problem staffie

Hi everyone, we are are having serious problems with our staffie, recently he has started to poo in the house , he is 18 months old and was easy to house train ( so we thought ) until about 6 weeks ago , now he hardly ever go`s through the night without pooing inside , even if his last run is after midnight and i`m up just after 6. For the last few months the back door has been open at all times if we are home and still he poos if he feels like it ! He is a muched loved dog and is not left alone for long periods of time ( though on the odd days when this would be the case he stays outside where he has a free run and a kennel to get shelter . He has even pooed while ive been 6ft away from him , please someone tell us how to crack this as we love him dearly but I will not keep a dirty dog. kind regards Shelley.

Welcome to the forum. I moved this thread so it may get some more views and perhaps offer some help.

If this is new behavior, have you had him to a vet yet to rule out any new health issues? That's one place to start.

I agree that it sounds most likely as if it's medical, as it started suddenly and its unusual for a dog to need to poop overnight if they potty during the day.

After the vet rules out any medical or digestive issues:

Have you changed his food or added any new treats, or changed his eating schedule?

If he's outside alone during the day sometimes, it is possible that as he was pooping, something frightened or upset him, and he's gotten the idea in his head that going outside is going to make it happen again. (Anything to hearing Thunder or a gunshot while pooing, to being stung by a bee, or hearing a neighbor shout). If that is the case, you'll just need to retrain him as you did when he was a puppy - restrict his unsupervised freedom in the house, watch him closely to see if he appears he needs to go, reward him heavily for going outside. Is he crate trained?

Definitely get a full vet work up first thing!

I agree too. If it's something that has just come up by itself, get him to a vet before anything else. It might be health related.