The appearance of an animal changes the atmosphere and decor in the house. His clumsy attempts to walk and jump cause affection, but the occasional puddles cause indignation. In the first months of life, this is a normal phenomenon and you will have to make every effort and be patient to potty train your baby. But if this happens systematically or an adult pet suddenly begins to mark its territory, then it is advisable to analyze the situation. Useful advice from breeders and veterinarians will help you stop your dog from crapping in the house at any age.
Causes
Little puppies don’t realize that they don’t go to the toilet in the apartment. They are kept in quarantine for a certain period of their lives until they have received all their vaccinations. As a result, puppies are left with no options but to relieve themselves on the carpet or blanket. To keep the house clean, you can organize a tray and diaper.
At first, the pet will sit in the designated place, play, sleep, and shit on the floor. When you start walking, you shouldn’t rely on instincts. The dog will frolic, explore the area around, but not relieve itself. In puppies, the urinary system is not sufficiently developed, and if the owner does not notice the pet’s throwing, it will defecate in the house.
When an adult trained dog begins to relieve itself on the floor, it is probably showing resentment. This often happens when a pet was surrounded by caring owners and suddenly remains alone in the house. No one is to blame, since it is difficult for the animal to understand and accept new circumstances.
Expert opinion
Anna Abramenko
An avid dog lover. Experience in veterinary medicine since 2009.
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It happens that a dog begins to shit in retaliation for an unfair punishment. Breeds are known to strive for dominance, and if the owner is too kind, a surprise awaits him.
We must not forget about diseases. If a dog eats exclusively dry food, it is at risk of developing problems in the genitourinary system. Hypothermia while walking can also cause incontinence.
Psychological reasons
- Lack of attention. Most likely, if you often leave the house, for example, to work, and lock the puppy at home, he may begin to protest in this way;
- Resentment towards the owner. A little similar in essence to the first reason, but it is more extensive. For example, this could be triggered by jealousy or possible punishment;
- Sometimes punishment provokes fear, which can cause the puppy to make a puddle. Then try to soften the methods of influence on the animal;
- Pet's emotionality. The dog begins to pee when he sees his owner. In order to correct this behavior, you need to calmly approach the problem that has arisen. Experts recommend not resorting to punishment. On the contrary, show less emotion when you come home. Wait until the puppy calms down and only then greet him;
- A stressful circumstance that causes a dog to develop a behavior disorder. Such situations could be moving, the appearance of a new pet or child, or any other unexpected changes;
An adult dog may shit at home because it has not been trained from childhood to relieve itself correctly. This problem can also be overcome. This is a matter of instilling discipline and training. It is important to understand that excessive severity does not mean discipline. When raising both a small pet and an older one, it is important to ensure the right approach.
The owner is the only person the dog trusts. In addition, it depends on us how the animal will feel, as well as whether we can really make friends and find a common language. Among the possible reasons why a dog shits at home, we looked at three. These are physiological problems, psychology and dog education. We hope our tips will help you. Sometimes it is very important to determine where such a syndrome came from. Only then can you select the correct correction methods.
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How to toilet train a puppy
House training a puppy takes an average of 5 months. With age, this process becomes more complicated, as a certain type of behavior is formed.
First you should arrange a place for the toilet. Pet stores sell special trays for dogs with low sides and diapers. The latter can be replaced with newspaper. Before a new family member arrives in the house, you need to remove carpets, floor coverings, etc.
First, you need to let your baby run around the house and explore it, and watch where he chooses a place to relieve himself. At these moments, the dog is controlled by instincts, it marks its territory. Where he walks most often, there is room for a litter box. The number of litter boxes is not limited, but should be reduced as your pet gets older.
A good quick training method is to cover the floor with newspapers. Every day you need to reduce the territory and move towards the tray. If your baby likes secluded places, it is recommended not to restrict access to them. For weaning, bowls with food and water are placed in places where puddles are common. This will automatically cause your pet to refuse to eliminate near this area.
Expert opinion
Anna Abramenko
An avid dog lover. Experience in veterinary medicine since 2009.
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It is also recommended to constantly monitor the dog. As soon as she starts tossing and turning, you need to take her to the tray or to the diaper. It is advisable to repeat these same actions after sleep and food. When the puppy has done all the work in the right place, he should be praised, stroked, and rewarded with a treat.
If a small dog relieves itself in the house incorrectly, the puddle can be moistened with a diaper and placed in the tray. This way, the puppy is shown where he should pee. At first, it is advisable to rarely change a diaper or rag, and do not rush to wash the floor under the toilet.
Dogs, unlike other animals, are naturally clean and quickly learn the rules of hygiene.
How to fight?
The choice of control methods in each case is individual and depends on the reasons that caused such a failure in behavior and on the character of the dog itself. Therefore, before developing a strategy to correct the current situation, you should understand why the dog behaves this way.
But, despite the individuality of each case, there are general tips that can help:
- Don't yell at your dog after finding feces . She will not understand why you are angry, she will not stop doing what she was doing, she will simply move the process away from your eyes and will try to hide feces and urine, that is, she will choose the most secluded places. When scolding your dog, speak sternly and confidently, loudly, but without shouting or showing excessive emotionality.
- Do not hit or poke your nose into puddles and heaps . There will be no positive result, but a negative one for sure. It will be in the mind of the pet that this is very bad and leads to painful sensations, and attempts will begin to hide the result of the harm in every possible way, often even eating feces, so as not to anger the owner.
- Be consistent in your walking . Create a comfortable schedule and never break it, even on weekends or in bad weather. It is possible to increase the walking time and their number, but not to decrease it. The pet must get used to a clear schedule, and if it is violated, it will react painfully.
- Reward the puppy you are training to walk with treats . A small treat, given after doing things outside, will quickly show the puppy the correctness of his actions and reinforce such behavior as acceptable.
- A sick dog should not be punished at all. He already feels guilty and unhappy because of the disease; the owner’s negative reaction to what is happening can create psychological trauma and lead to unpleasant mental changes. No matter how much heaps and puddles irritate you at this time, it is not the dog’s fault, she cannot control herself and suffers from it. But this cannot be encouraged either.
READ ALSO: How to stop a dog from peeing on the carpet
When choosing a training method and possible punishments, remember that the animal must respect its owner, but not be afraid.
Stop your dog from fouling in the house
It is impossible, without taking measures, to wean a grown-up puppy or an adult dog from crapping in the apartment. But it won’t be possible to act with force. In each individual case, it is necessary to take into account the reasons for bad behavior and eliminate them.
Puppy
From 6 months the baby begins to endure, the urinary system is ready for emptying by the hour. Walking is introduced. In the first days there will be an acquaintance with the new environment, and upon returning home, a trip to the toilet. Over the months of quarantine, puppies usually develop just such an algorithm of actions. To discourage your pet from shitting on the floor, you need to use the following tricks:
- Half an hour before going for a walk, feed the dog and wait until it starts looking for a place.
- It is recommended to stay in the air with her for a long time and give her something to drink at the first request. If she wants to go to the toilet in the house, she will soon not be able to stand it and go to the grass.
- When the long-awaited event happens, you need to praise the baby.
If the puppy turned out to be a tough nut to crack and peed or pooped in the apartment after a walk, then next time it is better to go with him to a place where other dogs gather and praise someone else’s pet for toileting.
Expert opinion
Anna Abramenko
An avid dog lover. Experience in veterinary medicine since 2009.
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The intervals between going out for a walk should not exceed 8 hours.
Adult dog
If an animal appears in the house from other owners, then you will have to be patient to accustom it to the street and stop it from crapping in the house. You can’t be angry at failures; for him, moving and changing his family is a lot of stress. The situation may also be due to resentment. You need to show care, don’t be lazy to stroke and praise him once again. A slow development of the regime is needed.
Expert opinion
Anna Abramenko
An avid dog lover. Experience in veterinary medicine since 2009.
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If suddenly your dog starts peeing or pooping on the carpet, you first need to find the reason in your relationship with it.
Causes:
- a child or another animal appeared in the house;
- a full-time job appeared;
- the pet is often left alone, he lacks attention and it does not matter whether he is an adult male mastiff or a female lapdog.
You need to endure and pay every possible attention to your pet.
If a dog deliberately shits in the house in the absence of the owner, you can try leaving him in a special cage. There must be food, water, soft bedding and favorite toys inside. You should start getting used to a new habitat when all household members are in the house.
Teaching an adult dog to go to his place, and not to the carpets, is possible only with determination and rigor. It is important to show disapproval and frustration, as many breeds are driven by a desire to dominate.
If an old dog begins to pee and poop in the house, it is recommended to take it to the veterinarian. You may have to come to terms with the problem due to a disease of the urinary system. The doctor can recommend hygiene products and talk about care.
What to do if your puppy shits
Small pets do not always learn to use the tray right away. In order to develop such skills in a puppy, you need to show maximum patience. A good attitude and perseverance of the owner in such a matter will certainly have a beneficial effect on the process of training and education. It is important to take into account a number of defining points. For example, until all vaccinations have been completed, the animal should not be taken outside at all. Therefore, when a puppy begins to play tricks at home, it is important to take into account his age. Up to two months, the dog is trained to use the litter box, and later, it is taken outside with you.
Through painstaking discipline training, the puppy will become more obedient. But to achieve the goal, you need to study a little about the peculiarities of animal training. Sometimes owners can start lessons on their own. In some cases, it is recommended to seek the help of a specialist who will advise you on how best to behave with your pet. You can train various skills, but first start with the simplest commands. These are “sit”, “lie down”, “forward” and others. If, for example, a puppy shits because he meets his owner too emotionally, developing the ability to show obedience can also help you. It is important to show understanding so that the dog does not begin to follow commands out of fear or protest. Of course, it is worth understanding that the consequences of improper upbringing can be much more serious. A dog reacts to what is happening around it in the same way as a person. It's surprising that a pet can experience stress, depression and other conditions.
Since some people are getting a dog for the first time or have not taken into account some feature in raising an animal before, you should set a goal to constantly learn something new. These could be books about your pet, instructive stories from other dog breeders, TV programs and consultations with specialists. But with all this, keep in mind that your dog has his own temperament and character, which distinguishes him from other representatives of the species. Therefore, monitor your dog's behavior to understand its habits. Then it will be easier for you to identify the psychological reasons why the dog shits at home and correct the problem.
Prohibited and permitted methods
It often happens that people take a dog into their family without studying the main points of raising it. This threatens permanent puddles and piles around the house, which over time will introduce a persistent smell of feces into the atmosphere of the apartment. If all efforts are in vain and the puppy continues to poop in inappropriate places as he gets older, it means the owners are doing something wrong.
What is not recommended to do:
- You cannot raise your voice at the animal while the pet is defecating and immediately after it. Such actions will develop the wrong reflex in the dog; it will begin to shit in secret places or eat excrement in order to hide traces of the crime.
- It is prohibited to hit an animal or poke its nose into a puddle. The pet will be afraid of such treatment.
How to proceed:
- Regularly take the animal to its place at the same time. You can’t take him outside or take him to the toilet today and skip all the events tomorrow.
- When the dog does the right thing, you need to praise it with treats, pet it, and hug it. In the future, she will do anything for approval.
- If you constantly repeat the same actions, the animal will remember them and will not crap in the house.
When a baby misbehaves, the owners should scold him with behavior, not screaming. It is important to show frustration and dissatisfaction. Representatives of decorative breeds and many large dogs can be punished by ignoring them. For them, there is nothing worse than lack of attention.
When to punish
Many amateur dog breeders make the grave mistake of punishing their pets for an offense several hours have passed since it was committed. If you were at work and didn’t see your pet shitting on the sofa or chewing on it, then you don’t need to take a belt and carry out educational measures. A dog can only remember events for a couple of hours. If you punish her for a trick that she has already forgotten about, then there will be no point in your actions. Even if you poke the dog’s face into a puddle on the floor, he still won’t understand anything.
The dog must be punished at the moment the “crime” is committed or immediately after.
How to punish a dog for disobedience? Many dog breeders believe that it is enough to deprive them of a walk (but not a walk in order for the dog to relieve itself). Let's explain the difference. While walking the dog, you need to give the dog time to go to the toilet. During a walk, she can play with other members of the genus or with the owner, and explore the territory. if the dog is punished, it is not allowed to do so.
It is very important to monitor your mood. If a dog scratched the furniture, and the owner scolded him strongly because he was angry at that moment, and the next time he just laughed at it, then the dog will not understand whether he is doing the right thing or not. The same offenses must always be punished. Below we will describe two ways to punish a dog.
Chemical and folk remedies
If regular trips outside and visits to the litter box do not help to wean your dog from peeing in the wrong place in the house, you can arm yourself with special means. They are sold in a wide range in veterinary pharmacies and pet stores. To choose the right product, it is recommended to consult and get advice from a specialist. He will tell you how to use it correctly and when to expect results.
The most popular means:
- Antigadin;
- Fresh;
- Puppy Trainer;
- Smart spray;
- Ordagone, etc.
Expert opinion
Anna Abramenko
An avid dog lover. Experience in veterinary medicine since 2009.
Ask a Question
They contain substances that cause urine to dissolve and odor to disappear. The effect occurs 1-2 hours after spraying. It is necessary to select a different product for each pet, since not everyone reacts equally to the repeller.
If you don't trust chemicals, you can treat the carpet and floor with household products from the kitchen cabinet.
- Medical alcohol. After applying it, the dog will avoid the scalded area for a long time. It is recommended to place swabs with alcohol around the perimeter of the apartment.
- Vinegar. The pungent smell scares the dog away and forces him to look for a new toilet.
- Soda. It is enough to sprinkle it on a puddle, and it will neutralize the urine.
- Citrus. To wean a puppy from shitting, fruit skins are laid out around the house, and the marked areas are treated with their juice.
It is recommended to be careful when handling folk remedies so as not to harm your pet. Too aggressive solutions and products can burn the nasal mucosa.
Common mistakes
Teaching a puppy or adult dog to go potty correctly takes a lot of work. Animals, like children, understand only a good attitude, so many novice breeders make a number of mistakes:
- harshly punished for pranks;
- pronounce the nickname too loudly and in a negative connotation;
- equip one toilet;
- close the bathtub, the room where the dog likes to relieve itself;
- beat the animal;
- change the location of the tray;
- walk with your pet at different times;
- do not follow the meal schedule;
- They are not raising a dog.
Veterinarian advice
If a person loves a dog, it will definitely reciprocate. Of course, one cannot ignore and silently remove puddles and piles from it; it is necessary to build a correct line of behavior.
Veterinarian advice:
- if the baby has done something dirty, then it is advisable to talk to him in a stern tone;
- when the dog starts looking for a place to shit, you need to drop something or hit it to distract attention and quickly take it to the toilet;
- While walking, it is recommended to find a friend for your pet. He will become an example of behavior.
- It is advisable to play with the dog in the fresh air until its intestines and bladder are full.
If a male dog cannot be trained, then perhaps it is time to castrate him or breed him. As an alternative, drugs are used to regulate sexual heat.
Many families adopt a dog for fun and do not train it. Therefore, problems begin with the animal’s behavior and toilet. But if you systematically deal with the animal, then these problems can be avoided.
Features of dog psychology
All dogs are pack animals, oriented toward their owner. They socialize well and try to please people in everything. They have a simple psyche, incapable of complex thought processes. However, they are good at grasping the cause-and-effect relationship, which is the basis of any training and education. It is believed that they cannot take revenge, but they have sufficient memory to remember the attitude towards them. Excessive cruelty and aggressiveness of people leads to mental deformation, fearfulness and unstable behavior appear.
Attitudes towards punishment differ among different breeds. For example, toy terriers and Italian greyhounds only need one disapproving glance from their owner. Temperamental dogs (Asian breeds, terriers and schnauzers), as well as all hunters, require more intense exposure.
