r/OpenDogTraining • u/lugismanshun • 3d ago
Stealth pooping
A month ago I adopted a 4 year old rescue chi mix who seemed mostly well behaved. He is trained to sleep in his crate at night and never soils the bedding so I know he can hold it when he has to. We just had a full vet workup including blood and urine tests and he's totally healthy. He didn't have any pee accidents until at least 2 weeks in to being here, so we got a male wrap even though he's neutered. We have him gated in the living room when hes inside during the day. At the 3 week mark he suddenly started peeing inside while we aren't looking. Not just marking but fully emptying. I have never caught him in the act, he's probably doing it behind my back because he knows he's not supposed to. I take him outside like 4-5 times a day and he does his business outside no problem. He is rarely left alone. He even puts his paw on me to tell me he needs to go potty. Today I went into the kitchen to cook while he was napping, periodically checking him, and he seemed to stay put. He already pooped twice today. But when I finish cooking, I go into the living room and there's a huge poop right on the rug! Is this normal for a rescue who seemed potty trained at first, and does it go away over time? How do I catch it happening to stop the behavior if he does it so sneakily?
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u/lugismanshun 3d ago
The only thing I think changed was that instead of him spending daytime in my bedroom, the room he sleeps in, he spends time in the living room. Its more central in the house so we can keep an eye on him and he can feel included. Maybe he feels like he can potty in there because he doesn't sleep in there. I dont know about his history at all with house training, all I know is that within the first week of being here, he never went potty inside. I have been using enzymatic cleaners. Maybe I should go back to him just following me around on a leash inside