Very dumb of me but, how to potty train a dog?

Question

Hi, I've had a long chain of dogs in my life, and have never had to do much to train them not to poop in the house.  Once they were trained to poop on command outside, they seemed to be able to make the connection that pooping indoors was off limits.  Until our present dog.  She took to the training command very fast ... as a puppy, she learned the command for going outside on her second or third trip out with me.  However, this has not led to making the logical leap to the idea that she should not therefore be pooping on the Oriental rug in the living room, and she's now over a year old.  (Either that, or she has something specific in mind she is signalling by doing it.)

She doesn't err in her crate, where she sleeps, so it's not like she is just indiscriminate.  But she will sometimes come out of her crate in the morning, go outside and nose around, run to the back door to be let in after about a half hour, then run to the rug and poop.  I'm wondering if it's to mark a spot (her favored rug is near my husband's desk, and her next favored is in my son's play area).  But whether she is just trying to be dominant or what, in the meantime I would love to know how to train her out of this.

I do know that the old "rub her nose in it and yell at her" canard is obsolete.  Is there some newer and more logical method?  We usually don't see her in the act, we just see the evidence, sometimes quite a bit later.

Jaybay · Accepted Answer

Definitely get the rugs out of the house and have them thoroughly cleaned. I had a dog just like yours and while the problem lessened with time, it took getting rid of the carpet to stop it entirely. I don't care how fancy of a steam cleaner you take to carpet, a dog can still smell that very attractive spot since it's down into the pad and sometimes even into the slab or subflooring.

AnnieBrooke · Answer

She's pretty good at hiding her intentions.  She will come in, I'll watch her like a hawk, then she'll go out, and several days later I'll notice poops on the rug.  Working backwards, I can usually figure out roughly what day she did the deed, but even so, it's slipping by our vigilance net a lot of the time, so I know she is getting good at doing things surreptitiously.  The main thing we are finding so far is that even if she has just been outside for a long time, she apparently is coming in ready to poop.

Miniar · Answer

It also helps, since you know where she goes to have her poop that you interrupt as soon as she looks like she's going to do it there and take her straight outside and then praise her when she poops outside instead. 
It's that combination of interrupting the unwanted behavior and praising the wanted behavior that's worked out the best for us and my Fedora (a 1 year old mutt), she's so determined to use the outside as the bathroom that she didn't even want to go inside a training rink where we went even if all the other dogs were all "oh, there's ground in here, I suppose that means it's the bathroom", she still insisted to be taken outside before she'd even pee.

tonyb286 · Answer

I think brightday3 has hit the nail on the head. Training is all about rewards for good behaviour as well as consistency and vigilance. First, both rugs will now have his smell on them, so if I were you I would take them up and place them somewhere safe for the time being. You should also have them properly cleaned and disinfected before you put them back, so all trace of your dog's scenting has gone. Next, vigilance ... make sure that you observe your dog when she goes outside first thing in the morning and as soon as she does something, praise her. Then, preferably every hour, let her outside and observe her until she does something - then praise when she does. Make sure you let her out as soon as she has eaten and watch her until she does something, then praise, praise, praise.

She will get the conection eventually. Some dogs just take a little longer than others. Good luck. Tony

brightday3 · Answer

I had a similar problem with my puppy, only he kept wetting in the house. I also kept him in a crate. I took him to a puppy class, and his trainer said, that when ever he did his business outside, I was to praise him and give him a small treat, so he knew this was the desired behavior. After a couple of months, I realized he had not wet in the house for a long time. The only down side is, he always needs  a small treat when he comes back inside. But I think the trade off is worth it.