[cinnamontangles]

About a year ago my then four year old rescue starting going to the bathroom in the house for no reason that I could see. He only does it when I am home-when I am at work he never does it. I'm a pretty big homebody so unless I am at work or running an errand, I'm at home with him, every night and all of the weekends. It's gotten progressively worse over the last two months and nothing I'm doing is deterring him. I can put him out, watch him go, bring him back in, and thirty minutes later I hear him peeing on the couch. Last night I put him out at nine thirty and left him out for half an hour, I know he went, and then an hour later I got up to get some water and there were three puddles in the dining room. This morning I put him out, fed him, put him out again, and when I got back up an hour later, there was a nice big pile of poop in the kitchen.It's like he wants to go even when he doesnt really have to go that bad. I'm at my wit's end. I bought a nice rug for my spare room, and the one time I forgot to close the room off he went in there while I was on the couch and went all over it and ruined it. I have hardwood floors and I CANNOT get the pee smell out. He's destroyed mycouch by lifting his leg all down the back.I've tried showing him the accident and putting him outside immediately, I've tried shaming him and putting him in a room by himself in time out- he completely ignores me when Im talking to him, wont even make eye contact. I have no idea why he's all of a sudden doing this all the time-I feel like he's showing me he's my alpha and I don't know how to correct the behavior. Any suggestions?

 

[Maiabean]

No point in shaming or punishing. It doesn't work.

What does work? PRAISE. Instead of just letting your dog out, go with it. Praise + treats for going potty outside. If you make going potty outside sooo positive, they won't want to go inside, where it's not a potty party every time!

If you catch the dog peeing inside (as in in the act), you can try startling them to interrupt the flow of pee, whisking the dog outside, and the praise + treat for potty outside!

Also, buy an enzymatic cleaner to get the smell of pee and poo out of your house. If the dog can smell his potty inside, he's going to think potty is inside thing.

Next, don't let the dog inside unattended. Use baby gates to section off the house and only allow the dog in the part you are in (or the part without carpets and things you don't mind being ruined). once the dog stops going in 1 part of the house, gradually expand their area slowly.

Finally, remember the dog isn't going potty inside AT you. They aren't doing it to spite you. Or to piss you off. Or because they see themselves as dominant. That's all a load of crap. The dog is going inside because something about going inside is rewarding for them.

I should also add- have you gotten the dog checked at the vet? It's always a good thing to do, especially when there is a change in bathroom habits.

 

[cinnamontangles]

I do praise him, I praise him like a crazy person when he goes out and does his business. I will watch him go, let him in and praise the crap out of him, give him a treat, and then turn my head and he will have gone on the floor. I've taken him to the vet-there's nothing wrong with him. The vet actually laughs because my pup's got such a bad attitude about everything he thinks he's doing it just to be a jerk. And it does kind of seem like that.
My house in tiny, he's barely ever out of my sight. He just runs around the corner and goes with me right on his heels.
I've never laid a hand on him, would never physically punish him, but when I catch him I do shame him and say "what did you do" and it's like he absolutely knows and doesn't give a crap.

 

[Maiabean]

Have you considered tethering him to you? That way he can't run and do it behind your back?

 

[SnackRat]

I will watch him go, let him in and praise the crap out of him, give him a treat

In this example, you're rewarding him for coming back into the house, not for peeing outside. For a reward to reinforce a particular behavior, it has to follow that behavior very immediately. In other words, you need to go outside with him, praise him while he pees, and treat him immediately afterward to start seeing results. I would use something really great, like a small piece of chicken, so that he can start to become very motivated about peeing outside.

By shaming, scolding, and punishing him, you're probably creating a lot of stress for him (for instance, you say he "won't even make eye contact," which is avoidance behavior that dogs display toward people who are scaring or stressing them). I would quit doing all those things. Stressing your dog isn't helping, and may be making the situation worse -- my dog is more likely to pee and poop, whether she desperately has to go or not, when she is experiencing stress, so "shaming" her for going inside would just mean she'd be a lot more likely to piddle all over my house. It is much harder for dogs to learn where and when to potty when we create layers of stress and confusion for them. Far better to use your time and energies in more productive ways!

You need to go back to square one and potty train him like he's a new puppy. There is helpful advice in this thread: http://www.dogforum.com/housetraining/house-training-how-tos-2135/

 

[cinnamontangles]

I appreciate all the comments and advice. He's just a different kind of dog, it's hard to explain. We all joke about his "bad attitude" but he really is just kind of aloof and non-doggish about most things. He just wants his own way. He will walk only as far as he wants and then sit down and refuse to go anyway but home He's not stressed out, he's just, well, kind of ahardheaded jerk When you are talking to him and it's something he doesn't like, he's not looking away in fear, it's more like he's rolling his eyes. Yesterday when I came in I had my hands full and didn't reach down to pet him immediately and he peed on my foot. He's just- different. I love him to death though, although everyone I know says it's debatable whether he loves me back.

 

[Thisisme19]

I appreciate all the comments and advice. He's just a different kind of dog, it's hard to explain. We all joke about his "bad attitude" but he really is just kind of aloof and non-doggish about most things. He just wants his own way. He will walk only as far as he wants and then sit down and refuse to go anyway but home He's not stressed out, he's just, well, kind of ahardheaded jerk When you are talking to him and it's something he doesn't like, he's not looking away in fear, it's more like he's rolling his eyes. Yesterday when I came in I had my hands full and didn't reach down to pet him immediately and he peed on my foot. He's just- different. I love him to death though, although everyone I know says it's debatable whether he loves me back.

Your dog is not a special little snowflake. We all think that our dog is different and they're really not. Dogs do not have human emotions. They do have different and varied personalities but everything you are attributing as his behaviour is you projecting human thoughts on the dog. It just doesn't work this way, for ANY dog. What @SnackRat has suggested will work with time.

You're not going to get a magic bullet solution to solve your problem. You've said he's been doing this for over a year. What's the harm in trying what's been suggested her for a month or two and see if it works?

 

[Gretchenpc]

One thing to remember is that animals never do anything for "no reason". There IS a reason, even if it isn't apparent to the human.

I've found that once dogs reach the age that they can control their bladders and bowels for an extended period of time, if they've been brought up to know that going potty is an outdoor activity, they can and will often hold out for quite long periods of time to avoid messing up inside. My 1.5 year old dog literally was the worst peeing/pooping monster in the world. No surface in my house was safe, and it seemed like I'd never get him house trained. Moved him to staying in a room in my horse barn during the day while I was at work, because having accidents in there was more acceptable than in my house. I even gave him a little place with some old hay spread on it because he likes to potty in loose hay. For a few months there would be fresh poop and pee daily over in the area with the hay spread out. He was never punished for it. Gradually, the piles and puddles decreased, and now they've stopped altogether. He comes out of there when I get home and after his initial "Hi, Mom!" greeting he runs to a grassy patch, takes a loooooong pee, then sniffs out a place a few paces away and humps up for a big poop. It's obvious he's been holding it.
I think it's natural for a dog to want to use the bathroom away from the area that he has to spend a lot of time. If he's suddenly soiling his living space, there has to be a reason. And I do think they "protest" sometimes.

Do you spend a lot of time outside with him? Playing, walking, just sitting out there with him? Could it be that your dog wants to go out more often, and he has inadvertently learned that one way you'll let him out is if he pees/poops on the floor?