Dog pooping in the house - reaction to pregnancy?

[crancherry]

Has this happened to anyone else? My 2yo German Shepherd is house trained and never has accidents. We typically leave him loose while we are gone, but lately (since I have become pregnant), many times we leave the house and come back to find he has pooped and peed in the living room, and snagged a loaf of bread or something off the counter. He is tall and even learned how to jump up and open the breadbox (only while we are gone since we would never allow that)

We haven't changed his exercise schedule and are giving him the same amount of attention as always, but this is getting really frustrating. We were gone for less than an hour yesterday and he ate a whole bag of tortillas, tore up a bag of sugar, and peed and pooped on the rug. He was let out right before we left too, as always, so I know it's a behavioral issue and not that he couldn't hold it. We have two sons now so it's not like there are no children in the house.

Any ideas what to do? We don't have a way to confine him while gone except in the pantry, where all the rest of the food is, and I am sure he will go to town grabbing cereal, etc. off the shelves in there.

 

[InVivoVeritas]

I can't offer a fix, just want to sympathise with you.

My English Setter has a broken leg and is on complete rest in our utility room at the moment. 5 weeks ago, when she was hit by a car, she was perfectly well housetrained and never had accidents. Now she's doing it all the time, even when I've just taken her out. It's driving me nuts!!! I can't have dog-mess inside when our new baby is here, which will be in just a few more weeks.

Hope you can find a fix to this.

 

[Kazorina]

I definatley think dog's get jealous or get anxiety as they sense the changes. My dog is a nightmare she is usually confined to the hallway when we are out but if my children leave thier bedroom doors open she will poop in thier rooms. Only ever thier bedrooms and every time the doors are left open which would only happen maybe once every couple of months. She has always done this and we just assume its her marking her territory or she's jealous and does it out of badness.

I would suggest getting a dog crate, or finding a room in the house where there is nothing to destroy/eat, even leaving him in the bathroom while your out. You dont want to constantly worry what your coming back to.

 

[sleepykris]

my dog has definitely changed since my pregnancy. he used to be catlike and independent, now he follows me around and acts like a little puppy all over again. i second the cage suggestion, sounds like your dog knows there's a newbie coming and is acting like an older sibling trying to get attention.

 

[AlvysGrl]

So weird...our two year old red nose was completely house trained and as soon as I started to show he started to Poo in the house at night after we had gone to bed. Our dogs are our babbies so we didn't really get on to him at first. We just started to limit his food before bed and make sure he pooed at his last potty break for the night. It's getting better but we did bring the kennel up from the basement and set it up in the area where he would Poo...maybe he got the hint. I really feel as though they know we are pregnant...

 

[lhancock90]

My dog went through a naughty stage when LO was born, it passed after a few weeks. Keep petting and reassuring.

 

[crancherry]

We actually do have a crate, but since he is such a large dog (100+ lbs.), the crate is huge and there is nowhere to put it where it is not an obstacle to get around. We tried it in the pantry for awhile but it became such a pain to try to get around it to reach the food that we took it down. He was extremely upset when we would put him in there as well, he would cry the entire time. I know that can be broken but it just made me so sad to hear. Thanks for the suggestions though, maybe we can move or get rid of a piece of furniture to find a place for it.

Glad to hear I am not alone though, hopefully this will pass eventually!

 

[MorganEvans]

I doubt those things are related, but jealousy and stress aren't rare with animals.