Am I doing something wrong

H

Harbour

Forums Regular
Koffoy will be 3 in June and we have had our ups and miscommunications.

He had been really good about not going in the house and now in 24 hrs he has pooped twice in the house.:gaah The first time was in the middle of the night sometime between 11:30 pm and 5am and the second was right after we had been outside this evening and he won't go outside. I had been not putting him in his crate at night and allowing him to sleep in my bed at night since we have made great progress about not chewing everything. This is the first time he has messed in the house in the middle of the night. Today has been in the negative temps with the wind chills again and we had more snow over the weekend, but he has been good about going out and doing his business fairly quickly. When we went out this evening, he wasn't even acting like he needed to go (although it was a normal potty time) and he started to left his paws , so I didn't want to keep him out too long. We came in and within the time I took my coat off and put it away he pooped. I didn't make a big deal out of either time, just picked it up and cleaned and went on.

So tonight we snuggled and I loved on him and I told him I needed him to sleep in his bed (aka) his kennel and he went to bed without too much complaining.

I'm worried that I'm doing something wrong that he is messing in the house. Could the negative temps be a reason? I'm trying to make sure he goes out more frequently just for shorter time periods. Should I not worry too much? I feel bad about having him sleep in his kennel tonight, I miss him trying to hog the bed.
 
I think you're taking the right course of action by reverting and making him earn his freedom again. I've lived with dogs that were "mainly" potty trained and it gets frustrating, you want to nip it in the bud. We had to take the same steps with Honey when she regressed due to moving stress.

If it's due to the temps it's understandable, so no point in getting mad at the them, but it's also good to give them clear directions.

And it is a decent chance that the temperatures are messing with him. I know there's been similar instances from my dog owning friends on facebook. Everyone's been needing to leash the dogs so they don't get distracted and get to cold before taking care of business.

If there's still messes in the cage you might want to take him to the vet for a checkup.

I've not had issues in the house with Honey, but in the cold I have to be careful when taking her into stores, if she doesn't go before she gets inside she's about five times more likely to have an accident in the aisle, something she would normally never do.
 
My guess is that it has to do with him not wanting to spend a lot of time outside now because of the cold. We have to really force our dogs to go, and even then sometimes they won't/can't and start lifting their little paws. If they do that, then they lose their freedom for the day (especially Bentley who I think would be more likely to go in the house).
 
Thanks. There was no messes in his kennel last night or today while I was at the office, so I am hoping it is the weather. Going back to basics and watching like a hawk, figuring that can't hurt.

He was a little more vocal about going to bed tonight in his kennel again. He knows how to make me feel guilty?
 
Harbour said:
Thanks. There was no messes in his kennel last night or today while I was at the office, so I am hoping it is the weather. Going back to basics and watching like a hawk, figuring that can't hurt.

He was a little more vocal about going to bed tonight in his kennel again. He knows how to make me feel guilty?
Click to expand...

shelties are masters and getting THEIR way, any WAY they can...it is their JOB, ha....and they are so darn cute and clever, we succomb:eek2:
 
when a 3 year old dog that was previously house trained suddenly starts pooping in the house, then I think you need to find out why.

Worms maybe? Maybe needs a vet visit? or did some other change come into the house to upset him?
 
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