Housetrained Puppy has accidents

[nedrannbauer]

We have a goldendoodle puppy that is about 5 months old.  She is housetrained for the most part.  She can hold it for a very long time in her crate/laundry room where we have kept her.  When she is left in the laundry room, she won't have any accidents, and will immediately go to the bathroom outside when we get home.  But, she will have random accidents in rooms of the house outside our vision area.  I think she knows she isn't supposed to and she will never have accidents in front of us.  We have tried leaving her out in the house at night a few times, and she will pee and/or poop 2-3 times throughout the night.  I understand the idea that dogs won't go to the bathroom in their "home area", I'm just wondering how we get her to associate the entire house with her home area.  Any tips would be much appreciated; thanks!

[Thomas Dock, CVJ, Vet. Technician]

Just to add a small addition to what Ghilly has already said:

Don't forget to use a good enzymatic pet stain and odor remover to clean up the spots where she has accidents.  Without removing the smell, you are essentially enticing her to return to those spots!

Also, Dr. Suzanne Hetts, one of our experts in the Animal Behavior forum suggests in her book "Raising a Behaviorally Healthy Puppy" that we focus on teaching the puppy where to go vs. where not to go.   As Ghilly said, use "outside" to reinforce going outside to eliminate and then something like "go potty" when she is outside and getting ready to go.

Sounds like you have given her a great start and with Ghilly's advice, you should see improvement soon!

[nedrannbauer]

In the past, when she has had an accident in front of us, we have scolded her, but not harshly.  We have immediately directed her outside where she finished, and we praised her for finishing outside.  Thanks for everyone's ideas!

[Ghilly]

When she has had an accident in front of you in the past, how have you reacted to it?  If you have made a big fuss and scolded her severely, her thinking is not that she shouldn't go in the house, but that she shouldn't go in front of YOU.  You said that she can hold it for a very long time, but I wouldn't ask a 5 month old puppy to hold it for a very long time because even though they are better equipped to hold it than a younger puppy, they are still not old enough to be reliable, no matter how well trained  they might appear to be from time to time.

I would advise keeping her on a strict crate regimen until she is about a year old.  If you are not at home or are sleeping, she should be in her crate.  Take care not to leave her for longer than an 8 hour work day, and in the evening when you come home, make sure she stays outside until she does everything she needs to do.  The reason I advocate crating until the end of the first year is that until they reach their first birthday, most puppies are still eating more than one meal a day, which means they will have to go take care of business more often.  It's not as bad as when  they're little puppies, but at five months of age she should just now be going to two feedings a day down from three, and she will still be needing to eliminate after every meal.  

You can probably start withholding water at night after you put her in the crate, which will make it easier for her to last the night, but once she gets out  in the morning and starts running around she will need to have water available as needed, especially in the hot weather.  

Try this as a tentative schedule - early morning, take her out of the crate and right outside.  Keep her out until she does what she has to do.  Bring her in and feed her, and then take her back outside to make sure she doesn't have to do anything else before she goes in the crate for you to go to work.  Try to come home at lunch or have a neighbor come in to take her out at lunch, keep her out until she does what she needs to do.  Don't feed her at the lunch break except maybe for a biscuit or two when you put her back in the crate.  Evening, come home from work and immediately take her out of the crate to the yard.  Keep her out until she does what she has to do, then bring her in and give her dinner.  After dinner, take her outside to see if there's anything else she needs to do, and then spend time playing with her  in the evening.  Watch her for signs that she has to go, sniffing, circling, looking at the door, etc.  If you see signals, take her right outside and keep her out there until she's done.  If she leaves the room, either follow her or call her to you and make her do whatever she's doing for amusement (playing with a toy or whatever) in the same room as you.  She isn't reliable enough right now to allow her to be alone in another part of the house, because you can't monitor her actions or see if she might have to go outside.  And above all, if she does start to do something in the house, don't yell and scream, simply say OUTSIDE! and either pick her up and carry her out or put her leash right on and take her out to the yard.  Making a huge fuss will just make her think she's not supposed to let you see her go and could lead to her not wanting to eliminate in front of you when she's on a leash.  

Just be dlilgent with the crate training for that first year and she'll eventually be reliable.

Ghilly

[nedrannbauer]

Ginger,

thanks for your suggestions!  The putting beds around the house idea seems like it would help.  She definitely gets a lot of exercise.  We have another dog and the two of them play together in the yard all the time.  I always make sure to play with them outside also.  I will definitely try the bedding thing.  Thanks so much!

[ginger899]

The great lengths of time she spends in her crate/the laundry room have contributed to her regarding this area as 'her space', and the rest of your house as something else.
I guess she has to stay in the crate or laundry room while you are at work? So that means....7-8 hours a day? That's a long time to a dog. Those are the daytime hours when an active energetic young dog would normally be out and about (and eliminating) ....in a perfect world.

I would make sure she gets as much outdoor time as you can possibly make for her, with good exercise, suitable for a young dog her age. If she poops during the night, that indicates she needs a bowel movement before bed. That will mean taking her for a short walk during the evening. She will also need a decent walk in the morning before she is left alone. And another one immediately someone gets home. Sufficient for her exercise needs, and to eliminate properly.(not letting her out to wander in the yard, but a good walk) And full praise when she does either a poop or pee outside.

As for the rest of the house, make a couple of beds for her that she can rest on when you are together at home. Maybe one in the room you all use most, and another one in another room, or maybe little 'rest places' all over the house. You could make these simply with folded blankets or something.  And play and interact with her in those rooms. Invite her into those rooms when you are in there. And when you've finished playing or whatever, show her the little 'bed' and get her to rest on it. So she gets used to other spaces in your home also 'belonging' to her. Places she lies down, places she has food, places she interacts with you indoors, will become her space.