My dog poops indoors after IVDD surgery. How do I retrain him?

My practice does rehab for animals like yours that are recovering from paralysis. I find doing laser like you are doing in the photo helps, also acupuncture. For my acupuncture treatments I start with three treatments several days to a week apart then every 2-4 weeks. This can help the nerves start functioning again. The incontinence may improve with time also, I generally continue to see improvement over the first 4-6 months after the paralysis. Make sure you are fully expressing his bladder and repeating a course of antibiotics to cure a low grade urinary infection may help also. To manage the fecal incontinence you can learn to stimulate him to poop twice daily which helps control accidents in the house. Check Dodger's List for other ideas on how to manage him. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you get answers to your veterinary questions.

You may need to spend more time with him outside. Wait him out, and when he does go poop outside, give him lots of praise and give him a treat. You may also want to consider crate training him. Get him a crate that is big enough for him to stand up and turn around in. Make it comfortable, in a nice quiet place, with his blankets and toys. If he's stubborn and won't go outside, put him in his crate and close it. If he cries, give him a few minutes to settle down, but if he persists, he may be letting you know he needs to go potty. By giving him just enough room, but not too much, your giving him a 'den' so to speak. Dogs are very reluctant to soil the place where they sleep, so by confining him, you're presenting him with a choice; ask to go out and get the job done, or possible make a mess and have to be stuck with it for a little while. When he has gone potty, put him in his crate but don't shut it. The presence of his blankets and a toy will reinforce to him that the crate is a nice place that is all his own.

Poor Joey! See the following links for more information on training: House training: https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx? pid=19239&catId=102897&id=4952071&ind=395&objTypeID=1007 Submissive urination http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/dogs/tips/submissive_urination.html If the house training issues continue or worsen, please have Joey seen by a veterinarian to help rule out a medical cause for this behaviour, as sometimes urinating/defecating in the house could be due to a urinary tract infection, crystals in the urine, stones in the urinary tract, constipation, infection, endocrine disease, digestive issues or trauma to the area. This can be a frustrating issue, and can take some time to fix, but if you keep at it hopefully things will improve soon. Positive reinforcement with lots of treats and praise when he urinates/ defecates outside and taking him out more frequently so you catch him before he goes in the house are a good start.

Take him for a walk only in the areas you want. If it is painful for him he will go when needed and not hold it in. If it helps, sometimes you can collect his BM from where he went and place it in the garden and have him sniff that to start associating the two things together.

It's not uncommon for temporary housetraining setbacks to happen, even in adult dogs. I would recommend going outside with the dog when he goes out to potty, and rewarding with praise and a tasty treat for pooping outside. Until this issue is sorted out, he will also need to be supervised at all times to prevent him from having the opportunity to poop in the spare bedroom - if you notice him starting to sniff the floor or circle, hurry him back outside, then praise and reward for pooping out there. You may need to use a baby gate or other physical barrier to keep him in the same room with you so that you can watch him. The "guilty look" you are seeing is actually appeasement behavior - dogs do not understand the concept of guilt the same way we do. This dog has likely learned that he will be punished if there is poop in the house, but this is not the same thing as understanding the cause-and-effect relationship between the act of pooping and being punished. In fact, most dogs who have been punished for housetraining accidents will show this behavior even if you bring some poop from outside and place it on the floor - you can try this sometime if you have doubts! :) I would stick to this plan until he has gone at least two weeks with no accidents at all before allowing him any unsupervised freedom in the house.

This can be a normal reaction to dogs who are used to pottying in the backyard, off leash. When you walk them and they’re on a leash they become anxious and nervous about going to the bathroom out in the open and on the leash. My best advice for you is to try and walk him frequently so he gets used to being on the leash. If he is able to hold his urine and bowel movements then it shouldn’t be a big issue. He will need to lease go to the bathroom every 10 to 12 hours. When you do walk him on the leash and he potties use lots of positive reinforcement like praise and treats to let him know you are proud of him and did a good job. Consistency with walking him will help improve this problem. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

There is no one reason on why dogs will all of a sudden start pooping in the house. I would recommend going back to crate training Cali. I would keep Cali in the crate when you cannot keep 100% watch on her. When she comes out of the crate I would then walk her. If she goes then I would play with her and once you have to turn your back she goes back in the crate. If she does not go to the bathroom when you take her out of the crate I would put her back in for 20 minutes and try again. If you catch Cali going to the bathroom tell her no and take her and put her where you want her to go and praise her for going. If you just see the accident then clean it up and do not say anything to Cali. A crate should be big enough for her to stand up, sit down and turn around. The crate is a very safe option and dogs end up loving their crates, it's their safe house. I would try this route. I would also recommend getting a stool sample performed at your veterinarian's office. This will rule out intestinal parasites. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!