I have an adorable Rootie that has never soiled my house untill now ….

 

by sarah
(uk)

Riley is 11 months old and has never even as a puppy soiled indoors. This has all started about 2 weeks ago every morning I am getting up to mess.

I was feeding him at 8 oclock in the morning and 6 o’clock and night. I have changed his night feed to 4 o’clock to help alleviate the problem but to no avail. He is on wet food as he seems to have intolerence to dry. Its not because we go to bed to early and get up to late as he goes out between 12 and 2 and we are up at 7 am.

He has 2 walks a day but won’t even have as much as a wee on them he saves it for his own garden lol.

If someone can come up with any suggestions on how I can get round this problem I would be hugely grateful.

I hope I have given you enough information

Looking forward to your replies

Thanks Sarah xx

Hi Sarah
I know how frustrating this can be, and it sometimes seems to come out of nowhere. But, with sudden changes in any type of behavior there is almost always a reason – it just may not be very obvious until you really delve deeply.

I’m assuming that his bowel movements themselves are normal and that he’s not showing any signs of being unwell, but it’s possible for bacterial, viral or parasitic conditions to cause a sudden change in bowel habits. Usually loose stools or diarrhea, which are more difficult for a pup or dog to control.

However, given that this is not what’s happening with your pup then it could be a behavioral rather than a physical problem.

If there have had any big changes in your household recently, such as a move, a new baby or pet, a divorce or death… then it could be that your pup is feeling anxious and upset and that has caused a regression in his toilet habits. This can happen with dogs just the way it does with children who are stressed.

Or it could be that he’s simply got into the habit of eliminating indoors at night and is already comfortable doing that. Puppies are very much creatures of habit and once they start doing something it gets entrenched very quickly.

You also say he seems to have a problem with dry food, but it’s the ingredients that cause dog food allergies and sensitivities, not the form. Canned dog food is much higher in water and generally lower in nutritional value. A dog eating canned food alone is going to have more frequent, and looser stools than one on dry puppy kibble. I can’t even imagine how many cans a full-grown Rottweiler is going to need either!

I’d recommend getting him on to a premium dry hypoallergenic dog food and see if that helps. Do switch him over slowly though as any sudden change in diet can trigger tummy upsets.

If it’s simply that he’s in a habit of pooping indoors, I’d suggest getting a crate (if you don’t already have one) and using it at night in particular. Most pups and dogs won’t mess in their crate or kennel once they have enough bowel and bladder control, so this may help break the cycle and give him a chance to ‘forget’ the behavior.

At 11 months old Riley could manage on one meal a day, and if you feed him in the morning and then just give him a couple of nutritious dog biscuits at dinner time this may also break the habit as he won’t feel the need to eliminate as strongly during the night.

With any behavior like this it’s generally just ‘trial and error’ to find out what works best in terms of putting an end to it, but it’s also important to try to find the reason it started.

Hopefully the tips above will help some and if anyone else has any ideas or suggestions that may help Sarah and Riley feel free to share them!

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About The Rotty lover 2159 Articles
My name is Dr. Winnie. I earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Duke University, a Masters of Science in Biology from St Georges University, and graduated from the University of Pretoria Veterinary School in South Africa. I have been an animal lover and owners all my life having owned a Rottweiler named Duke, a Pekingese named Athena and now a Bull Mastiff named George, also known as big G! I'm also an amateur equestrian and love working with horses. I'm a full-time Veterinarian in South Africa specializing in internal medicine for large breed dogs. I enjoy spending time with my husband, 2 kids and Big G in my free time. Author and Contribturor at SeniorTailWaggers, A Love of Rottweilers, DogsCatsPets and TheDogsBone