Pooping Inside- Help

[JoLou]

I have a almost 5 month old Bichon cross. Now first let me say that he has sone extremely well with this housebreaking- would that I had his bladder capacity- he will go all day (8hours) and all night (8-9 hours) with no mistakes and no whining. has not had a mistake in the house in ages EXCEPT....

there is a den off my office downstairs (read basement)- he does not go downstairs much- i am generrally on the main floor and he refuses to do stairs on his own- but when ever he gets in that room he poops on the floor within minutes. I have sprayed the carpet in the one area and tried putting down papers- but he would find a spot off.

this morning I decided to try again- he has not been in the room x 3 weeks. I let him outside and waited till he pooped and then brought him down. I covered the usual area but he did it again as soom as my back was turned.

He has now been put back upstairs. I do not understand why he is doing this or what I can do. The day will come when he can do stairs on his own and I want to clear this up first

suggestions???

I do not understa

[jessi76]

Originally Posted by JoLou

I have a almost 5 month old Bichon cross. Now first let me say that he has sone extremely well with this housebreaking- would that I had his bladder capacity- he will go all day (8hours) and all night (8-9 hours) with no mistakes and no whining.

that's great, but I hope he doesn't have to endure 8 hrs during the day. a 5 mth old pup should have a couple of breaks to relieve himself in that time, during the day.

Originally Posted by JoLou

there is a den off my office downstairs (read basement)- he does not go downstairs much- i am generrally on the main floor and he refuses to do stairs on his own- but when ever he gets in that room he poops on the floor within minutes. I have sprayed the carpet in the one area and tried putting down papers- but he would find a spot off.

If you want him to STOP going in there, why did you put down papers and give him access to the room? Seems to me that is just setting him up for failure. Deny him access to that room. Shut the door, or put up a baby gate, until he is reliably housebroken. (by reliable, I mean NO accidents anywhere in the house for months)

[JoLou]

Thanks for the post- to clairfy- he is is a kennelled off area during the day- 3 x 5 -while i am at work- he has a pad in there for peeing- but he has not used in in 2 months during the day or at night. Unfortuately I have to work and cannot come home to let him out- but is has not ben a issue he used the pad initally but has stopped x 2 months

I do not want to stop him going in that room- in fact I would like him to become used to that room- i want to let him have access to the room when we are downstairs (as that is the family room. I am just unsure why he only every goes poop there when he is 100% reliable in the rest of the house.

I have no problem with denying him access to that room if that would be the best.

Joanne

[jessi76]

thanks for the clarification!

ahhhh, now I understand a bit more... have you tried keeping him on leash in that room? if not, I'd try that. This way you will be well aware when he's squatting, can correct him, and whisk him outside. don't put papers down though, especially if he's pad trained! he'll assume he is ALLOWED to go there. it can send very mixed signals.

I would try the leash thing first, for a while. see if you make any progress that way. he's still only 5 mths, so it's understandable. My dog had a few accidents at that age too even though he was mostly housebroken.

[Brandy101bbb]

I would restrict his use to the room!

[mafiaprincess]

He has too much freedom too young..

A dog sees a crate as a den. Slowly we increase that space, and hopefully a dog learns in time your whole home is a 'den' therefore they don't potty in your home.

In having access on another floor, it may be too much freedom. Too far from the crate, too hard to see it as a 'den' space and therefore pottying there is bad. Back up a few steps, like suggested above leash your pup to you so you can pay attention to what's happening.

[technodoll]

i agree about the leash while he's in that room to correct him if he tries to poop (the timing of the correction is critical), and not laying any papers down. also make sure to thoroughly remove any of his smells from the carpet, diluted white vinegar works very well (wet the stains, scrub, let dry). sometimes when dogs smells a pee or poop scent, it triggers a "marking" response. good luck! he sounds like a wonderful puppy.