Grrr... Finn's indoor potty problem

I've been quiet about this because I theoretically know HOW to fix this, but I'm frustrated. Maybe venting will help.

Finn poops indoors. A lot.

He understands that he is supposed to go outside. He doesn't pee inside the house except for a few circumstances where I'm sure his bladder was full to bursting (like an hour after the dog park... he'll trickle through the house). Pooping, for some reason... when he has to go, he goes. He doesn't hold it.

In his crate, he never goes... this is when he's loose.

And I know, I should be watching him... I've already gates the up-upstairs because he was pooping up there at least once daily... he got away with it too much and now he's into the habit of it. We mopped the entire upstairs twice, and gated it. It's been gated for three weeks, he went up there with me for FIVE minutes yesterday and he decided to squat. I yelled at him and brought him downstairs to go outside. At least I caught him that time.

I work in the basement. I feel bad locking him down here with me. Plus, I fear that he'll just start going down here... he hasn't yet, but then he never pooped on the main floor until I started blocking off the upstairs.

He gets PLENTY of opportunity to go outside... at least once every two hours while he's out, sometimes more frequently if he hasn't pooped in awhile and I'm worried about him going inside. But he still has problems, and still doesn't get it.

For the past month I've been treating him for pooping outside. I praise him and we usually play outside for awhile after. Pooping outside always leads to good things. when he goes in the house and I catch him (rarely) he gets yelled at and brought outside immediately. When I don't catch him... I pick it up, enzyme the area, and glare at him (the glare makes ME feel better).

So, I don't know... locking him down in the basement doesn't seem like it will work... especially because we're nearing a month with the upstairs being locked off and he still can't be trusted up there. I watch him, but he can literally be upstairs, pooped and done in one minute. I can't be leaping up anytime he escapes sight for a few minutes.

Any suggestions or thoughts?

i have a similar problem with steve though it's only in one room. if he doesn't have access to that room, problem solved. but not allowing him access is a huge pain in my butt because i need to use that room.

same thing- i need to be better about paying attention and i always mean to be....

i'm looking into the practicality of a cork.

I feel your pain. Mia is an indoor pooper too. Pee- she's fine, but she poops inside a lot, it's rather annoying. I do exactly what you do- treat outside, catch her in the act she gets corrected.

After this exam (the poor dogs are getting somewhat ignored these past few days) I'm contemplating tying her to me again while she's inside. I'm also thinking I may have to up the amount of walking we do or cut her big 1-2 hour walk into small ones. She seems to poop more often on walks as opposed to just being let outside. The issue is my schedule though is really not so good for me to do 30 minute potty walks in the middle of the day. It's frustrating!

Elegy when you figure out the cork, let me know!

I feel better that it's not just me. I mean, I KNOW the solutions and everything - but sometimes, things just happen, and then suddenly, they're a habit - especially with too-smart breeds.

Breaking him out of the habit is proving annoyingly ridiculous. I can just hope that with continued persistence and maturity on his part... it will go away. Soon. x__x

i'm dreaming that dream too

I think the intelligence works against you many times. Mia is the smartest pup I've had but she just picks up things so fast. One accident and she is pretty sure pooping inside is okay, lol. Same thing with clickers... if I mess up, she's marked a whole new behavior. (She still spins then sits from my accidental click once a few weeks ago)

Have you gotten him checked to see if there's any health related issue? And are you doing the scheduled meals thing so you know when he's going to have to go? Since it's hard to catch him in the act it'd at least be a little easier to know when you need to watch him the hardest.

I'd just say keep him tethered to you when you can't watch him real close. Back to square one!

Health-wise, he's fine. I think it's just a developed habit, unfortunately.

Meals are mostly on schedule. His big meal is almost always square at noon, and his dinner/small meal can vary between 7 and 9 pm. He's pretty predictable to when he will poop, withing the span of an hour and a half or so... and he always poops twice, usually about a half hour apart, in the morning. Which is weird, but predictable at least!

Tethering might be a good move again.

Someone is pooping in my room at night. Crating would be a possibility if the other 3 would stop trying to play with the locked up dog during the night. They only get fed once a day... how they still have poop in them during the night is beyond me

It's in the same spot I'm noticing.. off to get some more Natures Miracle.

As I'm sure you know, the only way to break the habbit is to be there to tell him no and bring him outside every time he does it in the house...

So if it were me, I'd tie him to me or keep him outside or in a crate when I couldn't watch him. Last night was actually the FIRST time I left Midge out of his crate while I was gone... and it was only for 3 hours... he behaved himself though

I hope you can solve it quickly! habits are a PAIN to break!

When you let him outside, what did he do then?

If he finished pooping, that's great. But if he didn't have to finish pooping, it could be that he just wanted to go outside. Are you taking him out on a leash in these situations? I would do that - take him to his spot where he usually potties outside, on leash, and be very boring for about 2 minutes, then take him back inside. Otherwise, if you make the outside trips too exciting, he will learn to poop to ask you to go play.

If they always potty in the same spot, an easy trick is to start feeding them in that spot. They will not want to potty where they get fed. You could even scatter food throughout the whole upstairs, or feed with a food dispensing toy that he has to roll around a large area.

I had this problem with Blaze at around...5ish months. I'd catch him in the act, pick him up by the scruff and take him outside while telling him what a bad thing he'd just done. Harsh? Maybe. But it worked.

Is Finn free-fed? If not... you should easily be able to track his usual pooping times during the day. If he poops once in the morning and once before bed, don't go inside until he's pooped during that time. Give him a pooping command and click/treat excitedly when he does it.

I am so grossed out by the thought of poop in the house, I make sure they both poop before bed and in the morning, adamently!!!! They know they aren't going back in until they've pooped. If Gonzo doesn't need to go, he'll even fake a squat. If he doesn't poop in his crate, I would honestly crate him unless you're watching him like a hawk. Preventing him from perpetuating the habit is the easiest way to break it.

Ditto what Erica said about the crate. I know you would like him to have more free space in the house, but using the bathroom in the house is very unsanitary and embarrasing if you have guests over. Plus, he's almost a year and really shouldn't be using the house as a restroom area. I guess in my book, thats a huge no no and should be stopped immediately.

Finn always goes out on a leash unless I specifically intend for us to stay out awhile and play.

I can't crate him whenever I'm not watching him like a hawk, or he'd be crated 11-12 hours a day. I am however working on containment to a certain area without disrupting the rest of the house too much.

He is relatively predictable with his poops, but at the same time he has moments where he poops and there is no rhyme or reason. And yes, he's out of my sight for a minute when this happens.

It's not easy to rope off the areas that he does this in and still keep him in an area where I can see him while getting things done. Yes, poop is disgusting. I attack the entire area it was with dousings of enzymes. I know what the solutions are, they just don\t work great with my current situation so I'm doing my best to figure out some solutions with the situation I'm given.

Sorry if I'm coming off as defensive, but as I said originally, I KNOW how to stop it, it's just a matter of making it work in a less-than-ideal situation. There's a lot on my mind these days and I'm the only one watching my dog; it can be hard to keep on top of him at all times all by myself and I'm doing the best I can.

That said, the suggestions are appreciated and I'm pondering just re-locating my small business laptop to the main floor.

Could you tie him to you, with a longer than normal lead? That way, he's still in your range, but has more space than a crate.

Also, might I ask why you feel bad for having him stay in the basement with you?

If you could relocate to an area(or room) that finn could be too, it would probably help.... at least until he stops going in the house...

That's the idea! I want to be somewhere where I can see the door, so Finn can learn to tell me when he needs to go out. Locking him in the basement would negate that opportunity. I'll crate him when I need to use the office in the basement.

That will probably work! I wish you the best of luck!!!

poopies in the house just stink!....in more ways than one! LOL.