# Golden retriever pees outside, poops inside.



## CorsairFreak (Feb 18, 2012)

Hi all,

I apologize for the blunt topic title, but I figured I would get straight to the point.

Approximately two and a half weeks ago I got a male golden retriever, named Chance, who just turned 14 months old on the 15th of February. The previous owner was a single mother so Chance doesn't have much training, if any. He has quite a few bad habits that need to be worked on, but first and foremost I need to get him house trained.

The previous owner gave me all of the things she had bought for Chance, including a fairly large crate\kennel. But it's too large to keep anywhere except in my unfinished basement. Which, although rare, is where he goes when everyone leaves the house. Simply because he's new and I don't yet trust him to be left by himself without destroying the house or being a bully to our other dog. He's not aggressive, just playful. But our other dog, Copper, is 11 years old and she's never been the most playful dog so she gets fairly annoyed with him. Anyways, because his crate is too large to keep in an easily accessible area crate training him isn't a possibility.

The previous owner told us that when Chance had to go potty he would nudge the door handle to let her know. Unfortunately, his signal doesn't work very well at my house, but only because he nudges every door handle he can find, at random, whether he has to go potty or not. So, I bought a string of bells to hang from a particular door that our other dog uses to tell us when she needs to go potty. After about a day of calling him over to the bells, ringing them myself, and asking Chance "potty? potty?" he knows what the bells are for. Now, instead of nudging every door handle in sight he rings the bells every few minutes. Chance is like "the boy who cried 'wolf'" because he rings the bells so often and he doesn't go potty every time you take him outside. Obviously, I'm not taking him outside every time he rings the bells but he is still going outside about a dozen times a day not counting his walk.

Thankfully, he pees outside with no problem, but pooping on the other hand...
In the roughly two and a half weeks I've had Chance he has only pooped outside twice, and only one of those times was in my yard; the other time was on a walk. When he poops inside I don't reprimand him for it. I deposit his poop outside in his designated potty area then immediately bring him outside and let him smell it while it's still fresh. This has not worked at all. On top of all of that when he potties outside I give him a lot of praise so he knows that's what I want him to do and that's where I want him to do it.

So, in summary, I've got Chance to pee where I want him to and praise him when he does. But he poops in the house, and signals that he has to go potty every couple of minutes even though he doesn't have to go. Most importantly, what can I do to get Chance to stop pooping on my floors? And what can I do to get him to signal only when he has to go potty? And not every few minutes just because he wants to go outside and investigate the yard.

Frustratedly,
CorsairFreak


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## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

This really just takes time and patience. Every time he poops inside, it tips his scale toward pooping inside, so you have to be super diligent about catching him before he poops and getting him outside. Tether him to you at all times so you don't miss his signals. 

Also, clean up his poop with an enzymatic cleaner. If he can smell it inside, he'll think inside is a good place to go. 

As to the bells, take him out, but only for a few minutes. When he goes, praise and right back inside. Bells mean potty time, not play time.


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

I agree with Amaryllis (again!). Right now it's mostly about supervision so you can PREVENT Chance from pooping inside. Treat him as if he's a brand new younger puppy and you need to constantly keep your eyes on him. Also, keep track of when you feed him, and how long he needs to poop after that, so you can get a schedule going.


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## CorsairFreak (Feb 18, 2012)

Thanks for the replies.

I've been taking Chance outside every half an hour today and he hadn't pooped by 5:30 PM, when both dogs get fed for the evening, so I started taking him outside every 15 minutes knowing it was coming soon. I took him outside at 7 PM, we came inside at 7:05PM, and that's when I started writing a reply. Well, he pooped on the floor about 2 minutes after bringing him inside. So, as usual I took his poop outside, put it where I want it, then brought him outside immediately to smell it. I feel really defeated right now because he's been outside SO MANY times today and it was all for naught. I believe he thinks that he is supposed to poop in the house. That even if he was outside and had to go poop he waits until he comes back in.

Both of my dogs eat at the same time; about 9AM and 5:30PM. When he poops inside we clean it up really well and he never poops in the same spot twice. He goes in different rooms, in different spots, on different surfaces. I don't really know what else to do here. I'm doing everything my common sense and past experiences tell me to do and they're simply not working.

I bought a clicker last night, and following kikopups videos I started clicker training today. It went about as well as I expected it to: he listens if I have a treat in my hand. If not, he acts like he has no idea what the commands are. This pooping in the house must stop though. I think I could have a puppy house trained by now.

Any and all help is appreciated,
CorsairFreak


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## 3doglady (Jul 31, 2011)

Some dogs poop with increased exercise. When my lab wouldn't go, (due to rain, or even if I just needed her to go before an outing), I would walk her; she always poops on walks - not all dogs do. So my thought is, while you don't want to increase exercise immediately after a meal, you could take him on a light walk and see if that helps. 

My only other suggestion, is to keeping him out a little longer. 5 minutes may not be long enough for him to relax. If he doesn't go, then crate him and give him another opportunity 15-30 minutes later until he does. Once he poops, then he gets a treat and more freedom in the house. I've also found that a leash helps when training to go outside. It helps keep them focused on the task at hand.


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## LilasMom (Jan 18, 2012)

CorsairFreak said:


> Thanks for the replies.
> 
> I've been taking Chance outside every half an hour today and he hadn't pooped by 5:30 PM, when both dogs get fed for the evening, so I started taking him outside every 15 minutes knowing it was coming soon. I took him outside at 7 PM, we came inside at 7:05PM, *and that's when I started writing a reply. Well, he pooped on the floor about 2 minutes after bringing him inside.* So, as usual I took his poop outside, put it where I want it, then brought him outside immediately to smell it. I feel really defeated right now because he's been outside SO MANY times today and it was all for naught. I believe he thinks that he is supposed to poop in the house. That even if he was outside and had to go poop he waits until he comes back in.
> 
> ...


DON'T let him be unsupervised, even for two minutes! By supervising him you prevent accidents because you catch him before he starts to sniff or squat. It takes literally two seconds for my dog to have an accident so he is never out of my site. Just don't let him poop in the house. Put him in his crate for the two minutes if that is what you have to do. If I have to use the bathroom or do something that requires me to be gone for even ten seconds without supervising my dog, he goes in his crate.


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## Katelyn39 (Aug 16, 2016)

I took my puppy from a dog foster home about a year ago. I love him to bits; he has a great personality, and I feel that he loves our family so much. BUT, whenever I leave him at home he pees in the house: on the carpet, on the bed, on flowers..
My husband and I were thinking about taking him to 'doggy school', but then again, it’s extremely expensive, and the nearest 'doggy school' is far away from us. Maybe you have some advice? THANK YOU!!!!


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## Kyllobernese (Feb 5, 2008)

The closer you supervise them so they do not poop in the house, the sooner they learn. Every time he goes in the house it sets him back in his house training. It means for a while you have to be watching him at all times when he is in the house, take him outside often and do not let him loose in the house until after he goes outside. If the crate is in the basement and it is awkward going back and forth, you can leash him to yourself or something close so he cannot wander off and go. The more you supervise, the quicker they learn. Giving him a good walk when you feel he should have to go usually gets things moving.


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## Lillith (Feb 16, 2016)

Sometimes dogs don't transfer their previous potty training over to a new house. I would take a step back and go to Potty Training 101.

1. Remove the bells. Take him out on a schedule instead. All he knows is that the bells get him outside, whether he wants to potty or not. My dog used to do that before we had a fence, so it was an absolute pain the butt. I eventually stopped listening to him when he did that and put him back on a schedule. Unfortunately, it's the only way. My dog kind of grew out of it, but being properly exercised helps. Perhaps your dog will grow out it in time, but until then, use the schedule.

2. Clean up accidents with Nature's Miracle or vinegar and baking soda to eliminate the scent.

3. He must be 100% supervised, and if you can't, crate him. He must not leave your sight or sneak off. If you catch him in the act, say something like "oopsie!" to interrupt him and take him outside at once. Praise and reward for going in the appropriate place.

Patience and diligence are the only way to fix this problem!


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

I agree with Lillith's suggestion to re-train him from the beginning. Once you get him 'confined' and on schedule, it should only take a week or two for him to be consistent.

Also, Dogs don't like to go in the same spot where they did previously, but they do like to go in the same general location. So, rather than transferring his mistake, you might smear a tiny one inch spot on his bathroom. Just a smear or less, not a piece ;-)


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## Lillith (Feb 16, 2016)

LOL, I just realized this thread is from 2012!


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

... And, I just followed along ... I hope the suggestions helped Katelyn39


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