Why do Dogs Sneak Away to Pee and Poop?

Sometimes the universe taps you on the shoulder, and other times it leaves pee in your spare bedroom. In the last few weeks I’ve gotten half a dozen emails from fans whose dogs or puppies sneak away to pee and/or poop. Clearly, the universe thinks it’s time for me to write about this problem.  This week, the two main reasons why dogs eliminate when you’re not looking, and what to do about them.

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Reason #1: Dogs Pee or Poop in Another Room Because It’s Far Away

Housetraining has two main parts. You need to give your Baby Dogalini plenty of well-timed chances to eliminate outside. And in between opportunities, you need to supervise and confine her. You supervise so that you can tell when Baby D. needs to pee or poop – she may get restless, for instance, or trot around sniffing the floor. And you confine her between toilet breaks because dogs usually prefer to eliminate away from places where they eat and rest. That’s why crates and pens are such a big housetraining help. They encourage the dog or puppy to hold it till you take her out again. 

Suppose you take Baby Dogalini out. She pees, so you give her a little walk and then bring her inside again. So far, so good.

Now you settle in to checking your Facebook page, with your puppy hanging out nearby. My, what scandalous friends you have! How hilarious are these YouTube videos, anyway? (You’ll notice I haven’t mentioned a crate or pen. Or any poop happening on that trip outdoors.) 

Meanwhile, Baby D. feels that special fullness in her back end. Off she goes, as far as she can get from her hangout spot near you – remember how dogs prefer to eliminate away from places where they eat and rest. She finds her way into another room. She’s only small so this other room might as well be the Australian Outback, as far as she’s concerned. Or, suppose you live in the Australian Outback, the other room is downtown Chicago, Illinois to her. In any case, she’s well away from home base. She relieves herself and comes trundling back to you.

Some minutes later, your feeble human nose alerts you to what’s happened. Naughty puppy! She sneaked off to poop! But that characterization isn’t fair. What happened was this. Without your supervision and guidance, she did a completely normal doggy thing: she created a toilet spot at a distance from what she considers home base. It’s not her fault she doesn’t yet perceive your entire dwelling that way. 

Solution 

Go back to Housetraining 101. Supervise Baby Dogalini more carefully from now on, confine her when you can’t supervise, and make sure she gets outside as often as she needs to go. Introduce her to your home one room at a time, till she figures out it’s all her home too.

Reason #2: Dogs Sneak Away Because They’re Afraid to Pee and Poop in Front of You

Old-school housetraining tips routinely included the advice to spank puppies, scold them, or smack them with a rolled-up newspaper. And for sheer disgust, nothing tops the idea that you should rub a puppy’s nose in his urine or feces if he makes a mistake. 

Unfortunately, if you happened to look in the wrong places, you may have gotten exactly this advice. Or maybe Zippy’s former guardian got the bad advice. Either way, punishing a puppy for housetraining mistakes is a good way to teach him just the wrong lesson. Dogs have simple little brains and they make simple little connections. If you smack Zippy when he pees in front of you, he may conclude it’s dangerous to pee in front of you. And if you rub his nose in his feces, obviously feces makes you go nuts, so you and feces should never be in the same room together. (Or be invited to the same parties.) Best to pee where you can’t see him; best to leave poop behind the couch, where you can’t see it.

Solution

If you’ve been punishing your puppy or dog for eliminating indoors, stop. 

Next, start your campaign to convince Zippy that it’s safe to pee and poop in front of you. If he won’t eliminate on leash, let him out in the backyard on a very long, light cord instead. If you don’t have a yard, of course, you’ll have to use a leash. Either way, give him as much space as possible.  

If Zippy won’t eliminate with you watching him, even at a distance, turn your back. Try to watch him out of the corner of your eye so you know whether he’s eliminated. Pretend to ignore him completely – even praising him for peeing and pooping where you want him to may scare him. 

Meanwhile, maintain a careful housetraining program. Give Zippy more outdoor toilet breaks than you think he needs. Between breaks, always keep him with you, either on leash or in a crate or pen right next to you. Since he will try to hold his urine and feces in your presence, this makes him more likely to use his outdoor toilet breaks, when you’re as far away as you can get and you’re not looking. 

If Zippy has an accident indoors, pay him no mind, so as not to keep scaring him. Use an enzymatic cleanser and, no matter how you feel, act calm, quiet, and cheerful. 

When he’s comfortable eliminating outdoors without you watching him, you can start praising him softly and tossing him a treat just after he’s gone. The praise should be quiet, because an excited tone might scare him again. 

As Zippy gets more used to the idea that the sky won’t fall if you see him pee and poop, you can make the light line shorter, or switch to a normal six-foot leash. Eventually, he’ll be comfortable eliminating on walks with you. How long is “eventually”? I can’t say. It depends on how scared he was in the first place, how resilient he is, and how carefully you practice the new rules of Non-Scary Housetraining. Be patient and expect some setbacks – you’ll get where you’re going.

Send questions and comments to dogtrainer@quickanddirtytips.com. I may use them in a future article. I’m Dogalini on Twitter, and you can also find me on Facebook, where I post links to articles and videos and respond to your questions. Thanks for reading!