Toileting in the house.
Unwanted house soiling in dogs happens for a variety of reasons. It is essential to consult with your vets to rule out medical issues before treating the toileting in the house as a behavioural issue, especially if the toileting has begun suddenly in an adult dog.:
Medical Issues: Conditions like urinary tract infections, gastrointestinal problems, or age-related incontinence can lead to accidents.
Old Age: Senior dogs may have difficulty controlling their bladder or bowels.
Inadequate House Training: Puppies or dogs that haven’t been properly trained may not understand where to go. Often dogs are not properly house trained in the first instance with an expectation the dog should know where it is expected to go to the toilet.
Ignore the bad and reward the good! Sometimes, owners are so caught up telling their dog where they shouldn’t go to the toilet they forget to reward them when they go to the toilet in the desired place.
Dogs need to be provided with regular opportunities to go toilet outside otherwise toileting indoors could become a habit.
Anxiety or Stress: Changes in the environment, such as moving or new family members, can cause anxiety-related accidents.
A dog experiencing stress or anxiety might relapse with their toilet training. This is commonly seen with separation anxiety. It is important in these cases to work with a professional to establish why the dog is anxious to work on an effective treatment plan.
Territorial Marking: This is most common in unneutered male dogs, but any dog might mark their territory indoors, especially in multi-pet households or when there are changes such as a new home or new family members, dog or human.
Some breeds of dog and individual dogs might take longer than other to toilet train. Smaller breeds are often quoted as taking longer to toilet train, but this is often due to their tiny bladders and need to toilet more often than is being provided.
Never punish a dog for toileting in the house! Whilst I totally understand the frustration of a dog continually toileting in the house, it will likely make the situation worse, especially if anxiety related, and does not help teach the dog where it should be going to the toilet. Punishment can break the bond between yourself and your dog or force your dog to begin sneaky toileting as it is too afraid to go in front of you which makes future training and rewarding toileting outside very difficult.
Please do not be fooled into thinking ‘that look’ your dog is giving you when you walk into the house and find a pee, or a poo is one of guilt! Your dog does not have the cognition to link your anger or frustration with a pee or poo it did a few hours or even a few minutes ago. For your dog it goes something a little like this ‘Oh crumbs I know I’ve done something wrong because my owners body language is telling me they are angry, but I have no clue what it is. It must be what I am doing right now which is sitting on their cushion. I am never going near that cushion again!’.