Well...We thought the problem of pooing at nights was solved by shutting off the washing area thus Rocky not having a place to go and poo in!!Our dogs aren't kept in crates but I think with our labrador this is an option that we will now take in to action!Can't say that he is a pup having accidents anymore!!He was regulary going in to our washing area for a poo..we stopped that by blocking the area off..then one night he "broke in to it" and was caught red handed by my fiance..not sure how he handled it as I wasn't there!Once again the pooing stopped but now two nights in a row we find poo.this morning was the worst!One was in my daughters bedroom and the other was infront of the front door!!Now if he wanted to go out he should have asked to..I know he knows how to ask..So tomorrow night my fiance will have Rocky sleeping next to him in a crate and I think if this does the trick then maybe it would be best for Rocky to be in the crate every night?Rocky is my fiances dog..Any ideas??THankyou

But one thing is for sure..we can't go on like this anymore.........

Hello from a Finnish American! Sorry I can't speak any Finnish, Grandpa always said it was too hard, and the women spoke Swedish, so Swedish won.
Crating your Labrador sounds like a great idea. And having the crate by your fiance's side of the bed should keep him from whining or putting up a fuss in the crate. Plus, if the dog really needs to poo, your fiance will know it and be able to let him outdoors.

Thankyou Ingrid..I agree Finnish is a really hard language to learn!!!I'm originally from England!Yes my fiance will go downstairs with Rocky for the night..and if it goes well tomorrow night in our bedroom!I'll let you know how they get on!

Hi Ingred,

Have you had the lab since he was a puppy or did you aquire him as an older dog? Did this bathroom issue just start to happen or has it been an ongoing problem? You said he knows better than to go in the house, how does he know? Did you show him or did you assume he knows? Has something in your daily routine changed? Do you free feed? (Leave food and water down all day?)If so, you might want to establish routine feeding/watering times. Leave food and water down for 15 minutes and if they do not eat or drink pick it up and wait till the next feeding. What type of food does he eat? Commercial junk food, raw or high quality kibble? Highly processed dog food makes a dog drink more water and have more bowel movements.When and if you catch him in the act, what do you do? Remember you have to catch him in the act to correct him. Correcting after the fact only confuses the dog. He knows by your body language and tone of voice that he has done something wrong, but he does not know what. He cannot associate the crime with the punishment. Do you take the dog out on leash or do you let him out the back door? These are all questions you need to ask yourself so you can pinpoint the problem. I would definitely say re-crate train him and then keep him in there unless constantly supervised.

Sorry Tracey, that response is for you! Good Luck!

Thankyou Lisa for your reply...Rocky has been with us since he was a little puppy..I think we've always had problems with pooing indoors but at that time they happened very rarely..He also did moan..so we knew that he needed to get outside!I'm not sure why this has become such a serious problem..I don't think it has anything to do with us moving because he was pooing indoors more often in our old place!The only thing that might cause it is our 6 month old girl??Then again I feel that Rocky knows his place and isn't really interested in Nadia..Also I don't let Nadia pull the dogs by the furr or anything!I haven't ever managed to catch him in the act so I haven't ever been able to tell him off!!

I can't beleive it...I tried to say to my fiance this morning that Rocky won't fit in that crate..but no!Ofcourse he'll fit in it we don't need to buy a bigger one!!Guess what?He doesn't fit in it!!!So next week we´ll have to buy a bigger one!!

Although he's still young, consider that he might have parasites. We had Shabbado house trained not long after we brought her home from the rescue shelter, but she suddenly started to have "accidents" in the house. We took her to the vet and found out she had round worms. After one dose on Interceptor, her "accidents" ended.

Now, if he isn't house trained, then do crate the dog and do work on her house training.

 Quote: Tracey Rudwick

.... haven't ever managed to catch him in the act so I haven't ever been able to tell him off!!

You can tether the dog to you when he is indoors and you will find out very soon what's up. The simple fact, though, is that he is not outside when he needs to go. But really, how can you know that he did not try to alert you if you have never caught him in the act? I would not even be so sure that he knows how to, or that he knows to alert you every time.

Nevertheless, taking him outside much more frequently (especially during the time of day when he's having the accidents) along with tethering him to you indoors will correct it pretty darned quick. And crating is 100% crucial, IMO.

This sounds like a dog who has never really caught on completely. I would simply start at Square 1 and crate train him like a puppy. I'd take him out often and I'd throw a party for him for every good potty.

Don't worry that his age makes it impossible; I've trained dogs who had lived outdoors all their lives as well as dogs who had been forced to go in their kennels for years. Rewarding good potty and not allowing bad potty to happen (by managing the dog with the crate, the tether, and the many trips outside) are the big points.