Hi our gorgeous 16 month old cavalier has started pooing in the house! I take her out in the morning and she sometimes performs and is rewarded. However an hour later she sneaks to a spot to poo. it is becoming a habit and she is so clever that I rarely catch her in the act. Any suggestions please.
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Help needed
- Thread starter Gracie
- Start date
Hi Gracie and welcome! Two things to do: first, has this started suddenly out of nowhere? I'd take her to your vet and check if she has a possible medical cause (are the poops normal or are they runny? Is she now going many times a day or more or less as often as before? Anything different?). Ask if you perhaps should bring a fecal sample for them to test. Or, has anything changed in or around your home that might throw her off? New people? A new baby? Furniture moved around? Sometimes changes can trigger this kind of thing. Second, if nothing health-related is involved, this is probably behavioural. You'd treat her as if she is not fully housetrained (because she no longer is...) and begin again with limiting her freedom to wander (and thus go anywhere in the house), and do as you are with rewarding her every time she goes outside. Sometimes dogs regress. Make sure you are cleaning up afterwards with an enzymatic cleaner designed for cleaning pet accidents, or use a cleaner with vinegar in it as it will do the same thing -- wipe out the biological scent markers that will lure a pet back to go again around the same area.
This is a really common issue by the way.
This is a really common issue by the way.