Shadows new toilet habit

Shadow has now taken up a new toilet habit, we had him fully house trained but for the past few days he's been pooing in the spare room and eating it! He is driving me banana's with it, he waits till either I am on the loo or in bed to do it but today he did it just after he'd been out to the back garden and I caught him mid flow so I ran him back out to the garden to make him go, after him looking at me for 10 mins I took him back in, only for him to start again straight away, so I took him out again and he did nothing!!! He's driving me nuts with it, any help to why he's doing this and what I'm doing wrong would be appreciated

Is he only going to toilet in the spare room or is in other areas of the house as well once you'd taken him outside to finish off? If it's just the spare room, can't you just keep the door shut so he can't go in? Also, what are you cleaning it up with? It may be you're not removing the smell well enough to deter him going back there afterwards.

We have tried shutting the door but unfortunately it opens at the lightest touch so Shadow just jumps up and it opens and he gets shut in the room!! It started off in the bathroom but now always the spare room, I use straight to floor pine fragrance stuff which stinks to high heaven, that's why I bought it get rid of the poo smell

Hi Leanne firstly I would suggest your puppy isn't 100% house trained. Even when you think he is you need to go on reinforcing what you want him to do and where. Puppies often get setbacks, I would ignore it bite your lip and continue training.

Has anyone shouted at Shadow or punished him for relieving himself in the house at any time , maybe before you got him ? This could make him 'eat the evidence' because he may have come to associate 'it being there' with fear and being punished.


If Shadow accidently got shut in the spare room a couple of times and needed to go out to relieve himself, and was forced to use the spare room doing so could have quickly have become a habit. I would make sure he can't get in the spare room, tape the door or put something in front of it for now.

Have you taught Shadow to relieve himself on command. It is just normal house training with the use of a cue word to signal you wish him to eliminate (I say 'beclean') Here is how you do it....

Go with him when he goes out to the garden to relive himself and stay with him . When he is in the middle of reliving himself (so he associates the words with the action) say 'beclean' (or your chosen word) ,then when he has finished give him lots of praise and a hight value treat like a morsel of chicken. Eventually give a treat randomly, then just praise.

Pretty soon he will learn relieving himself outside for you on command brings a reward and he will want to repeat it .
As with all training it takes patience and consistency,don't expect instant success. Stick at it and you will get there in the end.

Thanks minihaha, I really couldn't tell you if he was shouted at before us but we haven't we just ignore it and just clean it up! He also doesn't like tea towels so we think he has been shouted at or flicked with a tea towel.
We have managed to keep him out the spare room since I posted last so fingers crossed he stays out. He doesn't pee/poo on command, I take him out morning, during the day, whenever he wakes up etc. Tonight we did a poo in the garden so I was on cloud nine, first time in days, it took me 25 minutes of waiting in the dark for it to happen but I wasn't letting in! I say good boy whenever he pees/poops outside. but I will start treats tomorrow

Hi Leanne timing is all important saying the chosen word when he is in the middle of going so that it becomes associated with the action, then the praise afterward .
Agg this training seems never ending, I have just trained two puppies to do this in quick succession + my sons Springer puppy, now we have a Lab puppy at work and she is learning too. I seem to spend my life standing on lawns saying 'beclean'

Hi Leanne,

we were told by Dog's Trust to use biological washing powder, dissolved in some water and scrub the area with it. It's the only thing that will completely get rid of the smell so your dog can't smell it.

Even though we can't smell it, the dog still can.

HTH

Thanks!! I think I'll be on my hands and knees scrubbing the floor today!

When you're out walking him as well, when he goes to the toilet give him loads of praise because it's still outside. No matter what age my dog is I always tell them how good they are for doing it outside.

Heidi