyone to think that any family pet has company all of the time seriously needs to have look around themselves

Might be worth checking with the vet if he has a urinary tract infection. More common in girl dogs but could be a cause.

@Dilovescake21 good advice thanks

Agree with others re the not knowing. So they have no idea if your gone for an hour or all day.

So, if a dog knows it will never go longer than say three hours and then be let out, it learns to wait. If it's being left for a time that's impossible to wait, it doesn't learn to wait. It learns to go when it needs the toilet if nobody is in the house.

Sorry OP but leaving a dog all day really isn't a good thing to be doing. The recommendation is 4 hours a day maximum - any longer and they should be in daycare or be out with a dog walker. If they spend all day alone and then all night alone - they're spending the vast majority of their time without human company.

Lots of people might leave their dogs that long but that doesn't make it acceptable or the right way to treat them! I'm not surprised he's messing in the house if you regularly expect him to go all day with no company and no chance to use the toilet outside.

@adaline i know its not ideal leaving him all day and as ive said ive only 3 weeks left to work then ill be at home alot more with him

What do you mean by all day?
No dog should be left without the option to toilet outside. Your dog doesn't know this wil change in three weeks. You are forcing your dog to pee inside so of course they think it's fine.
Or they have a UTI.
Or separation anxiety.
If you have a dog and work all day you get a dog walker or pay for daycare. Anything else is bloody cruel.

By frequently leaving him locked in a house alone all day you have taught him that it's no good holding on because he'll only end up wetting or shifting himself after trying to hold on. As far as he is concerned human leaving means he will have to piss and shit in the house because he has no other option.

FYI if you cannot see what is wrong leaving a dog locked in the house all day, without even a 2minute toilet break in the middle of the day, then you are the one who needs to open your eyes, not smash. "Not ideal" (as you put it) is leaving all day but with someone popping in half way through the day to let dog out - which is sadly common. Leaving all day without any break is cruelty - plain and simple.

I asked for advice not a lecture id hate to see the lecture anyone would get if they said they worked full time

To be fair to the PP, OP I work full time but I pay through the nose for daycare and if that wasn't available I would pay for two dog walkers so he spent most of the day with someone.

I realise that you say things will change in three weeks but if you plan to return back to work at any point you are going to have to address the leaving all day because otherwise the behaviour is liable to return.

To be fair OP, lots of people here do have dogs and work full-time (I'm one of them) but they don't leave their dogs locked in the house all day on their own.

There's so many options out there - daycare, dog-walkers, bringing your dog to work with you, working from home, popping back at lunch time or arranging for a neighbour to pop in and let them out, pay someone to come over at lunchtime and sit in the house with them....the list is endless.

People are advising you that you've caused the problem and nothing will change him toileting in the house until you stop leaving him all day.

You could work full time and not neglect your dog as you have. I know plenty of people who work and have a dog but, at the very least, they have some kind of arrangement for the dog to be loosed outside in the middle of the day. Not ideal but at least meets their dogs basic needs. Most owners who work do conderably better and have someone visit for a larger chunk, dog walkers or daycare.

You need to face up to the fact that your negligence has caused the problem and what you are doing is not acceptable and should never happen again.

Your blasé, "I neglect my dog but there is nothing wrong with that" type attitude and your ridicule of another poster being shocked that you neglect your dog so badly is why you blatantly need a lecture to have any chance of understanding the neglect you have shown your dog is not normal.

I asked for advice not a lecture and you are getting advice. If you follow that advice, you'll be well on the way to solving your problem. Realistically, there isn't going to be any way of stopping your dog from toileting in the house if you keep leaving it for long periods.

Could you manage a whole day without going to the loo, OP?

You need to get a dog walker. A whole day without going out is far too long.

You deserve a lecture for not enabling your dog to be able to toilet outside. You should never leave a dog shut up and alone all day. I can't believe you think that's ok.