Q: Our four-year-old Dachshund, Alice, has started to poo in the lounge in the middle of the night. She goes out into the garden before bedtime, so we can’t understand this new behaviour.
A: As this is a new behaviour at four years of age, the first thing you need to do is make an appointment with your veterinarian, who will examine Alice and check for any underlying medical causes.
If she has a clean bill of health, the next step is to establish what has recently changed in her life that could be causing stress/anxiety, which could be a contributing factor to the behaviour, such as changes in usual routines, weather (storms), visitors, a new pet or the loss of another pet, or changes in your working hours.
We need to establish the underlying cause and implement behavioural modification strategies (dog-specific) to reduce anxiety and improve general coping skills. A home session with an accredited behaviourist can assist with this.
In conjunction with the above:
1. Ensure the area Alice has soiled is properly cleaned up, leaving no residue of excrement smell. (Your local pet store or vet should sell a suitable product.)
2. Feed Alice her dinner a few hours earlier, which will assist in placing bowl movements on a time schedule. Place her meal in the area she has previously soiled. (In general, dogs do not go to the toilet where they eat or sleep). Make sure she is on a strict feeding routine. Don’t leave breakfast, dinner or other food out for her to graze.
3. At night, block the soiled area off, denying access. Contain her sleeping area, so that she does not have free rein of the house during sleeping time.
As long as the underlying cause is established and resolved, in time, the above management strategies can be relaxed.
Samantha Walpole, behaviourist
