My 2 yr old black lab is pooping in the house-help!

[RoxyOwnsMe]

My beautiful 2 yr old black lab mix has been pooping in the house lately and it's making us crazy. She was cage-trained pretty quickly and always went outside. We are out of the house during weekdays and we think she is punishing us. We play with her a lot especially on weekends. She doesn't poop on walks, we let her out in the backyard and clean it very often.

She KNOWS we are mad at her for this.

Thanks if you have some ideas.

 

[MafiaPrincess]

She doesn't KNOW you are mad. She knows you are acting mad and therefore be wary of the angry person. Rule out medical before behavioural. When was her last vet visit? What do you actually do when you find a mess? Maybe you need to go back to basics and limit the amount of free room she has during the day.

 

[RoxyOwnsMe]

We're taking her to the vet today, hopefully it's just a stomach thing.

Thanks.

 

[rosesmom]

I think mafiaprincess is right you need to go back to basics. There is a potty training article on this site on Information that I used. Hope it helps.
http://www.goldenrayyorkies.com

 

[Zoom]

A lot of dogs poop to show they're stressed as well, so it easily could be not that she's "mad", per se, at you, just that she's not comfortable with being left alone in a big huge house.

 

[Rebecca4614]

Have there been any changes of food or feeding schedule lately? Sometimes that can cause sudden pooping issue. Changing her feeding schedule may help... making breakfast earlier so she has more time to empty out before you leave for work, etc. If you changed her food, you might try going back to the original food if she was doing better on it. Be sure to change back gradually to prevent further digestive upset.

I agree with Zoom... she may be having accidents because she's stressed when you're gone. The fact that you say she "knows you're mad at her for this" probably means you're correcting her when you get home, which will not help and will only make the problem worse if it's caused by stress. Don't correct her in any way when you get home... she'll associate correction with you coming home, NOT with the pile she left on the floor an hour earlier.

If she's having accidents in a particular area of the house, you can try putting her food bowls there and feeding her on that spot for a few weeks so she realizes that area isn't a toilet.

Going back to crating her or confining her in some way when you're away from home is probably a good idea, at least for a while, so you can break the habit she's gotten into.

She sounds like a good girl, so I'm sure you'll be able to get her back on the right track!!

 

[2dogmom]

Sometimes young adult dogs will regress if their owners figure "ok she's housetrained, now I don't need to do anything anymore." Some positive reinforcement when she poops outside can do wonders. If you're just letting her out and calling ehr back in when she is done, then go with her. And when you are out with her, fuss and coo and praise when she does her #2 outside.

And NO, she is not mad at you, getting revenge or any of that stuff. Those are all human attributes and that is not how a dog's mind works. She is probably stressed if you show your anger over her pooping indoors. Just make sure you get her to the vet and at least get a fecal exam done to rule out any medical issues.

 

[SarahFair]

A lot of dogs poop to show they're stressed as well, so it easily could be not that she's "mad", per se, at you, just that she's not comfortable with being left alone in a big huge house.

WOW! I never thought of this!
When we first left mary would poop a couple times in the house when left alone. I would always let her out for awhile right befor wed leave and shed still always do it. I never put the tearing the blinds and pooping together..