So your older dog has started toileting inside and you don’t understand why? This is quite common, and there is a simple explanation…
To be clear, what we are talking about here is a dog that has already been toilet trained and has achieved this for a considerable period of time – say more than 6 months. And you are sure that your dog is not so old that he is incontinent, and also that he is not sick.
If none of the above are the case and you feel that it is behavioral, then I can assure you it most likely is… and the problem is simply this.
Your dog is 99.98% the DNA of a wolf.
For a minute think of your dog as a wolf, in cute doggy clothing. The way your dog still works and thinks is still like a wolf! Now the chance of you actually being the pack leader is very slim. Believe me….if you want to check out to see if you are the pack leader then there is an amazing video web site where you can see how you fair!
Anyway back to the toileting in the house, in the wild if a wolf puppy was lost and needed to find their way home how would they go about it? There are no GPS systems, no street signs or maps to follow…..the puppies would follow their nose. They would pick up the scent of the den and track it back to safety and the adult dog pack would make sure there was a good strong fresh scent to follow!
Now, for a second let me amuse you. You are not the pack leader, your dog is, and when you leave your dog it is doing exactly what it would do in nature to help you find your way home… and guess what?… you return home. Only thing is when you return you are all stressed and angry (because you were lost maybe?) – Nothing to do with the new carpet being ruined.
In order to help a dog you must first think like a dog. One of the most fascinating and interesting video sites is The Online Dog Trainer where every aspect of dog behavior is put into place and made sense of by professional dog trainer and behaviorist, Doggy Dan. If you’d like to learn more about how to stop your dog toileting inside – and just about everything else dog related! – check out The Online Dog Trainer now.