Poopcident

[Guest Fluffy]

Badger pooped on my parents' living room rug tonight! He hadn't done his afternoon/evening poop, despite me taking him out multiple times to give him a chance, so I figured he just didn't have to go. My mom and I went out for about 40 minutes to pick up some dinner and left him alone with the run of the house, which we've done numerous times before with no problem. Took him out when we got back, and he peed and had an unusually small poop, so I figured everything was running fine and there just hadn't been a lot of poop to poop.

 

A few hours afterward, I happened to wander into the living room and found a giant pile of cold poo in the middle of the rug, which he could only have done while we were out. On the plus side, it was one of his firmest poops in a while, so I was able to scoop it relatively neatly, and we hit the carpet with the Nature's Miracle, etc, but me mother and I are both just kind of shocked that this happened. Badger has been pretty much a potty angel since the moment I brought him home - he only ever had one accident in the entire time I've had him, and that one was because he couldn't find me in the morning to get me to let him out, so understandably, he panicked and just went.

 

This is probably just because he missed his scheduled poop, had to go off-schedule, and I wasn't there to take him out, right? But shouldn't he be able/willing to hold it until someone can take him out to the potty-approved area, rather than just going inside? By the firmness of the poop, I don't think he was in any particular gastro distress or anything. How concerned should I be about this incident, with regard to his overall house-training? Should I stop letting him have the house to himself and start crating him again? Or is this just one of those things, and I should chalk it up to experience, and start making sure he poops before I leave him alone in the evening from now on (which I usually do, but I guess I got complacent this time with assuming he didn't have to go)?

Bonus question: How do I get that lingering smell of poop out of the rug?

Edited June 26, 2010 by Fluffy

[greysmom]

More Nature's Miracle. Also try vinegar and water.

 

This isn't his house?? Even if you've been there many times, he still may not be clear on the potty rules. He knows he shouldn't potty inside at *his* house. If this is his house, I would be inclined to think this is an isolated incident (unless it happens again).

[Guest Fluffy]

This isn't his house??

 

Right, this isn't his house. It is a house we spend a lot of time in, including overnights, but yeah, good point. I always have to remind myself that dogs don't automatically generalize the way we humans do.

 

And in fact, his one other accident was also at this not-his-house house. So, a very good point. Is there anything we can do to establish the potty rules as applying here, too? I'm a bit at a loss because potty training at MY house was literally effortless - he trained himself when we crossed the threshold and just automatically started going on the schedule I had, so there was never any particular "ok we don't go HERE or HERE but we do go HERE" lesson...

[Guest NJgrey]

I wouldn't worry about it. Ellie has pooped twice at my mom's house. Both times we weren't quite paying attention and she ran upstairs and went in my mom's bedroom

 

When it comes to houses that aren't hers, we now have a strict rule: out every three hrs, and if it's around the time she normally poops, we stay out until she goes. No questions asked.

 

I don't think it says anything about his housetraining. He's just learning how to be house trained in ALL houses, not just yours.

[TwiggysMom]

From your title, I wasn’t sure whether this was about an accidental poop, or an unsavory alternative to toothpaste (hmm, I guess that would have been spelled with an “o” rather than an “i" – but we may have just invented a new euphemism for coprophagia!)

 

To address the issue, as you suggested, it probably is best to listen you your inner alarm that says “he should have pooped, why didn’t he??” However, I can attest that excellent potty behavior at home is not necessarily indicative of potty behavior at homes away from home. Twiggy has never had an accident at home (except for an unfortunate incident when I unsuccessfully tried to switch her to a very rich, grain-free food); however, she has had accidents at every other home she has visited. Talk about embarrassing – how can I brag about my perfect girl after she poops on my mom’s white wall-to-wall carpeting?

 

If it’s any consolation, Twiggy only had to have one accident at any of the home away from homes, so maybe Badger will be OK there from now on!

[Guest kydie]

vinager and water are favs here, pooop happens,,guess I'm no help, but living with dogs, poop accidents can occure for different reasons, anxiety, illness, eating something they shouldn't don't beat yourself up over this, if you feel uncomfortable leaving him at your Mom's when you tow leave him alone,bring a baby gate and put him in a room that is easy cleanable

Edited June 27, 2010 by kydie

[Guest Fluffy]

From your title, I wasn’t sure whether this was about an accidental poop, or an unsavory alternative to toothpaste (hmm, I guess that would have been spelled with an “o” rather than an “i" – but we may have just invented a new euphemism for coprophagia!)

 

lol, yeah, I think that would be "poopsodent" if it were toothpaste. Ahhh, where else but on a doggie board would we be cheerfully discussing coprophagia

[Guest 4dogscrazy]

From your title, I wasn’t sure whether this was about an accidental poop, or an unsavory alternative to toothpaste (hmm, I guess that would have been spelled with an “o” rather than an “i" – but we may have just invented a new euphemism for coprophagia!)

 

lol, yeah, I think that would be "poopsodent" if it were toothpaste. Ahhh, where else but on a doggie board would we be cheerfully discussing coprophagia

had to look that one up