# Tired of the pooping in my house ...grrr!!



## Mom2Izzo (Jul 1, 2009)

Izzo is almost one year old and still pooping in my house. Uggh! When will he be COMPLETELY housebroken and TRUSTWORTHY not to go in the house. Also, he's still snacking on Cassie's poop in the yard. OVER IT!!!


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

Fred took me awhile to break. It wasn't like he had accidents everyday, but he would have setbacks. I would find the places he like to go, and I would put treats, toys and dog beds all over that area. It got to the point I was sprinkling dry food all over the family room! He got it though. He learned that was his eating, play and sleeping area!


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## DorothyS (Aug 11, 2009)

It sounds as though Izzo doesn't understand the housetraining and you may have to go back to basics again. Outside frequently and on a regular schedule. Lots of praise and treats when he does it outside. In a crate when you can't watch him or are not around. It seems hard, but it may be the only way to correct the problem.

Perhaps check the archives and internet sites on retraining an older dog. Good luck - it must be very frustrating!


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## pjewel (Apr 11, 2007)

Nicole, I know how frustrating it can be. My problem was more with peeing than pooping but the issue is the same. I find, even now, Milo will let me know when he has to go (even in the middle of the night) and if I don't respond he's back to his old tricks. However, unless I'm comatose at 3:30 a.m., I respond and he does the right thing. To clarify, he is no longer peeing in the house but when he came home from his last outing, he had loose runny poops for at least a week. It was disgusting and woke both of us every night. Thank God that's over.

I think Linda's idea is a good one. Get him to associate the spots with food and toys instead of his toilet.


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## Paige (Sep 12, 2006)

Does he have a way that he tells you that he needs to go potty? My four ring a bell and will ring it over and over when they really have to go. Like come on mom, I need to go NOW. Maybe teaching him something like a bell would help him commuicate to you if you haven't done this already.


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## ivyagogo (Sep 11, 2007)

Gryff still has accidents and he is almost 3.


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## KSC (Aug 6, 2009)

Kipling has developed a certain bark and some body language that tells me very clearly it's time to let him out. I ask him 'do you need to go out?' and he responds with a low bark and a bit of a turn of the head like he's wanting to lead me to the door. This evolved. I agree with Dorothy in that it may be wise to limit that cute as a button Izzo back to crate etc. and really reinforce outside is the place to poo.


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## waybrook (Sep 13, 2009)

I can sympathize Nicole - Panda had a setback last week and we had a run (ignore the pun) of pooping in the house. It was a combination of me not paying attention to her signs and her having eaten something that didn't agree with her. We did the "starting over" and she was confined to her ex-pen when I couldn't watch her. After a couple of days I eased up on the ex-pen confinement and she's back to doing well (knock on wood). She isn't good about telling me she needs to go - sometimes she just stares at me, and I'm supposed to know what she wants, and I miss the cue. Don't know what it is about small dogs - my retrievers were MUCH easier to housebreak than Panda has been....


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## good buddy (Feb 20, 2007)

Marley will be 2 in March and he is doing great as long as I keep to a schedule! However, I still wouldn't call him house trained and leave him loose when I'm gone or he would most likely potty in the house. I keep a chalkboard and mark everyones poops. For the most part they are on a pretty regular schedule so if someone has missed their usual poop time, I know not to leave them alone and un-watched. 
Like, Marley didn't go this morning, so if I take a shower now, he is high-risk. Better to wait and take him out again soon to try again.


Maybe a chart would help with Izzo?


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## Redorr (Feb 2, 2008)

Oh, Nicole, many of us feel your pain. In reading all the poop threads over the years, it seems there are two tracks. Those who get a signal that the pup has to go out and those who are on a strict feeding/eliminating schedule. Lola is in the first, but basically I know her timing. Yesterday I was working on the phone at my desk from 6AM-10AM and she started agitating, so I held her on my lap for the last hour. When I got off the phone, I took her out, no poop! And sure enough, later that morning - poop in the dining room. First time (not SA related) in months. She is 2 1/2. I think the strict schedule people may have the answer, feeding and going out at the same times every day. But I doubt I could be consistent that way. So I am a slave to my Princess Pee and Poop.

It is worth it to set things up so you can catch Izzo in the act and correct the behavior when it happens. Otherwise you are at a loss for behavior modification.


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## littlebuddy (May 30, 2007)

i know django needs a little extra time when he's out there pooping. can't rush him. what about chnanging the way you are feeding your dog, maybe you need to change the feeding scheudle to control the pooping schedule. 

i know my dog poops 2x a day first thing in the morning and around 3-4:00. i feed him 1x a day. have you transitioned him to adult food now? maybe that could help? don't know, wish i had the answer


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## Amy R. (Jul 1, 2007)

Nicole, I totally feel for you. It is SO completely exasperating. Heath has been a real challenge. At one and one half he finally seems to be getting it, so don't give up yet. 
We stick to a very strict schedule. Of course, with his pancreatitis, everything went out the window for a few days. ;-( But hopefully we're getting back on course. Lots of good advice here from other forum members. . . .for us, partial confinement to the family room/kitchen, and a strict schedule were the answer. But he's not trustworthy like Biscuit, who would never poop in the house, EVER. Good luck!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Do those of you with on-going potty issues have a litter box or pee pad alternatives for your dog(s) inside the house? If I had to rely on Kodi letting me know he needed to go out, I'd be in trouble. He's very quiet about it. Likewise, while he's USUALLY pretty regular, there are days when his second poop of the day varies widely in terms of time. So scheduling would be difficult. He also hates being out in the very cold weather, and definitely needs his time to "think" about getting ready to poop.<g>

But because we have the litter box, none of the above is an issue. He goes when he needs to go, and he knows where to do it. The one thing he does that is actually pretty funny is that he doesn't like the poop to REMAIN in the litter box if at all possible. So AFTER he goes, he comes to get me, and then solemnly follows me into the bathroom and watches me flush it away. Then he's happy again.:dance:

I LOVE THE LITTER BOX!!!!:whoo:


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## good buddy (Feb 20, 2007)

krandall said:


> But because we have the litter box, none of the above is an issue. He goes when he needs to go, and he knows where to do it. The one thing he does that is actually pretty funny is that he doesn't like the poop to REMAIN in the litter box if at all possible. So AFTER he goes, he comes to get me, and then solemnly follows me into the bathroom and watches me flush it away. Then he's happy again.:dance:
> 
> I LOVE THE LITTER BOX!!!!:whoo:


If I HAD a litter box in the house the new issue would be that Marley would skip all his meals from being so full from eating all the poop!

Your Kodi lets you know he has pooped and asks you to flush it, I would prefer my "kids" tell me they need to poop before hand and ask me to open the door.


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

I know it is frustrating....but, let's see if we can tweak some stuff! 

- How many poos does your pup have each day? You need to know when poos will occur, because you can pretty much expect the poos. 

- Change the feeding schedule, so you know when the poos will occur.

- Sprinkle dry kibble all over the favorite poo sites (I need and It worked).

- Give your pup plenty of time to do his poo business outside.

- Watch for those signs that your pup is going to poo or pee....I watched Dexter like a "HAWK" until he was trust worthy.

- Praise like you are having a party when pup poos or pees outside (Make your neighbors think, that you have lost your mind!).

- Oh! If you see your pup in that favorite area in the house, immediately take the pup outside and say "Go Potty." Give the pup plenty of time to do his business.


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## MyFreddie (Oct 25, 2009)

I can very much relate to your pain. My Freddie is 7 months old and STILL not trained. It is not that he is having accidents. I have a litter box and he will use it most of the time to pee but poops on my rugs. The first thing in the morning he always uses the litter box but the rest of the day NO. I will take him to the litter box and 2 minutes later he will poop in the floor. I am sooo at my wits end with this. I was so excited on Sunday that he went three times by himself to the litterbox and I thought he finally understands but I was wrong. I have bought several books and just am not sure what to do next. Good luck .....


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## murphymoesmamma (Apr 1, 2009)

Nicole, I hope for your sake that Izzo is house broken soon. On the bright side poop is a whole lot easier to clean than urine unless he has loose poops. My Murphy still marks like crazy. I have pretty much resigned mysef to using ALOT of Nature's Miracle. I am still working with him and hope that some day he will get it. He never poops anywhere but outside or in his litter box but holy moley anything vertical is fair game! I tell DH not to stand in the same place for too long or Murphy may use him as a fire hydrant!


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## murphymoesmamma (Apr 1, 2009)

krandall said:


> Do those of you with on-going potty issues have a litter box or pee pad alternatives for your dog(s) inside the house? If I had to rely on Kodi letting me know he needed to go out, I'd be in trouble. He's very quiet about it. Likewise, while he's USUALLY pretty regular, there are days when his second poop of the day varies widely in terms of time. So scheduling would be difficult. He also hates being out in the very cold weather, and definitely needs his time to "think" about getting ready to poop.<g>
> 
> But because we have the litter box, none of the above is an issue. He goes when he needs to go, and he knows where to do it. The one thing he does that is actually pretty funny is that he doesn't like the poop to REMAIN in the litter box if at all possible. So AFTER he goes, he comes to get me, and then solemnly follows me into the bathroom and watches me flush it away. Then he's happy again.:dance:
> 
> I LOVE THE LITTER BOX!!!!:whoo:


Karen your Kodi is a sweetheart! I love Murphy's litter box too but I sure wish he would always pee in it!


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

Will two litter boxes work? One for pee and one for poo? Just wondering?


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## KSC (Aug 6, 2009)

krandall said:


> The one thing he does that is actually pretty funny is that he doesn't like the poop to REMAIN in the litter box if at all possible. So AFTER he goes, he comes to get me, and then solemnly follows me into the bathroom and watches me flush it away. Then he's happy again.:dance:
> 
> I LOVE THE LITTER BOX!!!!:whoo:


This is incredibly funny


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## Paige (Sep 12, 2006)

MyFreddie said:


> I can very much relate to your pain. My Freddie is 7 months old and STILL not trained. It is not that he is having accidents. I have a litter box and he will use it most of the time to pee but poops on my rugs. The first thing in the morning he always uses the litter box but the rest of the day NO. I will take him to the litter box and 2 minutes later he will poop in the floor. I am sooo at my wits end with this. I was so excited on Sunday that he went three times by himself to the litterbox and I thought he finally understands but I was wrong. I have bought several books and just am not sure what to do next. Good luck .....


I had one that regressed at seven months of age and peed on my rugs. I took up all rugs for about a month and it solved itself. Make sure they are good and clean before putting them back down.

I have four housetrained havanese ranging in age from two to four, it can be done. Don't give up.


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## sandydlc (Aug 8, 2009)

Lucy was doing better until she ate some bad food last week and now we're back to pooping at peeing on the floor/carpet again. My husband has declared her "untrainable". I now find myself sneaking to flush the poop just to avoid a fight.

She did fine all day today. I had to stay home with a cold and was able to watch her carefully all day. This evening when everyone was home, I took her out before starting dinner and she peed right away, then came inside and not five minutes later, she pooped in the hallway. At least she's doing it on the hardwood floor where it's easier to clean.

I was talking to my daughters the other day and we figured out that she has literally peed and pooped in every room of our house minus two of our three bathrooms and the laundry room!!!

I brought this up in another thread but I think I'm going to go ahead and schedule someone to come out and clean the carpets. She seems to always sneak off so we can never catch her having an accident which makes it very difficult to correct. Everywhere that she goes now is where she's had previous accidents in the past. I am finding little yellow patches on the carpet that appear to be new surprises that are long dried up. I do my best to get them but once they set in, it's just another location for her to smell and then pee on again.

Lucy is now 10 months old and I just didn't think that we'd still be having issues like this. I was pretty tough with her today when our plumber was here - she stayed in her crate not whining or anything and I took her out when he left. I really want to get her trained but at the end of next month, we're leaving for one week for Orlando and she's going to a boarding kennel since we don't have anyone else to watch her. At least she'll be in the same kennel with Paco and she'll do the doggy day care during the day. I'm sure that her housebreaking (?) will backslide after our trip so then I have to think - do I wait for the carpet cleaning??

It's really frustrating and I can't help but think that maybe Havanese are just slower to housebreak than other breeds? Lucy has poochie-bells on the back door but rarely uses them and in fact rarely gives us any indication that she needs to go out. I pretty much have to stalk her at all times to ensure that she will not have any accidents.

<sigh>

Sandy
...not seeing any end in sight.


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## good buddy (Feb 20, 2007)

Sandy, I don't know if it would help, but I can tell you neither one of my boys was potty trained at 10 months. :hug:

If she is pottying in the same spots as before it should be easy to erase the scent. Cleaning the carpets is a whole 'nuther thing. When she pees, blot it up with paper towels, then completely saturate the spot with Natures Miracle (or another cleaner made expressly to remove the urine scent). I always use three times the amount as the dog peed. You want the NM to soak the carpet and the underlayment and the wood beneath, so using plenty will help it to spread as far out as the pee did. Then DO NOT blot it up! Let it dry on it's own. 

You can clean the carpets whenever, but afterwards she may still pee and you need to erase the scent so she won't be tempted to go there again.


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## Paige (Sep 12, 2006)

I think it is important to teach the word potty. When I was training my boys I would say potty everytime we went out, and good potty when they went. Now, all I have to say is lets go potty and they all run to the door and go outside and potty. Also teaching them a way to let you know they need to go will help greatly, I use a door bell for that. But you could teach them to bark or speak, to let you know. Smaller dogs may take longer to train than larger, but there is no reason they can't be trained. I would get my carpets cleaned if they have peed on them. I cleaned my carpets after every one went through potty training. You could always attach a leash to your belt also when you can't be watching them if you don't want to crate, so you can stop them and take them out.


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## ama0722 (Nov 28, 2006)

I think Paige has a good system. Teaching the potty command helps with their training and is priceless. You can always add in bells or a signal later on too depending on what you prefer. It also makes you have to go out with them every single time rather than letting them use the doggy door and see what they did or didn't do. 

On my recent road trip up north in December. I was staying at a hotel and all my friends were very impressed when I took Dash out said go potty and he did on the side walk  We didn't have to walk through snow and around for 20 mins like them!

Each of my dogs are different as to their signal but I think that is to how we lived at the time and their personalities. Belle comes to the person and barks. I think it is cause when she was little we were on a third floor condo and she has a big mouth. She was originally pad trained but then my husband wanted her going outside. So to her, outside had to go to the person to tell them. When we got Dora we had a home with a backyard and potty bells. So Dora to this day jumps at the door even with no potty bells. Dora only barks when chasing animals so I would have no clue how to teacher her to bark. With Dasher a dog door and now that we don't have one (still working on it!) Dash spins in a circle and barks at the door. Dash has a lot of drive and can have quite the mouth (especially when paired with the maltese!)


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## Thumper (Feb 18, 2007)

Paige gave great advice, I will just add that those things worked very well for me. The bell was a HUGE help because I think w/o the bell she wouldn't know how to let me know.

Rain is an issue, she hates going out in the rain so I have to keep a closer eye when its raining and take her out and use the word potty 

The last accident was no doubt her not making it to the bell in time, it was a mess!!!!!uke:


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

good buddy said:


> If I HAD a litter box in the house the new issue would be that Marley would skip all his meals from being so full from eating all the poop!


Yuck, that certainly wouldn't be an improvement.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

MyFreddie said:


> I can very much relate to your pain. My Freddie is 7 months old and STILL not trained. It is not that he is having accidents. I have a litter box and he will use it most of the time to pee but poops on my rugs. The first thing in the morning he always uses the litter box but the rest of the day NO. I will take him to the litter box and 2 minutes later he will poop in the floor. I am sooo at my wits end with this. I was so excited on Sunday that he went three times by himself to the litterbox and I thought he finally understands but I was wrong. I have bought several books and just am not sure what to do next. Good luck .....


If he only poops on the rugs, have you tried gating him off in an area where there are no rugs? We had to do that for a while with Kodi when he was younger.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

murphymoesmamma said:


> Karen your Kodi is a sweetheart! I love Murphy's litter box too but I sure wish he would always pee in it!


Yeah, I've read about people's problems with marking, and I have no idea how you'd stop that... I'm really glad Kodi never started it. I'm so paranoid about it that I won't even let him sniff vertical surfaces when we're out on walks.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

KSC said:


> This is incredibly funny


I've been watching Kipling's sock exploits. THAT'S funny!!!! Kodi is a terrible sock thief too... But my son is learning to keep them out of his way.<g>


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## KSC (Aug 6, 2009)

krandall said:


> I've been watching Kipling's sock exploits. THAT'S funny!!!! Kodi is a terrible sock thief too... But my son is learning to keep them out of his way.<g>


Ha ha....Yes I should too but he keeps convincing me he'll be a good boy. I fold laundry on the floor as you may have gathered and he lays just like a good boy...and then...if I take my eyes off of him for even a second he inches closer all stealth like...when I look he puts his head down. That keeps going till he's in grabbing distance and WHAM ... another pair of socks stolen. It's really terribly funny. He will not 'leave it' for me no matter what my tone vs. when my DH says 'leave it' he immediately puts it down and goes into a down position...hmmmmm


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

sandydlc said:


> I was talking to my daughters the other day and we figured out that she has literally peed and pooped in every room of our house minus two of our three bathrooms and the laundry room!!!
> 
> ... Lucy has poochie-bells on the back door but rarely uses them and in fact rarely gives us any indication that she needs to go out. I pretty much have to stalk her at all times to ensure that she will not have any accidents.


Hi Sandy,

It really sounds to me that she has too much freedom, so has not been able to establish good potty habits. Kodi still hasn't even been IN half the rooms in our house, and we have a small house. He has full access to the kitchen and family room at this time. Since we are usually in these two rooms when we're awake, it means he's with us. If we can't be with him in these rooms, he's in his pen. (he's actually not happy being left alone NOT in his pen)

From all I've read, (and what we've experienced with Kodi) it sounds to me like you need to go back to keeping her much more closely confined unless you can watch her every minute.

As far as Havs being more difficult to train than other breeds, I don't think it's a Hav thing, I think it's a small dog thing. I've talked to many owners of other small dog breeds, and a lot of them say it's hard (long) work to train some of the little ones.


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## good buddy (Feb 20, 2007)

Paige said:


> I think it is important to teach the word potty.


I agree! I've been using "potty" since the beginning and when I say "Let's go out and potty!" they know just what to do!


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## Feisty (Nov 20, 2009)

Ari is 5 months old and was running down the hall and out of view to poop at the front door or into the bathroom in the hall, even though he taught himself quickly to ring the bell at the patio door to go out and pee. 

He is fed regularly twice a day around the same time and taken out regularly to poo after meals & watched like a hawk in the house until we see one. Then we relax and let him play without someone watching him constantly. 

We did gate off the hall so he doesn't ever go there unescorted anymore which means I can now fold laundry without "stealth puppy" who also steals sox in a manner described a few posts back. 

Our only problem is that it's freezing cold out and he doesn't like to go out to poop by himself. But since we gated the hall he's been much better about ringing the bell to go out to poop and he's only had one accident in about 3 weeks and another when someone ignored the bell because he'd just been out to pee. If/when I take the gate down I might try the kibble at the front door to get that across to him. 

Judy


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

The pups who are not potty trained should not have free access to your house. (Period).

When I was training Dexter, I had my eyes CONSTANTLY on Dexter when he was awake, if I could not have my eyes on him, then he was tethered to me with a short leash AND......he was taken outside EVERY 45 minutes (I put this on a timer). 

For 5 months....it was constant! I slowly increase the 45 minutes to 60 minutes, then to 90 minutes, then 2 hours until he was potty trained. 

Potty training for Havs is a slow process, they are not your typical dog who can be potty trained in less than a week.

You have to be consistent with using the same saying and, potty schedules, along with feeding schedules. Consistency is the key!!!


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## Amy R. (Jul 1, 2007)

In reading back thru this thread to some of you others who are also having chronic housebreaking problems with puppies over 6 mos, from my own experience with Heath, *you must:*

~~*CONFINE your dog, either in a crate or in an easily cleaned area.* In our case, Heath is in the family room kitchen & only given the run of the house after he has pooped for the day. Otherwise, never. You will NEVER get your dog trained if he has the run of the house and poops/pees wherever he likes. NEVER. You must keep them in the largest area that they are capable of not having accidents in. For Heath, it's the large family room/kitchen. Beyond that, he's not trustworthy until he's done his business for the day. Gradually you give them more freedom/household territory, as they are able to not have accidents. Period. Nothing else works.

~~*remove all rugs in the area he is in. * Rugs are a MAGNET. They retain odor, even after cleaning/washing. You must also clean all doggy accidents up with Nature's Miracle, immediately. Otherwise, they repeatedly pee/poo at that spot. Biscuit, who was totally trustworthy by 6 mos & has never had an accident indoors since (he would rather burst, LOL) used to poop on one very nice Oriental rug. I fed him kibble on that spot & he never did it again. They won't soil where they eat.

~~I highly recommend the book How to Housebreak a Dog in 7 Days. Even if your dog is a small breed, the principles therein are sound and apply to our Havs.

~~Hang in there. I know from my experience with Heath, that this is an exasperating problem and it's the reason many dogs are given to shelters. But if you are CONSISTENT, you will see progress..


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## Mom2Izzo (Jul 1, 2009)

For all of those that answered and gave advice, thank you. Let me add: I have used a crate with Izzo since day one! He has the peeing thing down great. He is not pooping on my carpets or my rug only the wood floor or tile which is great, makes for easy clean up. When I clean up I spray Nature's Miracle. He is just becoming a serious pain in the rear, ESPECIALLY with him EATING my Golden's poop out of the yard. It's the most digusting thing ever. He wouldn't pee today so I left him out in the yard until he did. The whole back of my house is windows so I went and made my breakfast and coffee, sat down at the table to see him chowing down on a big pile of poop. Nothing like ruining my breakfast. I scolded him and told him to come in but he kept eating so I said you know what, that's his breakfast. I got so mad I fussed at him and put him back in his crate. Today when I came home he refused to go out and pee, but he did poop and I had to put him back in his kennel for not peeing outside. I have to watch him every flipping second even when outside in a fenced yard. I am irritated. I have three kids and I don't have the time right now. I am stressed about what we are doing about their school next year and have a lot on my mind. This cr** with Izzo is just adding to the stress. I love him but really..... it's got to stop.


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## Amy R. (Jul 1, 2007)

Hi Nicole, I wasn't specifically referring to you but to others who were discussing their problems. . .it sounds like you've done everything right and I cannot even believe the annoyance this is, what with 3 children and another dog. 

I believe there's something you can give your Golden that will make his poop undesirable to Izzo. . . .someone on the Forum will know the answer. I'd also suggest cleaning up the Golden's poos asap~~he must only go once or twice a day, right?

You didn't really talk about Izzo's feeding & eliminating schedule: when he eats & poops, but that is the most key part in getting them trained, that's the third aspect, besides confinement and clean-up. You must observe when he poops in relation to eating and then encourage him to poop around that time he is due. . .by this age, Izzo should be going only once or twice a day, if he has a morning and evening feeding. (( If you leave food out all day to eat at will, or give lots of treats, he'll never be trained. )). Say "go potty", throw a party when he does it, etc. I even gave treats right after a good outside poop. And say "good job" and they love that. . . Yep, this is super-time-consuming, but will pay off in the end . Otherwise you'll be fighting this battle forever. Are your children old enough to help out with some of this? Like poop pick-up for Cassie & taking Izzo out for (what I call) poop walks, around the time he is due . . . .?

The one thing that works in your favor is that dogs are creatures of habit and schedule. Once I figured that out it made my life easier with two dogs, once Heath got older & their schedules were in synch. Their current schedule is:
~~get up out of crates and play and go out to pee
~~eat breakfast
~~walk and poop 
~~pee outside every few hours
~~eat dinner, another poop walk. usually Heath won't go again. 
~~in crate & to sleep
There is latitude in the schedule but it is fundamentally the same every day. 
The book I recommended offers schedules for people who work and those who are at home and it makes a huge amount of sense. Eventually, a dog will adhere to his schedule, and feel happier and secure because of it. Good luck, hope this is helpful.


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## good buddy (Feb 20, 2007)

Nicole I have a poop eater too so I totally get you there! I have to follow the crew around with a scooper and make sure to get all poop up immediately. He will act nonchalont and casually stroll near to whomever is pooping just hoping to get some. uke: 

I used to get really mad and frustrated. Now although I do my best to keep him from it, I've learned not to let myself get upset anymore when he does it. He may grow out of it but he might not and it doesn't do either of us any good for me to get upset. 

I will hope they both stop it, but either way try not to get stressed out.


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## KSC (Aug 6, 2009)

Nicole I wish I had some real advice I could give...I can offer empathy. I'm so sorry to hear how stressful it all is and I can totally relate. Good thing Izzo is so adorable. You will find your way through it I'm sure!


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## Amy R. (Jul 1, 2007)

After reading Christy's post, I should add, they do sense your stress. When I got really stressed with Heath over this issue, he was much more difficult. . .it's an oxymoron, I know. But I tried to tell myself this would get better, and it did.


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## Mom2Izzo (Jul 1, 2009)

Izzo does know the words "go pee pee" and "go poo poo" . When he's a good boy he listens. It's just been a BAD day. I let him out when I got home, he pooped. That was the second time today. He wouldn't pee so back in the kennel. I just can't watch him every second so typically if I can't or one of the kids isn't keeping an eye on him, he goes in the kennel. We let him out after a while (dh did when he got home) and he went outside to pee then came back in. Ate his dinner and sure enough, poop in the corner of the kitchen near the back door behind the table. UGGH UGGH UGGH. Typically I give him enough food for his breakfast in the morning but he doesn't finish it all. I leave it down but honestly he doesn't mess with it until dinner time. I am usually running most of the day while the kids are in school- in and out at times. I have way too much stress right now and this is not helping one bit. 
Again, thanks to all of those that responded. I may have to be more vigilant about the poop in the yard being picked up- my kids don't play in the back yard so I tend to let it go at times. I don't give him a ton of treats either. My theory is he has to poo and definitely pee before he comes inside. Typically he goes 2-3 x a day for poop. Always once in the morning but then after he eats in the morning as well. Sometimes I think big dogs are just so much easier. My Golden is SO easy. She poops, pees on command, gets out there and does her business and comes back in. Izzo on the other hand takes 20 minutes to find the perfect spot. I don't really have time to sit and watch him for 20+ minutes every time he has to go out.


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## fibtaylo (Jan 14, 2009)

Both of my girls at a year could not figure out that carpet was not for peeing on. We finally broke down (yes it was hard) and at night, put them in an ex pen on the carpet, opened up so they had carpeted space in it. It has worked wonders. We actually put a new area rug in our family room where they spend their day time. It has been 2 months and not a single accident on it. We are going to try letting them out of the pen during the night this weekend...wish us luck, lol.


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## grace132 (Nov 5, 2009)

Is there any way that you could portion off a small area in your back yard that could be his spot for peeing and pooping? At least until he really gets the idea? If he doesn't have the whole yard to choose from when looking for that "perfect" spot, he might be more inclined to go a bit faster. And he wouldn't be able to get to those tasty treats from your other dog. 

Murphy is trained to go on the command of "get busy", but his normal bathroom spot is a relatively small area of grass. He goes pretty quickly, and I just pick it right up and flush it away. When he's in a bigger yard, I will take him out on his leash to get him to focus on what he has to do. Once he's gone, he then gets to run and play. It's worked really well for us.


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## Mom2Izzo (Jul 1, 2009)

OMG we just let him out of his kennel and he pooped in the kitchen again. he hasn't even eaten for the past few hours and he's already pooped 4 times already today. It's normal poop too= no diarrhea. What is wrong with this dumb dog????? AHHHHHH!!!!!


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## Mom2Izzo (Jul 1, 2009)

This dog has PLENTY of opportunities to go outside in the morning, during the afternoon and at night. I am SO IRRITATED!!!!!!


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## Maxmom (Jul 22, 2008)

Nicole, do you think it could be his dog food? I choose my dog food based on the density of the poops and the number of times the dog has to poop as well.

That said, my dogs are not the best trained either. :-( That's why I'm so picky about the dog food. If I have to pick up poop in the house, I want it to be solid poop!


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## sandydlc (Aug 8, 2009)

krandall said:


> Hi Sandy,
> 
> It really sounds to me that she has too much freedom, so has not been able to establish good potty habits. Kodi still hasn't even been IN half the rooms in our house, and we have a small house. He has full access to the kitchen and family room at this time. Since we are usually in these two rooms when we're awake, it means he's with us. If we can't be with him in these rooms, he's in his pen. (he's actually not happy being left alone NOT in his pen)
> 
> ...


I do agree that she probably has too much freedom and we're working on that now. Today, only one poop accident and it was in a new place because I had sprinkled toys in the area where she had been going. She ran off to a corner while I was in the bathroom otherwise we would have had an accident-free day.

Regarding the small dog thing - we didn't get our Chihuahua Paco until he was 6 months old and I had him trained within just a few months. We also only had two kids at the time, so maybe that had something to do with it.

I'll continue to either scatter-feed or put toys or dog items where accidents may have happened. Right now Lucy only has access to the kitchen and family room. Every other part of the house is blocked off. The accidents that she had in other areas of the house were when we were too quick to trust her on her own.

So, I guess we're back to crating or on a leash when busy, and lots of patience. I know she'll get there!!

Sandy


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## sandydlc (Aug 8, 2009)

Mom2Izzo said:


> For all of those that answered and gave advice, thank you. Let me add: I have used a crate with Izzo since day one! He has the peeing thing down great. He is not pooping on my carpets or my rug only the wood floor or tile which is great, makes for easy clean up. When I clean up I spray Nature's Miracle. He is just becoming a serious pain in the rear, ESPECIALLY with him EATING my Golden's poop out of the yard. It's the most digusting thing ever. He wouldn't pee today so I left him out in the yard until he did. The whole back of my house is windows so I went and made my breakfast and coffee, sat down at the table to see him chowing down on a big pile of poop. Nothing like ruining my breakfast. I scolded him and told him to come in but he kept eating so I said you know what, that's his breakfast. I got so mad I fussed at him and put him back in his crate. Today when I came home he refused to go out and pee, but he did poop and I had to put him back in his kennel for not peeing outside. I have to watch him every flipping second even when outside in a fenced yard. I am irritated. I have three kids and I don't have the time right now. I am stressed about what we are doing about their school next year and have a lot on my mind. This cr** with Izzo is just adding to the stress. I love him but really..... it's got to stop.


We were having trouble with Lucy eating poop in addition with her not knowing where to poop!! We had to give both her and Paco "Deter" for about three weeks. It works. Also, cleaning up any poop and not letting her have free reign outside has helped. We now take her out on a leash every time (and yes, it's a pain, especially in rainy Seattle). This helps to reinforce the "go potty!!" and praise when she goes. When we were just letting her go outside, she was going out, playing, eating poop, then coming back in the house and pooping when we thought she had done her business outside!!

I'm so glad that we have this forum to share tips and tricks and there has been some incredibly sensible advice on this thread. Thank you everyone for your help!!

Sandy


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## sandydlc (Aug 8, 2009)

good buddy said:


> Nicole I have a poop eater too so I totally get you there! I have to follow the crew around with a scooper and make sure to get all poop up immediately. He will act nonchalont and casually stroll near to whomever is pooping just hoping to get some. uke:
> 
> I used to get really mad and frustrated. Now although I do my best to keep him from it, I've learned not to let myself get upset anymore when he does it. He may grow out of it but he might not and it doesn't do either of us any good for me to get upset.
> 
> I will hope they both stop it, but either way try not to get stressed out.


At Lucy's worst...she literally stood directly behind Paco *as he was pooping!!!* waiting for the poop to come out so she could gobble it up and eat it. I mean, really - you can't get much grosser than that!!


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## Mom2Izzo (Jul 1, 2009)

sandydlc said:


> At Lucy's worst...she literally stood directly behind Paco *as he was pooping!!!* waiting for the poop to come out so she could gobble it up and eat it. I mean, really - you can't get much grosser than that!!


Izzo does the same thing to my Golden Retriever. It's so disgusting.


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## trueblue (Jan 22, 2008)

Nicole, I'm dealing with an equally disgusting thing...Santos loves treats out of the cat box. It's soooo gross!! And he's sneaky about it...he KNOWS I don't want him to do it. When I catch him creeping up to the litter box, I say "enh" (I don't know how to spell the noise), and he looks at me with his head down and crawls away from the box. It's pretty comical to watch. But every once in awhile, I'll be sitting on the couch, and all of a sudden I get a nasty whiff of something, and sure enough...Santos is sitting at my feet eating a cat crunchy. We try to be on top of it and clean the litter box twice a day, but I guess he manages to find them in between scooping. I don't know if there is something I can put in the cat's food to make their poop unappealing (especially when you'd think poop would as a rule be unappealing), but I think there's something you can get for dogs. Somebody on here will know what it is because there have been a few threads dedicated to poop eaters.


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## Mom2Izzo (Jul 1, 2009)

trueblue said:


> Nicole, I'm dealing with an equally disgusting thing...Santos loves treats out of the cat box. It's soooo gross!! And he's sneaky about it...he KNOWS I don't want him to do it. When I catch him creeping up to the litter box, I say "enh" (I don't know how to spell the noise), and he looks at me with his head down and crawls away from the box. It's pretty comical to watch. But every once in awhile, I'll be sitting on the couch, and all of a sudden I get a nasty whiff of something, and sure enough...Santos is sitting at my feet eating a cat crunchy. We try to be on top of it and clean the litter box twice a day, but I guess he manages to find them in between scooping. I don't know if there is something I can put in the cat's food to make their poop unappealing (especially when you'd think poop would as a rule be unappealing), but I think there's something you can get for dogs. Somebody on here will know what it is because there have been a few threads dedicated to poop eaters.


Kim- there are products to give them to deter poop eating. You would have to give it to your cat and in my case I would have to give it to Cassie and LOTS of it b/c she's huge- over 90 lbs. I guess it would work in my case though b/c there have been times that Cassie eats her own poop so I would kill two birds with one stone  My vets office also said you can sprinkle MSG on their food. I need to ask them again when I bring Izzo and Cassie in. I am so grossed out uke: and I am so frustrated:frusty:


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

This is the very reason I won't get Rosie a kitten to play with--the litter box. I had a little schnauzer that did the same thing until I put the box up on a stand where she couldn't get to it. But I didn't know about bitter apple spray then. Would that work? You could leave some cat stuff in the box and spray it heavily and then see. Worth a try. Also Tabasco sauce might work. I broke Rosie from chewing on my chair leg with Tabasco and then I found the bitter apple spray and that works really well. If you try it let me know how it works cause I would really like to get a kitten.


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## KSC (Aug 6, 2009)

I am inclined to offer one more idea and I think it's been mentioned - use the leash for Izzo when he needs to go out. I know it's a total pain but I think it gives you more control to keep him focused. We had long battles of the will with Kipling when he was around 8 months on this because it took him so long to find the perfect spot. Finally we made sure that we treated every time he went poo on command while on the leash. He is now uncomplicated about it...

I must also say we switched his food and around that time he also started pooping more regularly - generally twice a day - morning and afternoon or early evening - the food we use is NOW small dog formula.

I hope today is a better day Nicole.


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## TheVintageVamp (Oct 14, 2009)

Do NOT, I repeat Do NOT put MSG on their food. I do not care if a vet office says to do it. MSG is a chemical, not a spice. It alters the way your taste buds perceive food. It is toxic to ANYONE in large quantities. The amount to produce a toxic reaction varies from person to person. My spouse is EXTREMELY sensitive to it and has a reaction much like amphetamine overdose to even minute quantities of it. There is a vast amount of literature out there about the dangers of this chemical food additive. Please do not give it to any of your pets and try to become more aware of it in your own food sources. You might be amazed at the difference you see if you try eliminating it from your diet.

Deter contains MSG, so I would not use it. Potty Mouth does not, so it might be a viable alternative. 

As mentioned in another post, what type of food do they eat? 4 poops a day seems a lot. I've found that the higher quality foods with less grain additives tends to reduce the amount and frequency of poops. If it is highly digestible, there should be less appeal to the dog for eating it as well. I do find it interesting that apparently Izzo only eats Cassie's poo and not his own. Do they eat different types of food? 

As for the litter box treats....I never found a solution to that with Chica other than purchasing a covered litter box she could not get into. Not sure how my daughter is dealing with it now that she has her. Luckily, Murray does not seem to have the same craving for them.


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## KSC (Aug 6, 2009)

TheVintageVamp said:


> As mentioned in another post, what type of food do they eat? 4 poops a day seems a lot. I've found that the higher quality foods with less grain additives tends to reduce the amount and frequency of poops. If it is highly digestible, there should be less appeal to the dog for eating it as well.


Interesting...the food I just mentioned is grain free and I'm sure that Kipling finds it more digestible...

http://www.petcurean.com/files/File/small breed sel sheet US web.pdf


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## TheVintageVamp (Oct 14, 2009)

Sylvia, you and I must have been posting at the same time, lol. I just looked at the link for that food. Sounds very interesting. I will check into it for Murray. We finally got him transitioned off the Beneful he had been eating when we got him and onto Wellness Core, but I like the sounds of this one.

Our vet says the main appeal of the poop is the undigested food in it. Especially with cat poo, and the fact that most commercial cat foods are highly scented, so it makes it all irresistible to the dog.


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## Mom2Izzo (Jul 1, 2009)

TheVintageVamp said:


> Do NOT, I repeat Do NOT put MSG on their food. I do not care if a vet office says to do it. MSG is a chemical, not a spice. It alters the way your taste buds perceive food. It is toxic to ANYONE in large quantities. The amount to produce a toxic reaction varies from person to person. My spouse is EXTREMELY sensitive to it and has a reaction much like amphetamine overdose to even minute quantities of it. There is a vast amount of literature out there about the dangers of this chemical food additive. Please do not give it to any of your pets and try to become more aware of it in your own food sources. You might be amazed at the difference you see if you try eliminating it from your diet.
> 
> Deter contains MSG, so I would not use it. Potty Mouth does not, so it might be a viable alternative.
> 
> ...


Izzo eats Solid God Hundchen Flocken Puppy. Cassie eats Royal Canin Large breed weight contol. I would switch her but she does ok on her food and she has an EXTREMELY sensitive stomach and I can't have her having diarrhea in my house. She is 8 years old too so switching her food now might be a problem.


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## fibtaylo (Jan 14, 2009)

Oh Nicole, I feel your frustration and stress. I think as a fellow Golden owner, they are soooooo easy to housebreak, that is just makes these little Havs all the more frustrating. 

Here are my 2 pieces of advice:

1. Many, many dogs (including my Golden) eat poop. It is completely disguisting to us, but I think we have to face it as a fact of life...kind of like our kids picking their noses, lol. I have tried some of the stuff you feed the dogs, but it did not seem to help for me, but it has for others, so it is worth a try.

2. It does get better. When my girls were 1 and still pooping and peeing on the carpet or worse, the couch, I really thought I was not meant for Havs. We stuck with it, and this morning, at 14 months, they both took themselves downstairs, out the doggy door, did their business and then came back up stairs. No help, encouragement, or direction from us at all. 

So hold on, IT DOES GET BETTER!!

P.S. have you considered a doggy door so he can go out whenever he needs to without requiring your constant attention?


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## waybrook (Sep 13, 2009)

You know Nicole the number of poops per day may be related to his digestion of Cassie's poo. Perhaps keeping Cassies messes cleaned up may lower the frequency of pooing by Izzo...just a thought.

Panda too will eat poo if its available. Both the golden, the lab and the rabbits who live in the shrubs are fair game. I've given up and started going out with her (and a pooper scooper) and clean the yard 1st thing in the morning and again in the afternoon. Its a pain in the neck, but it has controlled her poops by not having the extras to dine on...


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## SMARTY (Apr 19, 2007)

Nicole, I thought I was going to send Galen back to rescue if we didn't get the pooping and peeing under control. I had "had it"! Then one day she barked at me, we went out, she peed. I was ecstatic.

Even now at 14 months I keep pee pads in my bathroom, she has learned to go there if she can’t get out side. That is Ok with me, she goes outside 90% of the time.

Don't give up.


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

I do have to agree............*PLEASE DO NOT USE MSG*.....Have you tried the pineapple as little treats or little bits in the food? It is suppose to make the food nasty tasting.

To the poster with the cat.....What about a little gate to the cat litter area, so the delicious cat poo is not eaten by the dog...cats can jump really good.


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## Sandi Kerger (Mar 18, 2009)

*Raw Diet*

Do you think it could be the food you are feeding them that they eat poop? Fipsy is on a raw diet and of course, also gets dog treats and sometimes food from the table (just little tastes).

She has never ever ate poop, except for 1 time when I first got her, and what happened was I was taking her to the groomers. We went in the store, and she immediately started trying to poop, so I took her outside - it was raining pretty hard - and then she finished pooping, and immediately tried to eat it. That was just awful awful!. Anyway, I said no to her and she has never done it since, but at the time she did it, she was on a kibble diet.

Housetraining - no problems, but we got her at 7 1/2 months old. The breeder had a doggy door, but we don't have one. For the first week to 10 days, she had accidents and I think it was because she wasn't sure at first where she was supposed to go and now never ever has an accident.

Just a thought about the food.

Sandi.


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## sandydlc (Aug 8, 2009)

Hi everyone,

I wanted to give a quick update on Lucy's progress (or lack thereof) on pooping/not pooping in the house.

The entire last week I've been sick - a really bad cold, just miserable!! As a result, I missed three days of work last week and was home with the dogs. Interestingly, Lucy was down to no accidents by the end of the weekend. She even started using her poochie bells on the back door.

The past two days she has only had one accident a day and both times, it was when I was cooking dinner and she was loose in the kitchen. I think I'm going to implement a strict - in your kennel while I'm cooking rule and see how she does from there. Today I moved one of the gates I have set up so that she has less room and I was able to catch her in the act which hopefully will also help to eliminate the behavior.

So, just wanted to report that we're making progress, slowly but it's progress nonetheless. 

Sandy


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