Ongoing House Soiling Issues

 Here is my article on Past Potty Training, Ongoing House Soiling issues.

If you have already read my article on Potty Training, and are still having issues with your pup or adult dog soiling inside the house, there are many additional helpful suggestions in this post.

There could be a physical problem with the dog, a mental one- or both. 

If the pup has diarrhea or loose stools,  it cannot be held accountable. Correct the physical problem before trying to correct the pup for doing something they themselves cannot control.

Often dogs will urinate right in front of owners because they are trying to tell them there IS a problem.  Have your Veterinarian check for an infection, crystals in the dogs urine, or other physical problems that may be attributing to the the house soiling. Having internal parasites ( worms) or food allergies can sometimes cause a dog to defecate more often as well. 

It could be the dog is older and getting a bit senile- similar to older humans who eventually need to wear diapers, as their minds and bodies wear out.  Fortunately, there are many good supplements for senility in dogs available now through your Veterinary clinic or online that can help. 

My scale for measuring the appropriate amount of time the pup can “hold it” is one hour for every month of the pups age AFTER ten weeks of age. Before ten weeks of age pups have very little control, and should not be held accountable.  This does vary with individuals.  So a ten week old pup should be let outside about every two hours. 
As they get older the time between having to go out gets longer as well . Many people recommend a maximum of six to eight hours inside for adult dogs, some dogs can stay inside for longer - a lot depends on the breed/size of the dog, whether the dog is active during this time, and the type of food the dog is eating.  Dog foods with a lot of fillers in them will create more stool, where raw feeding generally produces smaller and firmer stools.

Male dogs will sometimes scent mark inside homes, often this is caused by insecure dogs, but very dominant ones can be culprits as well.
Some female dogs will also scent mark in homes. My Black Labrador did, she was fully house broken at home, but would mark (urinate) on the floor intentionally at another dogs home- especially if the other dog had urinated on the floor or dog bed at one time already.
In this instance, because it is an intentional  bad behavior and not just a pup who doesn’t know better, I will correct the dog-  BUT only at the exact moment they are starting to urinate - because dogs live in the moment....   If I find a puddle a few minutes after the fact, I NEVER correct the dog, as they will be stressed by our angry energy-  but have no idea WHY we are mad at them. Showing them after the fact doesn’t help either.
I NEVER shove the dogs nose in the soiled area, this is an outdated method which will only teach them to hide from us when they urinate/defecate  in the house -  or worse yet start practicing coprophagia  (eating their feces).   
Instead, I  would keep a short leash on them inside, and watch them very closely.  When they go to urinate I give a very firm verbal NO! , quick tug on the leash, and immediately bring them outside. Once outside - relax, give them a little slack on the lead and let them sniff around. When they urinate praise them, NO treats. Repeat every day for at least three weeks in a row to successfully break this habit.

Adding a lot of structure to the dogs daily life, including both mental and physical exercise, can often stop many undesirable behaviors. Anxiety can easily cause house soiling because the dogs bodily functions are working at a fast pace when they are anxious. Training impulse control exercises can really help anxious dogs. I have additional articles on this.

Some spayed dogs can loose bladder control as well, which is known as urethral sphincter mechanism incontinence. This is very common in dogs after spaying- sometimes this happens right after spaying, other times months or even years later.  Luckily the Veterinarian has medication available for the dog to help control this type of incontinence.  

Dogs normally rest at night, so it’s easier for them to hold their bladder and bowels then. During the day, especially with distractions and the dogs own physical movement - they naturally have to defecate and urinate much more often.

Always be sure to clean the soiled area VERY well, then use an enzymatic cleaner over the area. Any left over smell of urine will quickly encourage the dog to urinate in that spot once again.

Does the dog get a treat as a reward when they urinate appropriately outside???    No.
I don’t treat for that, as dogs can easily just urinate enough to get the treat, stop urinating, then go back inside with a mostly full bladder. Verbal praise is fine, and encouraged.

One thing that can help is putting a puppy diaper or belly band on the dog . Sometimes just having it on will be enough to stop the behavior of soiling inside.

I don’t recommend doggie doors- they allow to much freedom which can breakdown the household structure, besides often dogs decide they don’t feel like going outside because it’s raining or cold - or for whatever reason, and start soiling in the house instead. Going back and forth in and out of the house all day - the inside easily becomes the outside in an excited dogs mind......

I would tether the dog to you when indoors and watch her closely, immediately take her out if she acts like she needs to go.  Praise only when she does, no treats. 
When not supervised they should be properly crate trained inside the house. 
The crate should be just big enough for the dog to stand, turn around, and lie down in.  Too big a crate can allow the dog to easily soil in there and still keep itself clean, most dogs don’t want to lie in a wet or dirty crate.
If the crate is the right size, the dog has been let out to relieve itself, and the dog still soils it’s crate-  try feeding the dog in their crate, dogs usually don’t like to soil where they eat.

Sometimes the really smart pups will intentionally urinate/defecate in their crates, as it can be self rewarding - they have learned that they are allowed out of the crate to play.
If this happens, take the pup out of the soiled crate but immediately put them into another clean crate. No playtime in between. A few sessions of this usually corrects the behavior.

I have many more dog training articles available on my site below, which is open to the public and free of charge.   ❤️🐺❤️.

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