Need help with signals to keep 1 y/o from pooping in house

[Melissa]

Buddy is a 1 year old, 30 pound mini-goldendoodle that my husband and I have had since the age of 2 months (from a breeder).  We trained him early on (using bells on the doorknob) to signal when he needs to go out to do his business.  Unfortunately it seems the training was for naught, as Buddy has pooped in the house twice within the last month only a few feet away from where my husband and I work in the home office.  He's not providing any signals or indication whatsoever so it is difficult to ascertain his needs.  Because we feed him and take him out on a regular schedule we have established a pattern for when he normally goes.  However, these 2 recent incidents have caught us by surprise.  Does anyone have any suggestions as to how we might be able to get Buddy to communicate his needs to us more clearly and/or has anyone experienced this regression of the signaling for needing to potty?  Any help or input is greatly appreciated.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

I was going to suggest scheduled feedings but I see you covered that in this post. My next question is What are you feeding? Corn based food ( I'm sure there is a better term ) increases the frequency of pooping.

Also, since you are on a scheduled feeding I was wondering about snacks or treats in between meals? Even if you are feeding a quality food many of those snacks are .... well let's just come right out and say it.. the snacks are crap! This may lead to more frequency stools and the Urgency to do so.

If he is near you in the office add another set of bells in that room. Possibly you are concentrating with work tasks and miss his cues.

Good Luck

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

You say your training has gone for naught. I think 2 poops is not a complete breakdown in training. If he consistently goes outside and has two isolated incidents something else is the cause--not training.

[Melissa]

We have thought about putting a set of bells on the office door however since Buddy has long stopped using the bells that were on the kitchen door (to go to the backyard), we're not sure how effective this would be. To clarify: we removed the bells from the kitchen door a couple of months ago because he was not using them to signal us for the purpose of going out. He often sits at my husband's feet under his desk in the office. And during the 2 incidents in question simply got up, walked a few feet away, and quietly did his business (yes, literally behind where we were sitting). He doesn't growl or whimper or bark, he doesn't come to us or look at us or try to paw us as we have experienced with our previous dogs (which were not doodles). So we are trying to figure out how to get him to signal us in such situations. Has anyone else experienced this enigmatic behavior? We appreciate any suggestions.

Also, we feed him Orijen 2 times a day and for snacks we use pieces of his food or all natural sweet potato pieces.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Is Buddy closed in the office with you, or can he get to the back door? My guys are usually with me in my office, but when they have to go potty they go downstairs and wait by the door. Also, do you think he might not have been feeling well? Both of my Doodles still have inside accidents if they are sick. Was it a "normal" poop?

[sandy b]

You say you removed the bells because he wasn't using them. How was he telling you that he needed to go out? Maybe he's confused and you need to start over and be consistent. Other than removing the bells have you changed anything else in his routine? We use the bells with Max but it took some time for him to catch on.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Any dog can have an occasional accident when they are ill . But if a dog who has been trained and is not ill defecates indoors with no evident precipitating factors, I think it's important to let the dog know you are really displeased. I would tell my dogs this is bad very emphatically. I would also go back to making sure to praise them for defecating outside where appropriate. I would never reprimand them for circumstances beyond their control, of course. But for a one year old to have had 2 incidents only seems like very little. I really would also, since these were recent incidents, look hard for possible problems whether illness , food, etc.

[Kyoko]

I was wondering may be he didn't feel well that day? May be he had some tummy ache and needed to poop more than ususal.... I think 2 accidents in 8 months is OK. We all have some CRAPPY days!!

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

arr arrrr arrrrr :) Good One Kyoko. I agree, two accidents in 8 months is not bad.

I gave this some thought. Spud was bell trained. There were periods of time when he did not use the bells... mainly summer. We are up and about more at this time of year. Spud still uses them. Not as often as a puppy but he uses them. Some of the stretches are more than a week. I'd try the simplest thing first--put the bells back up and start slowly again using them.