Older Dog Crapping in House

Factual Questions
1

Ok so I have a dog who’s about 7 years old. I’ve had her since she was 3 years old and have never ever had a problem with her having accidents in the house. Until recently. Around Christmas time I went up to Oregon for ten days to be with my family and wasn’t able to bring her with me. So instead of leaving her in a kennel which I knew she’d hate, I left her at home and my roomies took care of her.

Well when I come home, I find out that she had crapped in the house on two occassions. At the time I thought it was just the stress of me being gone or perhaps my roomie hadn’t gotten her outside in time. Well since I’ve come home, she’s crapped in the house nearly every day. She’s acting scared to death to go outside and when I DO get her to go outside, she’ll only pee and refuses to do anything else no matter how long I stand out there with her. She always waits till she knows I’m not around or I’m not looking (ie I’m in the bathroom) to do it.

I have no idea why she’s doing this all of the sudden. She doesn’t have diarrhea, everything’s formed and solid and I haven’t changed her diet or anything. The fact that she’s just crapping but not peeing is confusing to me as well. I just don’t know what to do. Does anyone have any idea what might be causing her to do this? Or even what I can do to get this to stop? (mods I wasn’t sure if this was a GQ or IMHO thread, sorry)

2

I think you need to get her to the vet. Seven isn’t terribly old for a dog, so she may need medical attention.

3

How well do you know this kennel? Do you know the people who run it, and the how the employees treat the dogs?

I don’t want to jump to conclusions, but your dog sounds like it may have been traumatized in some way.

For a short term solution, is there any way you can tie your dog to a tree or other stationary object while you’re outside? Tie him/her up and then walk a short distance away, signing to yourself, or reading a newspaper.

Dogs are extremely attuned to body language. If you’re tense or irritated while you’re waiting for the dog to defecate, they know it.

Secondly, treat her like a new puppy. I know it’s a pain in the ass, but take her out just as often as you would with a puppy who’s not trained. The best way to fix accidents is not to let them happen. Praise the dog every time it eliminates in the right place.