Owning a dog can come with a lot of scenarios that can feel nerve-testing. Some things can be easily solved while others may take some time. Some scenarios are connected to puppies and their phase of adapting to living in your home.
Other scenarios can be sudden, and mostly done by dogs that are already trained for something; for example, dogs that are potty trained.
Peeing and pooping in the right places is something that we teach our dogs from the moment that they come into our home. Accidents can happen, but it is on us to figure out why our dog pooped inside the house.
The first question that pops into our mind, and that is connected to this problem, is: ˝How do you punish dogs for pooping in the house?˝
This topic might be a bit sensitive, and it can start quite a debate, but we are here to give you the best information that we could gather, which is both helpful and humane.
How To Punish Dogs For Pooping In The House
The first thing that we want to emphasize is that we are totally against hitting your dog or any other type of inhumane punishment when your dog has done something that is not really good, and that is not according to the rules that you have set.
There can be a lot of scenarios that can contribute to certain behavior, like pooping in the house. We will list all the possibilities and reasons of why dogs poop in the house later on.
However you choose to punish your dog for pooping in the house is up to you, but we made a list of things that are humane, and that can do the job.
We hope that some of these will be helpful, and that you will solve this problem quickly. Now, we can start with the list of what you can do, and things that you should never do.
1. Point The Poop To Them
There are a couple of versions of this, and as a dog owner, you need to think of the best way for you and your dog. The first thing you can do is take them to the place where they made the mess and just point to the poop.
After that, you should take them out either in the yard or wherever you plan to take your dog to do its business. This way, they will realize that they can not poop inside the house, but in the place where you take them.
This might take a couple of attempts, especially if they are puppies.
The most important thing is to stay as calm as possible, but they need to sense your energy that you are not happy with them.
Another way to do this is to bring the dog’s nose as close to the poop as possible without them actually touching the poop. For some dogs, just pointing to the poop will not be enough, and they might not realize what you are trying to show them.
You should never yell, but instead, use positive reinforcement in a bit more serious tone. After a couple of minutes of you showing them the mess, you need to take the dog out as well, even though they might not need to do their business at that point.
If you yell or shove their face in the poop, they can get scared of you and develop some kind of trauma. That is something you don’t want to do, and this is the reason why we emphasize doing it as calmly as possible.
Never hit your dog because they might not forgive you later on.
2. Just Ignore Them
This method can be tricky, and it may not be effective for a lot of dogs. It depends on whether or not your dog craves your attention or if they are more on the independent side.
It is a known fact that every dog needs a bit of attention whether they are independent or not, and when you ignore them, they will sense that something is wrong. The most important thing is for them to know that you saw the poop in the house, and that this is the reason why you are ignoring them.
You will need to bring your dog to the room where they have pooped, and then remove them from the room. You can also combine this with pointing out the poop, and then leaving the room.
Once they realize that you are ignoring them because of the mess that they made, they will most likely try to apologize. Their way of apologizing is suddenly becoming attached to you and not leaving your side.
They might also bring toys to you as their way of showing you that they need attention. Once you see that they feel sorry and that they have not repeated the mistake again, you can continue normally communicating with them and giving them all the attention.
This might not be the most effective way for a young puppy because it might not connect the change in your behavior with it pooping in the house.
A trained dog will have more capacity to figure out what the problem is because they already know the rules.
3. Give Them Time Out
This can be interpreted in a couple of ways. This is a bit different than just ignoring them because when you give them time out, you will give them some reaction where they will be able to figure out that they did something wrong.
Usually, people tend to give them the time out in the room where they made the mess. You need to make sure that no other family member interacts with the dog… only you.
This way, they will sense that the other family members are ignoring them because of their bad behavior, and you are the one who is kind of making them feel guilty a bit.
The duration of the time out depends on you. There is no strict rule on how long they should be punished in this way. A lot of dog owners will feel bad, and they will not leave them in time out for more than 15 minutes, but don’t worry – that does the trick as well.
When the time out is over, try not to go into normal and happy behavior immediately. Try to look angry and calm.
4. You Should Never Use The Crate As Punishment
You are aware that when you were crate training your dog, the main thing was to make the crate feel as a safe place so the dog would enjoy spending time there. For that reason, using the crate as punishment will defeat the beginning purpose, and will only make the dog confused and suddenly make it hate its crate.
The crate will most likely be the place where the dog will try to hide from you when it knows that it did something wrong.
If you get angry and send the dog to the crate for some time out, it most likely won’t know how to behave or feel. Some dogs might not even figure out that you are angry and that they are being punished because they love their crate and will not look at it as a type of punishment.
Other dogs might feel overwhelmed and will not know how to behave properly. They will most likely connect the crate as something bad after that.
What Do You Do To Stop Your Dog From Pooping In The House?
Seeing feces in the house is never a pleasant surprise. A lot of we dog owners will most likely get angry, but try not to show it too much, and that will be completely normal.
We have seen some ways of punishing your dog for pooping in the house, but you need to know that there can be a lot of factors involved as to why your dog did it in the first place.
It can even happen a couple of times during a certain period of time, and you need to figure out what is causing that.
We listed some things that you can do that might prevent your dog from pooping or even peeing in the house ever again. Of course, this depends on the reason that we will be listing later on.
1. Take Your Dog To The Vet
This might sound extreme for this situation, but trust us… the underlying problem might be one health issue or another. Usually, you will be able to notice that something is wrong with your dog, and that pooping in the house is not the only thing that will seem off.
You would not take your dog to the vet if it had an accident once in a lifetime or once every year or so. Taking your dog to the vet will be the potential solution when your dog has accidents quite often in short periods of time.
Unfortunately, when it comes to this, your dog most likely has some issues. It can be something that is not that severe, but it can also be a serious health problem.
2. Take Them Outside Often
It is a known fact that puppies need to go to the bathroom frequently. This is the part of training and raising a puppy that can be quite overwhelming and take up a lot of time, but it is a normal process.
Puppies will need to go out almost every two hours depending on how much they eat, drink, and sleep. If you do not take them out that often, you can expect your new puppy to poop and pee in the house.
You can also experience that your puppy wont poop outside. This can be a problem, and you need to figure out why it is happening. Don’t worry – while they are young, they are easily trainable so you can fix this problem in no time.
An adult dog will have more control over its bowel movement, and it can go out two to three times a day, which is impossible while it is a puppy.
Every dog will get used to a certain amount of time that their owner is taking them out. If you all of a sudden make that time less frequent, then you can expect your dog to poop in the house.
Older dogs will, in a way, turn right back as they were when they were puppies because their bowel movement will not be that great. You will either need to take your senior dog out more, or make those times out longer.
3. You Need To Clean The Poop Thoroughly
One of the most common reasons why your dog will poop over and over again in the house is that it can smell the poop. You need to make sure that you break up the poop enzymes so that your dog will not be able to smell it.
You are probably aware that dogs have an amazing power of smell, and that they can smell things that we humans can not.
Sometimes, we might think that we have cleaned the poop completely by using some chemicals that smell nice, and that the nice smell has covered the poop smell. We need to tell you that this is not the case. A lot of dogs will be able to smell both the pleasant and the poppy smells.
There are a lot of chemicals that can be used that are able to destroy the unpleasant smell. There are also some specific deodorizers (enzymatic cleaners) that are made specifically for this problem. This way, you will be sure that your dog is not going to smell the poop anywhere.
If you do not want to use these, you can always use some vinegar or either store-bought or homemade remedies.
4. Try Not To Make A Big Deal
We already mentioned that you need to make sure that your dog knows that it did something wrong. The only way for them to know that is for you to show them one way or another.
Being super nice or being extremely angry is never a good option. You need to find the perfect balance.
If you are extremely nice, then your dog can confuse that with it being rewarded for pooping in the house, and that is something that you do not want at any cost.
If you react angrily, you can make your dog extremely scared. This can lead to them developing some kind of mental problem, and the pooping problem may reappear.
5. Take Them Out For Longer Periods Of Time
The first thing that we want to say by this is that we do not mean that you are not taking your dog out regularly. Dogs that have high or medium energy levels will most likely spend their outside time playing and exploring.
This is one of the reasons why these pooches do not go to the bathroom because they just do not have the time since they are playing a lot.
This might sound silly to some people, but it happens frequently. You can notice that your dog is going to the bathroom only on their way back home after they are done playing.
If you notice this, you have two options. Either shorten their playtime or take them out for longer periods of time.
When they are done playing, try to find an area on your route back home that doesn’t have a lot of people and dogs going by. This way, your pooch will be calm, and will realize that they need to pee and poop.
6. Relying On The Crate Is Not A Good Idea
This might sound confusing, but we will explain. It is a known fact that dogs, just like cats, do not like to get their space dirty, which includes the crate or even the kennel. Because of this, some people think that the dog will hold it all in as long as it is in the crate.
This might be true because adult dogs can control their bladder and bowel movements, but this is not good for the dog.
The most likely scenario that will happen is your dog pooping and peeing in the house as soon as it leaves its crate.
This is not the only thing that can happen, but it can also have an effect on the dog’s behavior and health. That is something that you do not want to mess with because it can make your and your dog’s life a lot harder.
7. Find Them The Right Pooping Surface
This is also something that can sound strange to some people, but there is an explanation behind it. If you own a dog, especially for a longer period of time, you will be able to notice that they like to poop in places like grass or dirt.
Both of those surfaces are soft, and it makes the dog comfortable to poop on. If you live in a place or suddenly move to a place that has a lot of concrete and not a lot of grass or dirt, your dog might have some problems pooping.
They will not feel comfortable, and they will most likely hold it in. But, they can not hold it in forever… oh, no. As soon as they come home and feel more comfortable, they will poop. This is not the ideal situation, but you can not blame them.
Try to find a soiled area where your pooch will be able to comfortably go to the bathroom.
8. Make Sure That They Are Prepared For The Weather
Depending on the area that you live in, you need to make sure that your dog is well-equipped. It is not only important that you make enough time to take them out regularly, but you also need to make sure that your dog is prepared to be outside for a longer time.
If you live in an area where the weather is not extreme, you will have no problems. This is for the people who live in places that have either too hot or too cold of climate.
If you live where it is very cold, then you need to make sure that your dog has a proper jacket if it has a short coat. Doggie boots or shoes are also good options for both kinds of weather because they protect the dog’s paw pads.
If the weather is extreme, you should try housetraining your dog. This is not the ideal option, but it will most likely not be the forever option. This is a good alternative when your dog is not able to go outside.
If they are not able to go outside, you can use pee pads and teach them with certain training methods that this is something where they will need to pee and poop.9. Make Sure That Your Dog Is Not Stressed
One of the reasons why dogs show some strange behaviors is stress or any other kind of mental struggle. This can be quite difficult to detect, and this is one of the reasons why it is extremely important to get to know your dog well from puppyhood all the way to its senior years.
This might not sound as scary as, for example, your dog having cancer, but it needs to be taken seriously. Your dog pooping in the house will most likely not be the only sign of stress.
They can develop many different issues that can make the quality of their life worse.
9. Schedule Your Dog’s Mealtime
It is a good thing to make a schedule for when your dog will eat for multiple reasons, and one of those reasons is for them to adjust to their bathroom needs.
This might not sound that connected to some people, but a lot of dogs will develop the habit or need to go to the bathroom as soon as they eat.
If you give them food randomly throughout the day or feed them a bit all day, they might need to poop or pee at the most random of times. This way, they do not have their habits fixed and organized, and it can result in some accidents in the house.
10. Schedule Your Dog’s Bathroom Breaks
The best way to make sure that your dog will not have an accident in the house is to schedule the time when you will be taking them out. Dogs will get used to that time frame, and they will sense when you will be taking them out.
It can happen that you go a bit off the schedule, but that is not a big problem. However, if you do that a lot, and miss it by a big time frame, you can confuse your dog, and it might pee and poop inside the house.
What Are The Reasons For Your Dog Popping In The House?
Believe it or not, there are quite a few reasons for your dog pooping inside the house. Some may be serious while others are easily fixed, and are not that invasive. Whatever the case might be, you, as a pet owner, need to make sure that it is solved.
Here are some of the reasons for your dog pooping inside your home.
1. Mental Issues
This might sound really scary when you read it like this. We do not want to say that it is not, but it is for sure less stressful and easier than some medical issues.
Some of the mental problems include stress, separation anxiety, depression, etc. The main reason why all of these are scary is because they are hard to detect. Since dogs do not know how to talk, they can not tell us what is bothering them.
All of these will have some similar symptoms, and it can be hard to figure out what exactly the problem is. Another thing is that these can have symptoms of some other medical problems.
The best thing you can do is take your dog to the vet when you notice some of the symptoms in order to make sure that there is medically nothing wrong with them.
After that, you will have a big obligation in figuring out what your dog is suffering from, and what has caused any of these mental problems.
2. The Dog’s Age
This is one of the biggest factors for your pooch pooping in the house. Puppies are most likely to have an accident here and there when they just arrive at your home. It is a long process of adaptation, and they need to figure out that they can not poop and pee in the house.
A puppy will learn that it can not do anything inside the house, but it might not control its bowel movements as an older dog, and accidents could happen.
Senior dogs can also have problems with pooping and peeing inside the house. They will not do it on purpose, but they will most likely lack the energy to go outside in time.
They will also lose their bowel movement control, and their digestive system will not work as it used to; thus, things can happen. Try to take them for longer walks so they have time to do everything that they need. If you see them not being able to handle that, you can always try a diaper.
3. Medical Conditions
Whatever dog training that you have used, and whatever your dog has learned will go down the drain when it has some medical issues, but that is perfectly normal.
No dog owner likes to see their pet sick, and if an accident happens, the dog can not be blamed. It will be frustrating and overwhelming for both you and the dog, but try your best to be there for your dog.
The most logical medical issue that can cause your dog to poop inside the house is stomach issues, like diarrhea. It is extremely hard to clean the carpet of diarrhea, and this is why we advise you to remove all of the carpet.
This way, you will have more time to spend with your pooch, and to make sure that it is loved and nurtured.
4. Adoption
Dogs that are adopted can have certain behavioral problems, including pooping in the house. Some dogs will just feel stressed after moving into the new environment.
There are cases where dogs were unfortunately previously abused, and did not recover from the trauma completely. There are some examples where abused Pit Bulls showed this behavior.
Even though these dogs have a tough exterior, they are extremely gentle dogs. They will take any mistreatment very poorly, and they will need a lot of time to get better.
5. Weather
Dogs will avoid going outside to go potty if the weather is too hot or too cold, and that is completely normal. You need to make sure that your pooch has everything that will protect them from any type of weather.
When it is too hot outside, your dog will need to have its paws protected because the heat can damage them, and this can cause your dog to have some serious wounds.
When the weather is too cold, you need to give them some clothes so they are kept warm. The walks should be short, but efficient.
If your dog refuses to go out during these times, you need to teach it to go potty in a certain place inside the house that is specifically made just for that purpose.
6. Moving To A New Home
Some dogs are not the best when it comes to adapting to a new environment. It can cause them a lot of stress, and they can get extremely confused. Since they don’t know how to communicate, they will most likely do some random things to show you that they are not that happy, and are confused by the new place.
One of those things is pooping in the house. Try your best to stay calm if this happens because it is not only a big change for you, but for your dog as well.
Try to bring some familiar things into the new home, like a piece of furniture or their toys and crate. This way, they will have something familiar, and they might get used to the new home quicker.
7. After Neutering Or Spaying
Spaying or neutering is a medical procedure that will most likely result in your dog staying calm, and not being able to move as well as before the procedure. Don’t worry – this does not last for a long time, but it can make the dog a bit confused.
The vet will tell you to make sure that your dog is not moving a lot, and not being very active.
Because of this, they might not have the will and energy to go potty outside, and they can poop or pee inside the house. Since you are aware of the issue, you should not get angry with your dog.
Keep in your mind that this is only temporary, and that your dog will go back to its old habits in no time.
RELATED: When To Take The Cone Off Of A Dog After Being Neutered, And 4 Cone Alternatives
8. Bringing Home A New Puppy Or Baby
Some dogs do not get acclimated when it comes to any change that will make their dynamic different. This includes bringing home a new pooch or a baby. They will feel like they are no longer the center of attention, and they will not like that.
This, of course, depends from dog to dog, but some dogs will show you that they need more attention. Some dogs will become attached to you all of a sudden or they will show their unhappiness by pooping in the house.
You will need to do a lot of preparation in order to avoid this behavior. The best option is for the dog to get raised with the baby or other dog, but that can not always be planned.
Sometimes, things will happen and decisions will be made, and some doggies will need to take some time to adapt.
To Sum It All Up
Dogs are truly a pleasure to own and raise. These furry friends will become a part of your family, and will make your and your family member’s life much more exciting and happy. The thing you need to know is that there will be situations that will test your nerves and way of thinking.
One of those scenarios is your dog pooping inside your home. The first question that will probably pop into your mind is: How do you punish a dog for pooping in the house? This is completely normal, and we hope that we have helped you with the list that we made.
We also made a list of things you can do to prevent this from happening, as well as all of the possible reasons that cause your dog to make a mess inside the house.
Whatever the reason might be, the key thing that we want to emphasize is to stay calm and try to solve the problem in a way that will not make you and your dog stressed.