If your dog starts having accidents in the house, it is important to find out the cause - dogs rarely act out of spite or anger. The first cause that should be ruled out is a medical reason for the loss of housetraining. Urinary tract infection, bladder stones, kidney disease, intestinal disease or parasites or neurological incontinence can cause discomfort and cramping leading to an urgent need to eliminate. Arthritis can impair mobility.

Causes and Solutions

1. The dog may not be truly housetrained. Be sure to not give your dog too much freedom without supervision before the dog is really ready.

2. The scent of previous accidents, even from another dog, can be powerful enough to bring out the dog’s instincts to mark the area. The most reliable way to remove the scent is to use a bacterial enzyme odor eliminator made especially for pet odors.

3. Dietary issues can cause housetraining problems. Problems can include: a feeding schedule that does not allow ample time for elimination afterwards, feeding a high fiber diet that increases stool volume which makes it hard for your dog to hold feces, and changes in diet that may cause intestinal problems. Feed consistently and carefully to avoid dietary issues.

4. Intestinal parasites and intestinal disease can cause your dog to lose bowel control. Have a stool specimen checked for parasites and your dog examined for any other intestinal issues.

5. Orthopedic problems may cause pain when squatting so your dog waits as long as possible before eliminating in order to avoid the pain and then loses control in the house. Have your dog checked by your vet for arthritis or other orthopedic problems. There are many safe, effective medications that can ease pain for your dog.

6. A common side effect of punishing a dog for housetraining errors is making the dog afraid to eliminate in front of people. This makes it difficult to teach the dog the proper place to eliminate. Stop all punishment (including harsh reprimands). Supervise your dog at all times inside so there is no sneaking off into another part of the house to eliminate. Reward and encourage your dog outside for eliminating. (It may be necessary to teach your dog to trust you again if you are outside, too.) Be patient. Quietly clean up accidents in the house using the proper products. Reward and praise for all desired elimination behaviors.

7. Your dog has become afraid to go to the normal elimination area. Sometimes the reasons for the fear are easy to understand. Some of the reasons include: weather conditions, leaving the dog outside alone too long, being shocked by an electric fence, a nervous temperament, other animals outdoors, people teasing or abusing the dog while outside or frightening sounds like car backfires, fireworks or gunfire. You may have to search for the cause of the fear and change how your dog’s trips outside are handled. Going out with the dog every time and offering rewards usually helps. As your dog becomes more confident, you can try standing in the doorway and letting your dog in immediately after eliminating.

8. If your dog does not have access to outside when it is time to eliminate, accidents will happen. Keeping a journal recording accidents can help you find a pattern of the times your dog needs to go outside and make adjustments to the relief schedule.

9. Separation anxiety can be at the root of housetraining accidents. Usually, your dog can get in some naptime when you are gone and a sleeping dog needs to eliminate less frequently. When a dog is anxious and unable to settle, the body is stressed and needs to eliminate more frequently. Treating separation anxiety usually requires a combination of medication and behavior modification. Your veterinarian can help you and your dog with this issue.

10. Some dogs become very anxious and/or fearful of crate confinement and exhibit the same signs as with separation anxiety (9). If the crate anxiety cannot be resolved, a different method of confining your dog may be needed.

11. Unneutered male dogs usually mark their territory. (Females may also mark.) Large dogs tend to prefer to mark outside because it gives them a bigger territory. Small dogs that are content with just a small territory are more likely to mark indoors. Neutering can help solve this problem.

12. An unspayed female in heat urinates frequently. Spaying can help solve this problem.

13. More than one male dog in the house can lead to each dog marking over the other dog’s urine. In order to control this, you will need to supervise them closely and use confinement to control the behaviors. Punishing the dogs adds more problems and can lead to aggression.

14. Some dogs will urine mark when you have a guest. Use supervision and confinement to stop the behavior before it becomes a habit.

15. A new person in the household or someone moving out can trigger housetraining issues. Changes in scents around the home as well as changes in the feeding, relief and activity schedules can lead to problems. Go back to basics in housetraining to help your dog adjust.

16. A dog in the house that is not housetrained can destroy the good housetraining habits of your dog. Work on housetraining the first and reinforce housetraining basics to prevent your dog from developing problems with proper elimination.

17. If a puppy or dog has been raised in a space that forced it to live in its own waste, the instinct to keep the den area clean has been disrupted. Housetraining requires that instinct and you will need to help your dog regain that instinct. Do not use a crate or confinement to a small area that forces the dog into contact with the waste. Using a larger confinement area where the dog has a chance to keep clean can help your dog regain its clean den area instinct. Once your dog is fully housetrained, it may be possible to use a crate for confinement.

18. If a dog has a long-established habit of relieving itself on a particular surface such as carpet, it helps to limit access to the particular surface. Use close supervision around the surface so that you can redirect your dog to the proper elimination area.