dog messing in my house when im out/also very nerves when i return

Hi, ok sometimes my dog has to be left alone for many hours, i try not to but its things like when i had to go to the hospital was there for 6 hours   i don't have anyone that can look in on him or anything like that. Anyway when im out he has the run of the house plus i leave my back door open so he can get out. but he still poos in my house. i was thinking about locking him in the kitchen with the back door open but my kitchen is very narrow. well its about 10ft long and floor space in 2ft wide. so would that be a bad thing to do...

Also the owner who had him for many years rehomed him a few months back and she found out he was being beaten. Now when ever i come home from being out he shakes so much and he is very very fearful. its horrible makes me want to cry  

The first time he pooed i did not do anything thought maybe it was just a one of. when he done it a 2nd time i took him by his collar to the poo and firmly said your a bad dog. but he was shaking so so bad it was horrible. so i don't know what to do. i don't want him to be scared of me like that. but i also can't let him think its ok to poo in the house when im out... is there any reason he would be pooing in the house when the back door is open?

Hello! I'm really happy to read that you think that 6 hours is a very long time  I was expecting much worse! Some people leave their dogs for much, much longer!

Is he usually not left for very long on a day to day basis? Sounds to me like seperation anxiety, and if he was ill treated in previous homes he's possibly anticipating that arrival home means bad treatment, you need to make being left and coming home a positive thing. Build the time up gradually and leave with lots of yummy things like stuffed kongs and his favourite toys. He sounds like an under confident soul. How do you usually react when you come home and he's messed on the floor?

I agree with Rachel above, you may need to go back to basics with his house training, the link below may help with this. Build his time alone up gradually, if he has been badly treated in a previous home he will be very nervous and take extra time to settle in with you.

Give him lots of praise when he has done good, please do not punish him for messing in the home it will only keep setting you back. What do you use to clean the area with where he has messed inside ?

http://staffy-bull-terrier.com/house_training

Hi , there is no point in telling him off when you return as he won`t have a clue what he has done wrong. You will have to tell him when he`s actually doing it. By telling him off upon your return you are just going to make him more fearful/nervous. You need to stay out in the garden with him then when he does defecate where you want him to praise him and give him treats  continue this and hopefully he will get the picture.

Paul

Hi it sounds like he may have some separation anxiety! Poor guy! Can you slowly build up the time you are away! Also you could leave him a frozen kong as something to keep him occupied while you're gone!

The occasional 6 hours is ok as long as he gets a good walk before he's left. He'll cope as long as he has some strong toys and a bowl of water.

kelly-anne wrote:The first time he pooed i did not do anything thought maybe it was just a one of. when he done it a 2nd time i took him by his collar to the poo and firmly said your a bad dog. but he was shaking so so bad it was horrible. so i don't know what to do. i don't want him to be scared of me like that. but i also can't let him think its ok to poo in the house when im out... is there any reason he would be pooing in the house when the back door is open?

Please don't do this again. You've scared him! He doesn't know that the poo was wrong, so when you came in & grabbed him & told him off he would have thought that greeting you was bad & that you were angry. Now, he doesn't know what to do!

The best thing is (apart from the good walk before he's left) to ignore him when you first come in. Just potter about, maybe refill his water bowl & then get a couple of treats & sit down. Call him over & treat him.

Shouting at him when you come home is why is is nervous when you come home, cause he is expecting you to shout at him.

Just noticed that you put his nose in his mess when you got home and he had defecated, my fault for speed reading!! Definitely don't be doing this again, unless you catch him in the act he will have no idea what he's being told off for. I'd follow Caryll's advice and see where that gets you

Caryll wrote:The occasional 6 hours is ok as long as he gets a good walk before he's left. He'll cope as long as he has some strong toys and a bowl of water.

kelly-anne wrote:The first time he pooed i did not do anything thought maybe it was just a one of. when he done it a 2nd time i took him by his collar to the poo and firmly said your a bad dog. but he was shaking so so bad it was horrible. so i don't know what to do. i don't want him to be scared of me like that. but i also can't let him think its ok to poo in the house when im out... is there any reason he would be pooing in the house when the back door is open?

Please don't do this again. You've scared him! He doesn't know that the poo was wrong, so when you came in & grabbed him & told him off he would have thought that greeting you was bad & that you were angry. Now, he doesn't know what to do!

The best thing is (apart from the good walk before he's left) to ignore him when you first come in. Just potter about, maybe refill his water bowl & then get a couple of treats & sit down. Call him over & treat him.

Hi thank you well i don't tell him off when i first come in because he is scared as the person who had him for a while before me used to beat him when she came in from being out so i would not do that. this was a good 20 mins later after i had seen the poo. its like he know he has done bad cause he sees the poo and the tail gos between the legs so surely he knows its not right. not only that my back door is left open so he can get into the garden... of course i dont want to scare him but surely i cant let him think its ok either

Rachel33 wrote:Hello! I'm really happy to read that you think that 6 hours is a very long time  I was expecting much worse! Some people leave their dogs for much, much longer!

Is he usually not left for very long on a day to day basis? Sounds to me like seperation anxiety, and if he was ill treated in previous homes he's possibly anticipating that arrival home means bad treatment, you need to make being left and coming home a positive thing. Build the time up gradually and leave with lots of yummy things like stuffed kongs and his favourite toys. He sounds like an under confident soul. How do you usually react when you come home and he's messed on the floor?

hi no he is never left long on a day to day basis. and yes the seperation thing had crossed my mind and also if he thinks hes going to get a beating when we get back he may be pooing because of that in its self. he does not do it if i have left him for like an hour but may e he has not had to much time to get overly upset. and yes thank you i will make sure he has treats and stuff and also i could make sure i have a treat to give him when i walk in the door.

how long are you walking him before you go out?

Rachel33 wrote:Just noticed that you put his nose in his mess when you got home and he had defecated, my fault for speed reading!! Definitely don't be doing this again, unless you catch him in the act he will have no idea what he's being told off for. I'd follow Caryll's advice and see where that gets you

i did not put his nose in it i said i took him by the collar and showed it to him

Hayley wrote:Shouting at him when you come home is why is is nervous when you come home, cause he is expecting you to shout at him.

i did not shout i spoke firmly

Steve wrote:how long are you walking him before you go out?

when i know im going to eb out for a long time i always walk him for about an hour

kelly-anne wrote:Hi thank you well i don't tell him off when i first come in because he is scared as the person who had him for a while before me used to beat him when she came in from being out so i would not do that. this was a good 20 mins later after i had seen the poo. its like he know he has done bad cause he sees the poo and the tail gos between the legs so surely he knows its not right. not only that my back door is left open so he can get into the garden... of course i dont want to scare him but surely i cant let him think its ok either

I'm afraid you're misinterpreting his body language. He isn't putting his tail between his legs because of the poo, he's doing it because he's picking up your displeasure & he doesn't understand! Once the poo's been done, you can't even get annoyed with him because he won't associate your annoyance with the act. Dogs don't reason in that way.

You need to go right back to basics with his toilet training so that he associates peeing/pooing outside with praise & maybe a treat, and he gets no interraction at all when he does something inside. It isn't a case of him thinking it's ok to poo indoors, it's a matter of getting him to realise that it's good to poo outside.

Ignore any accidents inside (because that's what they are - accidents), other than cleaning them up with a non-amonia cleaner & praise toileting outside.

If he's been beaten in the past you need to try to make every situation a positive one. That way, he'll start to realise that not everything he does in life gets a thrashing. 

Caryll wrote:

kelly-anne wrote:Hi thank you well i don't tell him off when i first come in because he is scared as the person who had him for a while before me used to beat him when she came in from being out so i would not do that. this was a good 20 mins later after i had seen the poo. its like he know he has done bad cause he sees the poo and the tail gos between the legs so surely he knows its not right. not only that my back door is left open so he can get into the garden... of course i dont want to scare him but surely i cant let him think its ok either

I'm afraid you're misinterpreting his body language. He isn't putting his tail between his legs because of the poo, he's doing it because he's picking up your displeasure & he doesn't understand! Once the poo's been done, you can't even get annoyed with him because he won't associate your annoyance with the act. Dogs don't reason in that way.

You need to go right back to basics with his toilet training so that he associates peeing/pooing outside with praise & maybe a treat, and he gets no interraction at all when he does something inside. It isn't a case of him thinking it's ok to poo indoors, it's a matter of getting him to realise that it's good to poo outside.

Ignore any accidents inside (because that's what they are - accidents), other than cleaning them up with a non-amonia cleaner & praise toileting outside.

If he's been beaten in the past you need to try to make every situation a positive one. That way, he'll start to realise that not everything he does in life gets a thrashing. 

Thankyou yes that makes lots of sense   i will defo do that. if i left him for that long and the door was closed i would not moan lol. but it confused me because i didn't get why he was doing it in the house when the door is open. But now that i have read other replys i do think its to do with the leaving him and the the people that used to beat him.

this was a good 20 mins later after i had seen the poo. its like he know he has done bad cause he sees the poo and the tail gos between the legs so surely he knows its not right.

No this is not right all he is doing is associating poo with your mood change and being shouted at . Dogs will not have any idea 20 mins after the incident . You are putting rational thought into a dog something they are incapable of.

Paul

paul l wrote:

this was a good 20 mins later after i had seen the poo. its like he know he has done bad cause he sees the poo and the tail gos between the legs so surely he knows its not right.

No this is not right all he is doing is associating poo with your mood change and being shouted at . Dogs will not have any idea 20 mins after the incident . You are putting rational thought into a dog something they are incapable of.

Paul

thank you as i have said above... i now get it... i really think its all connected with how he was treated a while back. so now that i understand it its easyer to manage

thank you as i have said above... i now get it... i really think its all connected with how he was treated a while back. so now that i understand it its easyer to manage

Hi, sorry never read the last part of your post only got down as far as the bit I commented on. He will soon forget about being ill treated in the past if everything you do with him is positive . The old saying that you can`t teach an old dog new tricks is just that, they learn very quickly with the right tuition. Looks a lovely dog btw.

Paul

thank you he is ace

kelly-anne wrote:i really think its all connected with how he was treated a while back. so now that i understand it its easyer to manage

Poor little fella! Some people should never have a dog - he's lucky he's now found someone who's caring.