My 9 month old dog has been eliminating outside successfully for the past two months. He generally goes at the same times everyday. Recently had defecated in the house after playing outside. I'm looking for a reason as to why this may have happened.

My 9-month-old Cavalier King Charles has been eliminating outside successfully for the past two months. He rings the doggie bells we have on our door or barks when he needs to eliminate and he generally defecates at the same time (morning and before bed) everyday. Recently, after we took him outside to play, when he came back into the house, he defecated on our carpet (this was mid-afternoon, and we had not changed his feeding schedule). He gave no signal that he had to go out - no bell ringing or barking - as he has been doing for the past two months. He is crate-trained, so I will return to having him spend more time in the crate, as you suggest, but I suppose I am looking for an explanation as to why he would suddenly start eliminating in the house again. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Best regards,
Katie