Hi every one. It's been a long while that I have been here. very busy. I rescued an english bred yellow lab almost 2 years ago and had questions and things going on, but hw has turned out to be the greatest dog ever for my family. He was house trained when I bought him in. He lived in the house for over a year and never went in the house unless I left him for wayyyy too long and he could not hold it any longer. That happened once. other than that he would always let us know when he has to go outside and faithfully use the bathroom outside.
the problem lies here. about a month ago we moved into a bigger house and during the moving he was at the old house by himself for long periods throughout about 4 days. When we got him here I wanted to just have him go to the bathroom during walks so the backyard would not get yucky from his bathroom going. I would walk him several times throughout the day and he would not go #2 outside. when I would leave the house he would go then in the house. uuuuggghhh!!!! then I figured after about a week, o.k. maybe he is just used to having his freedom of the backyard and he needs that. I tried that in spite of my kids wanting their backyard to play in. It worked!!!! he was going in the yard again, but then he started going in the house when I leave also. I dont know what to do. he knows he is doing wrong because when i come back in the house he will not even come to the door and when i call him he comes with his head down and low to the floor. he knows!!!!! I don't know what to do. I really dont want to start crating him again, but i will if I have to. He destroyed his last heavy duty crate, bit it to pieces and made a hole for him to climb right out of...



I would truly appreciate all suggestions..Thanks so much

" he knows he is doing wrong because when i come back in the house he will not even come to the door and when i call him he comes with his head down and low to the floor. he knows!!!!! "


All his knows is that sometimes he is greeted with an angry owner for a mysterious reason somehow linked to pooping when he has to poop.

You created this, but you can fix it, too. You left him alone in your old house for long stretches. Then there's a whole list of confusing new "rules" for the dog, changing often.

You want to start over. Forget what he "knows," because he doesn't.

Tether him, crate him, but start over with partying for outdoor potty, not allowing indoor accidents to happen because you have noted his potty times and you are outside with him at those times, and he never (1) has to go and finds himself indoors, or (2) finds himself having to go, indoors, AND unsupervised or untethered.

I know you may not see what you've done, but if you re-read your post and note the huge changes you threw at this dog, you'll see why he does not "know."

I agree. I'm also of the opinion that with some dogs "housebreaking" is situational. He may have been well housebroken in the old house. But now he's in a new house. "...Oh! You mean I can't poop in this house either? Why didn't you say so?..."

If he's been housebroken once, it will be easy to do again. But you have to go through the steps and explain to him what the rules are in this new place. As if he were a puppy.

BTW--it's pretty easy to teach a dog to go in one spot that's convenient for you. If you don't want him pooping anywhere he wants to in the yard, so that you children can play there too--then show him where you DO want him to poop.

Pick some spot in your yard that is out of the way--back side of the garage or over in the corner where you store the trash can. You pick the spot. Then GO there with him on a leash, associate a command word with eliminating there (I used "hurry up!"), and work on it for a week or so. Eventually, you'll be able to open the back door and say "hurry up" and he'll go to his spot to poop.

I agree that i made this new pottying disaster. I get so frustrated at times thought because it's carpet and he did so wonderful for over a year with no incidents in the house. He was great. I think leaving him for such periods at the old house while we were moving did make for a bad situation. and he never got in trouble for it then because I fo course expected it to happen then.

The on ly thing that will be hard to do is this: the only time he goes in the house is when I am out running errands and such or when we are all asleep at night. He never goes in the house when we are here and awake. Never!!!!! so should i crate him again??? I threw away his crate from the old house because he was such a great boy. I will buy another if i have to but i have got to do some searching because his last one was a heavy duty one but he bit it and pulled apart the metal. He was known from the woman i got him from to make huge holes in a chain link fence he was kept in outside.
anyways,,,,,you guys are giving me great info. please more......lol
crate?
why is he going only when no one is around? does that not mean he knows it's wrong?
o.k. guys thanks and i look forward to more feedback if you have it!!!

oh yeah, sorry so long but trying to provide lots of background info:

the other thing about the back yard is this, he has his little ritual that he does before he goes, he runs full speed bakc and forth a couple of times and then picks his place to go. and like I said when i was walking him he would not go when he is on leash. I am not sure if he will go in a designated spot on leash. it's like he needs to excercise and get his bowels moving and then he's ready to let loose.lol


please explain what you mean, also keep in mind he only goes when we're not home or asleep, I guess that means buying a new crate??? "Tether him, crate him, but start over with partying for outdoor potty, not allowing indoor accidents to happen because you have noted his potty times and you are outside with him at those times, and he never (1) has to go and finds himself indoors, or (2) finds himself having to go, indoors, AND unsupervised or untethered."

He is going when no one is around because he has learned that some mysterious trigger angers the humans around his necessary functions and/or because that's when he has to go and you have him indoors. If he is outdoors when he has to go, he can't poop indoors.

I'd get a crate, but I'd also be keeping a log of his poop times, and walking him before every trip to do errands and before bed, and for a while I'd be getting up halfway through the night as well. I'd be pretending he is a puppy (because he's even worse: he's a dog who was trained one way and then completely confused as well as seen his normal elimination come to be surrounded by frustration and anger). I'd be partying hearyt for outdoor poop, and I'd have him next to me all the time so I could hustle him outside when I saw any signs of having to go.

I ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS take him out before we go anywhere, and before bedtime. I make sure i do because i want to have faith in him that he can get this right again,and to knock out any excuses. He will go outside and then when i come bakc he has gone inside also. so frustrating. So i should find a heavy duty crate for him for when i leave the house. o.k. at night time should i keep him locked in the bedroom with me ?
Connie thanks so much I so appreciate the help.

Absolutely get a crate Bounette. Now that he has this pattern of going when he comes inside you need to crate him to eliminate the opportunity to do it. He's a Lab? Is he part Mal? I was thinking you rescued a Mal.

Does the dog have set meal times? Regular meal times generally mean regular poop times.

 Quote: steve strom

He's a Lab? Is he part Mal? I was thinking you rescued a Mal.

Nevermind Bounette, I looked back and saw the thread with Kaiser.