Why won't it stop pooping in the house?!

[thebloodyshittindog]

So I haven't had my dog for that long, and although she's a puppy, she's not a young puppy.

She will not stop pooping in the house. She does wees outside and some poos but others she'll do in the house and it's driving me crazy.

Tonight for example, I've literally just took her into the garden, had a wee sniffed around and back in. I was pottering around downstairs for 5 minutes, headed upstairs and she's just shat on the landing 😡 she'd literally just been outside!

I'll take her to my parents house and she'll go to the toilet beforehand, then she'll run in and go poo somewhere!

She does know to go to the toilet outside, she's gets rewarded when she does. She knows she's been naughty when she poos in the house because she looks all sheepish. She occasionally wees in the house but no where near as often as poos.

What can I do?!?!

How old and what breed OP?

Mine went through this faze until around 6 months sadly

10 months and she's a Boston terrier so very intelligent

Do you use puppy pads anywhere? Are you rewarding when she sees outside? How often are you taking her out for wees and poos and how long do you spend outside with her? Is she on a lead outside? Do you take her anywhere else (walk etc) to see if she poos then?

Perhaps there needs to be consequences for pooing indoors? If you don't do anything and just clear it up then what's to stop it continuing?

You dog simply hadn't been toilet trained. You need to go back to basics as start again. How old is she as you said young puppy?

Going back to basics means cleaning up every place she has been in the house with special enzyme cleaner. Then watching her 'all' the time and going outside with her after every meal, every drink, play and sleep and frequently in between so you can see if she toilets and praise. If you think she should have gone but hasn't tether her to you with a line when back inside and then go out again in about 10 minutes. The tether will mean she cannot sneak off to toilet elsewhere. If she does go inside pick her up and run outside and praise like mad when she finishes outside.

Nope no puppy pads yet, but I'm definitely going to get some as she's going to ruining my landing carpet as she always poos in the same spot, yes she always gets rewarded and me and the DC make a big fuss over her.

How long we spend outside varies, sometimes it's a minute or 2 as she'll do her business and run back inside, sometimes it's 10-20 minutes and we take a toy out with us and play around with her.

We've walked her everyday since getting her and she's never ever weed or pood on a walk.

Don’t punish a dog for toileting in the house. If the dog hasn’t been taught to toilet outside that’s the owner’s fault not the dog’s.

Do not use puppy pads as they just teach the dog to wee/poo inside.

You need to go right back to basics - outside after every drink/eat/play and then every 30 mins as well.

Agree with BiteyShark re enzyme cleaner.

If you introduce puppy pads now just to save your carpets then she will never understand that toileting should be outside only.

It really is a matter of minimising any accidents inside and maximising toileting outside coupled with praise. Introduce a code word for peeing and pooing so she starts to associate those words with toileting. Then you can say them outside to encourage her to go and then praise again.

Agree with starting again with house training.

Absolutely not consequences for going in the house!

Keep a record. Try and find a link with the times- hour after feeding etc.

Watch her like a hawk, when you see signs she needs to go, take her out and stay there until she goes.

Confine her when you are not watching her- she won't want to go in her 'living space'.

Realistically it is almost impossible to clean carpets once they have been pooed/peed on repeatedly so the lingering smell (I am not saying your carpet stinks, but that the smell cannot be eliminated so the dog still smells it) will remain and encourage your dog to use the same spot.

Your dog doesn’t sound house trained, do you know anything about her past? Also she sounds like a sensitive soul that may be too tense to go on walks and may not like using the garden in the rain and cold. Treat her like a much younger puppy, so retrict her in a small part of the house unless you have eyes on her, take her out every half hour, give treats for toileting outside. If none of these work after a month, you may have to try the umbilical cord method. It’s hard work but I have yet to see it fail.

This weather won't be helpful. My boy, similar skin and build to yours, hated going outside in bad weather. I used to stand out there with a brolly over him. Don't give up- she can do it! Someone told me mine would never get it, but he did. Super reliable now.

Thank you so much for all the advice! Feeling very positive now and the new training starts in the morning!

Good luck Op. I know it's hard but you will get there. As for previous poster with the consequences comment. WTF please never ever get a dog.

You realise Boston Terriers are notorious as one of the hardest breeds to house train?
10 months is still very young and there’s obviously a big back story and upheaval there if you haven’t had the dog long, so it is absolutely to be expected that they are not house trained.

As others have said. You need to go back
To absolute basics. Taking out on the hour - every hour.
Don’t introduce puppy pads, you’ll only confuse the matter.

Also, she doesn’t know she’s done wrong, sheepish is a human emotion, not a canine one. She knows you’re cross with her but she doesn’t know why. Sometimes being cross with them when they’ve messed in the house just encourages them to do in secret. I do sympathise, we got our first dog when I was still working part time four hours a day and we didn’t know any better. He took three months to toilet train. 🙄

Boston Terriers are one of the hardest dogs to housetrain - sorry, I doubt that's what you want to hear!

I think you just need to go back to basics. Take her out every 20-30 minutes and stay with her every time. Lots and lots of praise for wees/poos outside. Ignore indoor accidents and clean them up with a proper enzyme cleaner.

She'll get there eventually but some breeds find it harder than others! Have you tried using a word for toileting? We say "go toilet" when we need ours to go quickly and it seems to have worked. So, when she eliminates in the right place, use your key word and praise, praise, praise! :)

You can tell if a dog needs the look they start sniffing and searching, each time it does that pop the lead on and take it out. It's AF but the pup will be AF and eventually it'll learn to go outside.

Loo not look

Bostons are so so intelligent you are in for a lifetime of love

It takes patience and consistency like the other PPs have said. I found with mine, going outside after every meal and not coming back in until he did his business worked. He's never once been in the house since about 5 months old. Although def harder in winter!!

If you have time you can skip the puppy pads altogether. My other dog we moved from newspaper to pads to outside and now he's really fussy and occasionally poos in the house.

Enjoy your Boston baby!!

Also I disagree about them being the hardest - he was a DREAM to housetrain. My pug on the other hand...!

Also I disagree about them being the hardest - he was a DREAM to housetrain.

Well, not all dogs are the same. There are always going to be dogs that don't follow the "rule" of their breed but it's common knowledge that Bostons, like Chihuahuas, are very hard to house train on the whole.

Here's my late to train pup- not a great pic, but he's a crossbreed with Frenchie or Boston in him. His face is just like the PP's lovely one.

@adaline I was simply disagreeing with the sweeping statement

@picklemepopcorn what a gorgeous little face!

I've just wandered off to the Boston rescue group. Darn it. Cannot have another dog, cannot have another dog.

My boy is possessive, and happy as an only child. While he likes meeting others out and about, the two times we fostered were not a success. Stroppy Rommie Girls.