Revenge "accidents"?

kweisner · #1 17th March 2005, 06:42 AM

House breaking was going great with our 4 month old boy...or so we thought. He has been scratching at the backdoor since the first week he lived here (10 weeks old).

The only glitch is when we focus our attention on something other than him, even if he has just gone out for a pee, he will sneak up to our bedroom and take a little poop. For example, I work from home, Monday when I sat down to work...revenge poop! He did the same thing last night when our neighbor came over and we were talking, he had just been outside! Trust me, he gets TONS of attention, but I've got to work! He knows he isn't allowed to go in the house because he will sneak and hide to do it.

The bedroom is the only open door upstairs because that is where we keep his crate and we want him to have access to his "den". If he is tired and it is too busy downstairs he will go up there and go to sleep or chew a bone. Should we close the door? Baby gate the steps?

mancin · #2 17th March 2005, 06:55 AM

I don't think dogs understand the concept of revenge. Most likely he is showing signs that he has to go. Puppies typically go several times in a short period of time. It was very common for Tyson to go pee and poo a couple of times within a 10 minute period. Normally the first time he goes is to relieve himself just enough to be comfortable, and the second time is to empty himself.
Be sure you are cleaning the area thorougly. He may still be able to smell where he's gone before which could explain why he keeps going back to the bedroom.
I suggest if you can't watch him to put him in his crate or tether him to you with a leash. Any accidents in the house are going to delay him from being 100% housebroken.
Hope this helps!

boxer · #3 17th March 2005, 07:23 AM

Actually, I just don't think puppies are fully capable of understanding the need to potty outdoors without exception until they're at least 7 months old, and often longer. Being accident-free is a very different thing to being fully housebroken. For some time yet, your ability to be accident free relies completely on you and not on the puppy. I think your problem is really that your puppy is loose in the house when you're not able to keep an eagle eye on him (ie. trying to work). I'd recomend either crating him during those periods, or else keeping him in the same room as you - or some mix of both.

apollosdad · #4 17th March 2005, 10:33 AM

there is no such thing as a "revenge poop". dogs do not do things out of spite. many of the times their unwanted actions are the fault of the owner. just try keeping a closer watch on your dog and encourage her to go outside. you might want to relocate her crate to a more centralized area of the house where she can see what's going on while being inside her crate.

kweisner · #5 17th March 2005, 12:00 PM

Thanks for the advice. When I went to the pet store today the clerk suggested that dogs, particularly puppies don't have enough control to poop- on-command like that (pee yes, poop no). Seems like he just still has to "go". She suggested a brisk run around the block to "get things moving".

I think we are going to use his alternate bed downstairs and get a baby gate so he cannot "use the upstairs bathroom". I'd love to move his real crate but it's one of those life stages crates and it's really too big to take apart and move every morning. We will also try and always use our pet odor stuff when we clean up. It's helpful to know they aren't completely housebroken until 7 months. Thank goodness for hardwood floors.

Again thanks for the comments.