My adult dog poops inside right after coming in from outside. Why?

There can be many different reasons for dogs to poop inside a house. If they are older they can have arthritis and not fully empty outside so when they come in they can feel the need to go. They can have diarrhea from stress, intestinal parasites, eating something they were not supposed to or even a virus. It can be a behavioral issue that something cahnged they are not fond of and they can start with this. I would recommend bringing her to the veterinarian just so they can make sure it is nothing medical prior to saying it is from moving into the new house. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

The two most common reasons for this problem are either a medical problem or a behavioral problem. I would recommend starting with having your veterinarian check a fecal sample on Chloe. My dog starting having accidents like you describe when she was around a year old, and we found a microscopic intestinal parasite. Once we treated it, her accidents stopped. The other possibility is that Chloe is holding her stool on a walk because she wants the walk to continue. If that is the case, then I would try to find a location with a large number of dog smells to encourage her to go in that location. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hello and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Sometimes as a dog ages they develop something called cognitive dysfunction (like dementia) where they forget their training. This may be the cause of Tot's accidents. A supplement like Senilife may help withi this. Pain and arthritis can also lead to accident in an older dog as they have a harder time going outside and positioning to go to the bathroom. Sometimes urinary tract infection, internal medical issues or digestive problems may also cause accidents in the house. A visit to your Veterinarian may help to sort out what the cause of Tot's accidents are. Until you are able to take him to the vet you may want to take him outside more frequently to avoid accidents.

Poor guy. He's very handsome and 13 is an impressive age for a Great Dane. You must take very good care of him. There are two possibilities that jump to mind for me. The first is that he may have enough arthritis and pain that he doesn't want to get up and walk outside. Even if he moves around ok and doesn't limb, and even if he's already on arthritis medications, I would recommend an orthopedic exam with a veterinarian to make sure he doesn't need more. The other possibility is that he's starting to have cognitive dysfunction (aka doggie dementia), which can cause dogs to forget their house-training. Actually, he likely has both things going on. A three thing to throw in there is he could have a true gastrointestinal issue such as parasites, IBD, issues digesting food, etc that is making him uncomfortable or feel increased urgency. So I would recommend starting with a vet visit to check him out for pain and talk to them about cognitive dysfunction. Bring a fecal sample too in case they want to test him for parasites. Best of luck to you and sweet Maverick. Please let me know if this was helpful information and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach

Thank you for submitting your question regarding your dog. Elderly pets can experience fecal incontinence where the feces will fall put without the dog realizing it. Other times, the pet has severe arthritis and it is painful to assume the position for defecation. This leads the pet to either avoid defecating outside or not going the full amount. It is worth having her see her veterinarian to see if there are options to help the situation. I hope this information helps!

There are a couple of reasons why Hunter is pooping in the house lately. It could be due to stress, he could have diarrhea from a medical illness causing him to have to go right where he is at the moment, or it could be due to canine cognitive dysfunction, which is similar to dementia in humans. I would have Hunter seen by a vet tomorrow for a physical exam, geriatric blood panel, and urinalysis. These tests will help identify if there is a medical cause behind this behavior, and if there is, the vet can discuss treatment with you. If he does have canine cognitive dysfunction, there are medications to help with that as well as diet changes you can make. Again, the vet can discuss this with you.

If Jewel is urinating in the house I would recommend bringing her into a veterinarian and have them check a urine sample on her. She may have a urinary tract infection. If she is defecating in the house and it is normal this can be behavioral and I would consider checking a stool sample and crating her until she goes outside again. If it is diarrhea then I would recommend checking a stool sample, putting her on a bland diet of boiled chicken and white rice and if it doesn't resolve discussed probiotics and medication with your veterinarian. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.