Occasional Poop Accidents In House.

[Guest robynod]

So we've had our girl for about 2 months now. She was in a home and then a foster home before we adopted her. She had an accident on the very first day we got her but mostly just because we weren't aware of her signs that she needed to go out. About 2 weeks ago on a weekend morning she pooped on the floor but I'll take ownership of that one because we slept in and likely didn't hear her whining. However, today my boyfriend is home from work and he said she disappeared for a minute or 2 and when he went in the room she had pooped on the floor. Usually she whines or will make a little bark at us to get our attention but he said she did nothing this morning. Funny thing is she pooped for me this morning before I left for work. Her usual routine is up at 6:30 to do her pee then she'll have breakfast and then I'll take he out to poop when I'm done getting ready for work. Then she goes all day in her crate until we come home around 5. Never had any issues in the crate until yesterday when we came home and she had tore up an old comforter we had in her crate with her for the past couple of weeks.

 

Whats going on? Whats the best way to deal with her occasional pooping around the house? She's never had accidents in her crate (knock on wood). But she does panic when we leave her alone if she isn't in her crate. And when she goes in her crate she doesn't seem to have any separation anxiety. So I'm really not sure whats going on with her lately. Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated!!

[Guest Giselle]

But she does panic when we leave her alone if she isn't in her crate. And when she goes in her crate she doesn't seem to have any separation anxiety.

Panic when left alone is a cardinal sign of separation anxiety. When she is crated, she may not have the space to show physical signs of anxiety, and you may have already left the house by the time she shows it. She also now has a history of being uncharacteristically destructive when left alone in the crate. She also pooped when she got left alone. Again, that sounds like a red flag of separation anxiety to me.

 

Also, she is still very new. Some dogs take a while to settle down, get attached, and then develop separation anxiety. I wouldn't disregard that as a strong possibility. Based on just this brief description, I think there are two things going on: She's probably not fully housetrained, and there is probably an element of SA. I would work on Alone Training, as well as going back to the basics and doing Housetraining 101. Never let her out of your sight when you're home. I do prefer keeping newly adopted dogs tethered to their owners via a waist leash, like the Buddy System. Alternatively, you can use exercise pens to keep her confined to one small area that you can supervise. If you have to leave her unattended, crate her. Meanwhile, make sure that you're slowly training her to adjust to being alone via Alone Training. It's a two-pronged approach. Good luck!

[Guest grey_dreams]

However, today my boyfriend is home from work and he said she disappeared for a minute or 2 and when he went in the room she had pooped on the floor. Usually she whines or will make a little bark at us to get our attention but he said she did nothing this morning.

 

Never had any issues in the crate until yesterday when we came home and she had tore up an old comforter we had in her crate with her for the past couple of weeks.

And when she goes in her crate she doesn't seem to have any separation anxiety.

 

What time was it when she had the accident? Sometimes if people are home, the dogs are a bit more active and then they have to go out more often. If he's going to be working from home on some days, can he just go ahead and take her out around lunch time, rather than wait for her to give a sign that she needs to go out?

 

Tearing up the comforter in the crate is a sign of anxiety.

 

You should do alone training with her and work up to letting her be free in the house when you are gone. Dogs that try to break out of crates can be seriously injured. If you search the forum you will pull up a lot of threads on alone training. She may not be fully housetrained yet either. In the beginning, it's better to take her out too often than not often enough, and reward generously (treats, praise) when she does her business outside.