Dealing with Canine House Training Dilemmas

By request, this month’s article is about canine housetraining and house soiling. Any time a dog’s elimination habits change suddenly, that’s a sign a visit to the veterinarian could be in order.  Many medical conditions influence elimination patterns, and until a dog’s stool, urine, and even blood is tested and the dog examined, it may not be possible to rule out medical causes, even if the dog doesn’t appear to be ill.

Behavioral reasons for house soiling are many, including incomplete housetraining, fear of going outside, separation anxiety, surfaces and location preferences, and marking behavior.  Marking can be difficult to differentiate from urination to empty the bladder.   Marking is more common in males, especially ones that aren’t neutered.

When marking, a dog will usually deposit small amounts of urine in strategic locations around the house, rather than emptying his bladder in one spot.  Marking usually occurs in response to some sort of social conflict.  Our Dalmatian Mocha used to lift his leg on a small statute of a Dalmatian we had by our front door in response to other dogs he would see being walked past our house.

For soiling problems that are not marking behavior, the first step to consider is usually to implement a strict remedial housetraining program.  This means consistent feeding times, taking the dog outside at consistent times to relieve himself (not standing at the door and waiting but going outside and observing the dog), and constant, unwavering supervision while the dog is inside.  This can include, closing doors, using baby gates, leashing the dog to you as you move around the house if necessary, and not allowing the dog free run of the house when you are gone.

Be cautious with close confinement in a crate however.  If the soiling is due to some sort of fear, such as separation anxiety or a noise phobia, crating and confinement will generally increase a dog’s panic and make the problem worse.   In that case, the resolution strategy could be to use behavior modification techniques to decrease the dog’s fear.  Details of those procedures are beyond the scope of this article, but you’ll find articles at ASPCA.org.

Some dogs fall into the pattern of going outside, and then relieving themselves as soon as they come back in.  There are a number of reasons for this, including weather conditions, insufficient time allowed outside for elimination, or high arousal outside resulting in voiding bladder or bowels when the dog returns inside.

One of our miniature Dachshunds from years ago despised having his belly wet and would not venture onto wet grass, even if it was wet with just dew.  So in the mornings, we’d place him in a second-hand child’s playpen if he didn’t relieve himself on the first trip outside, and after 5 minutes or so he’d whine to go outside again.  This was a sign he’d worked up the courage to tackle the wet grass.  We’d put him out, he’d relieve himself, earning free run of the house until it was time for another potty session.

Successful resolution of house soiling problems requires first determining the reason behind the behavior.  Medical problems, breakdowns in housetraining, surface or location preferences, or fears and phobias all require different approaches.  A strict housetraining protocol might not help if the dog is afraid of something outside, and it’s that fear that needs addressing.

Dr. Suzanne Hetts and her husband Dr. Dan Estep are Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists. They provide professional behavior education services online, and resources to prevent and resolve pet behavior problems to both pet pros and pet owners. Coral, their diva-dog Irish setter provides daily inspiration. www.AnimalBehaviorAssociates.com