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    pupismama's Avatar
    pupismama Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
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    #1

    Dec 17, 2007, 10:25 AM
    My house trained dog has recently began going in the house.
    My dog has recently began going to the bathroom in my house and I don't understand why. Could he be mad at me? I just started a new 8-5 job and I started keeping him in the bathroom while I'm at work. I use to keep him outside, but it's cold and I always worry that he's freezing while I'm gone. I then opted to keeping him in my room but I found that when I do this, he always gets in my bed underneath ALL the covers, something that I can't stand. Hence I figured the bathroom was a good alternative since it's spacious and warm.

    I already had him on a potty schedule and it has been working great, he hasn't had any problems until about the past week. I come home and find that he has used the bathroom in the bathroom. He knows that this is not OK as I can tell by his behavior and body langauge when I come home. Of course I do the whole "bad dog" thing to reinforce this. Most recently he started going in my room during the night, something that is just totally out of the ordinary for him! This morning when I woke up, I found that he had went both in my room and in the bathroom! :mad: This is just getting a little out of hand and I keep wondering why is he doing this? Is he mad at me for being gone in the day time, even though he was in the bathroom for a good two weeks before he started this behavior? :confused:

    Please advise, Thank you!
    labman's Avatar
    labman Posts: 10,580, Reputation: 551
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    #2

    Dec 17, 2007, 11:10 AM
    It wouldn't hurt to have a vet check, but I think 9-10 hours is just too long to leave a dog alone. If you can't make it back to give him a mid day break, find a neighbor or professional dog walker that can. Doggy day care would be a great idea too.

    Even leaving him 4-5 hours and over night, it might be a good idea to crate him. It is only natural that a dog resists its crate at first. What the dog
    Wants more than anything else is to be others, you, anyone else in the
    Household, and any other pets. In our modern society, even if we are home,
    Other things distract us from the attention an uncrated puppy must have. The
    Only real solution is to crate the dog when you aren't around. The dog may be
    Happier in its den than loose in the house. It relaxes, it feels safe in its
    Den. It rests, the body slows down reducing the need for water and relieving
    Its self. Dogs that have been crated all along do very well. Many of them
    Will rest in their crates even when the door is open. I think the plastic
    Ones give the dog more of a safe, enclosed den feeling. Metal ones can be put
    In a corner or covered with something the dog can't pull in and chew. Select
    A crate just big enough for the full grown dog to stretch out in.

    Leave it some toys. Perhaps a Kong filled with peanut butter. Don't leave
    Anything in the crate the dog might chew up. It will do fine without even any
    Bedding. You will come home to a safe dog and a house you can enjoy.

    A dog that has not been crated since it was little, may take some work.
    Start just putting its toys and treats in the crate. Praise it for going
    in. Feed it in the crate. This is also an easy way to maintain order at
    Feeding time for more than one dog.

    The "shut the puppy in a safe room" is a fallacy. Very few houses even have a
    Safe room. How many of us have a room with a hard surfaced floor and nothing
    Else? Most rooms have electrical cords to chew if nothing else. In addition
    To destroying anything a bored puppy finds to chew, it may choke or have
    Intestinal blockage from the pieces. I had a friend that left her dog in a
    "safe" room. It ate a hole in the floor covering. The safe rooms fail to
    Give the dog the comfort of the enclosed space their instinct requires. Nor
    Do they restrict activity extending the time the dog can go without relieving
    Itself.

    Better leadership might help too. The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at Raising Your Dog with the Monks of New Skete For more on being top dog, see Establishing and Keeping Alpha Position, Letting your dog know you are the boss

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