why does my puppy go outside for an hour and come in and poop?

[Kayla]

my puppy is 6mths and for awhile he was doing great potty training..until i went back to college for a couple classes. I still live at home so its not like i moved out...I dont know how to deal with this...

[Emily]

Oh my gosh, my dog does the same thing!! One day, I let him out for 2 hours, and he came inside and pooped. Harley is over 1 year old and STILL isn't house trained. I have tried and tried to work with him, but he ALWAYS has accidents. I don't know what to do either.

[beverly]

you might try feeding him at a certain hour to learn his potty times after he he eats. i did this with spike when he was a pup, i also watched his paterns before he pooped, and when i thougt he had to go i stood outside 4 however long it took him to go potty i did this several times day and nights. and after he did his deed, i praised him with alot of attention. it took him a week or two to catch on, and if he pottyed in the house i had him watch me clean it up and the only word i would say to him as he watched was Bad! then i would ignore him for awile. and would also pee every time he got excited or met some one, this he will out grow, it took spike 2 yrs. and some times he still does it when he has'nt seen somebody he likes 4 awile, i learned to control it having that person ignore and not touch him 4 a few minutes so his excitement could fade a bit then they could talk and pet him and he would'nt pee. i do this with every one now, and it works pretty good. and it will also depend on the breed of dogs they are all diffrent. some learn some don't. if you try this method i hope it works for you.

[Dimples]

sounds like a good method. I'm gonna try it with my little one.

[artistlee]

i thaink it will work on your puppy. they are just like childern they get to haveing fun
and just forget to go untill they start to rest . then they go {{{ o mee o my i forgot
to go potty }}}.
your friend/ artistlee
let me know if it works out for your baby ?

[Vicki Glorioso]

my dog is the same way. he will go outside and i will literally see him pee and poop and then will come in and do it in the house. is there any help! he is not fixed yet and he is a little over a year old- i plan on getting him fixed soon- will this help? please, please, please help!!!

[Barbara]

Kayla, my dogs do this occasionally, too. Particularly my middle dog, who is such a delicate flower that he doesn't like to muss his paws by stepping outside. If it's raining or the ground is wet, he has been known to run back inside and poop in the basement. My youngest dog doesn't do this anymore, but when he was much younger like your puppy, he'd go outside and get involved in other things (sniffing, running, chasing squirrels, etc) and completely forget to poop. As soon as I would let him in, he would suddenly remember and...well, you know the rest. Is the weather getting colder? Maybe that's forcing him in before he's finished.

Maybe you could try staying outside with him the entire time for now and not let him back in until he poops (if you are sure he has to go). Once he does poop outside, make a big fuss about how wonderful he is and immediately let him in and maybe give him a little snack. He should get the idea.

Boy, is he cute.

[Emily]

Barbara, I had a question for you. Where I live, it is starting to become winter;so it can get pretty chilly outside. My dog Harley will only go to the bathroom if I go out with him and stay there until he is finished. Otherwise, he just plays and refuses to go to the bathroom.

[Kayla]

owen is very much a delicate little boy..he hates going outside when its wet or raining.i can only get him to go outside when its wet is to take him for a walk in the front yard, which he thinks is awesome. he also does everything and anything outside except poop most of the time, somedays hes fine, but he'll, like you said, eat sticks, chase everything and not poop. hes fine with peeing, he just thinks pooping outside is for losers! thanks for your help!

[Barbara]

So, you have a delicate flower, too? Doesn't want to muss up his dainty paws? Thinks pooping is for losers? Sounds like we may own the same dog, here.

Since Owen is still very young, you can probably change his behavior. Take him outside for poop purposes and then stay out with him until he does the deed. Once he takes care of business, praise him immediately and maybe give him a little treat, too. And, since he's a delicate flower who doesn't like to be outside much, immediately take him in (assuming he's gone pee pee, too). Sometimes, the treat can be kind of tricky, because if they smell it in your pocket, they might become obsessed with the treat and forget to poop. Maybe try it at first with just the payoff of praise and the opportunity to go inside once pooping has occurred.

Emily, if it's cold there, and you can communicate to Harley that the soon he poops, the sooner he gets to go back into the warm house, he hopefully will get the idea. If it's cold outside, he still just wants to play? You could also try the praise and treat thing. The difficulty I have when it is cold is that my dogs HATE cold, so they don't want to be out there for 10 seconds.

[Mark and Yvonne Madrazo]

Kayla,
Your cute companion is only a pup. Give Owen lots of training now and you will have a happier life later and so will he. I have five Bostons. All house broken and well behaved. I started with the father Buster. When he was a young pup I would take him outside when he started to cry. I took liver treats, that he just loved, and gave him one each time he eliminated (pooped or peed). It did not work right away but in time he learned the treat was only when he went potty outside. One problem that can make training difficult is 1. We must be patient. don't give up. If at first you don't succeed, try again. 2. Remember, he's just a baby. But if human babies could learn as quick as a puppy we'd have kids going to college before puberty. Be patient. 3. Just like people, pups can make mistakes. Just pick him up and take him outside and reenforce his training. Be patient. 4. They don't know why we leave, but the absence of the ones we love does bring stress. And that can cause an accident. Take him out with you when you can and let him be a socialite and Be Patient. 5. Watch Ceasar Milan, read about training and about your companions breed and be Patient. 6. Remember, you can't find a better more loyal friend as he has found in you.
Best wishes--Mark

[Jen O]

Mark,
I know this isn't my post, but you seem very knowledgable and I'd like to ask your advice. First, I have a 2 year old boxer female, Maddie, who is house trained upstairs. If we do not gate her off from the downstairs while we are away or sleeping...she has no problems pottying down there. But she'll hold it all day if she is only allowed in the upstairs. Doesn't really make sense to me. My 4 year old male boxer, Bensen, would hold it for 24 hours if he had to (which he would never have to) but my point is..he is very trustworthy. Couple the potty issue and her obsessive licking us to death habits...its very frustrating. We love our dogs like crazy people, and maybe that is some of the problem..we baby them too much. But now that we have just added a 11 week old dachshund mix who we've learned is completely deaf..I am feeling a little overwhelmed. Any tips or advice on either issue would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Jen

[James]

Kayla -
My dachsy is coming up on his first year and he's STILL doing this! The information folks have provided here is all good and I'm using the same methods. I can't stress the importance of reading Cesar Millan's books and watching his cable show. His methods require some personal re-training for humans, as well as dogs. This puts some people off but it makes sense in the dog world of heirarchy and survival of the fittest. One thing NOT to do is rub their faces in it! That stresses out the dog and does absolutely no good - the dog doesn't know what it means. I've seen people do that to their dogs and I just want to slap them (the humans-not the dogs). Stick with the treat idea, and the praise afterward. If you catch him in the act, tell him something like "bad potty" in a stern voice and point to the mess, then maybe take him outside and place him on the grass and say "good potty" in a positive tone of voice. Owen should start getting the message, just like Rupert is slowly getting it now. Good luck and.....you really have my empathy. It's no fun cleaning up a mess. Owen is really cute!