Some causes to consider include improper cleaning of previous accidents, scolding for elimination, fear of the relief area, marking, anxiety, or early learning. Once the cause of the problem is identified, re-establish the habit of eliminating outside by taking your dog through a housetraining refresher.
It is normal for puppies to have "accidents." In fact, puppy potty training accidents are unavoidable in the early days of training. The chances are that several soiling accidents will happen inside your home before your new puppy gets a handle on controlling his bodily functions.
Your child may appear to have taken a backwards step once the initial excitement of her potty training has died down. If it's just the odd accident, it's nothing to worry about. Accidents are part of the potty training process. Children often have them while they're engrossed in play or other activity.
However, some dogs do experience a condition called “potty training regression”, whereby your dog reverts back to having accidents inside rather than going out. This can be upsetting, aggravating, and make everyone in the house miserable – but it is important to remember that your dog is not doing it to spite you.
Expect your puppy to have a few accidents in the house—it's a normal part of house training. Here's what to do when that happens: Without a lot of drama, immediately take them to their outside bathroom spot. Praise your pup and give a treat if they finish there.
These tips can help:
Disease. A number of health issues can cause your dog to have issues. The most obvious, of course, is anything GI-related. But other problems like urinary tract infections, Cushing's disease, kidney disease and more can cause your previously house-trained dog to have accidents.
Nighttime accidents could also be caused by anxiety and stress. For examples, dogs with separation anxiety could have more accidents at night if they aren't sleeping in the same room as their owner. There might also be other events that contribute to your dog's stress which you might not be aware of while asleep.
Medical issues can also cause some potty-training regression. Some common issues include urinary tract infections, incontinence , inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes or dementia. These issues have accompanying symptoms other than accidents, but if you are concerned it's never a bad idea to visit your veterinarian.
Puppies often regress while potty training. This is in part due to their brains developing as they grow. While the brain is still developing, they might forget their training. As long as you are consistent in your efforts to potty-train, Fido should pick it up again quickly.
One big issue could be that your adult dog is not house trained. The reasons for this may be that they were never trained, or never lived indoors. They may have spent a long time having to go on concrete, in their pen, or even in their crate. Luckily, adult dogs learn potty training quicker than puppies.
One of the biggest potty training fails is if you don't take your dog out at the same time each day, or pick up on their cues that they need to go quickly enough. You need to ensure your dog is given the chance to go after they have had a meal or drunk a large amount of water, after excessive playtime or after sleep.
Your dog may be experiencing an illness, may be under stress, or may also be having a negative reaction to a change of food or scenery. If you have kept your dog's routine the same and they are still having accidents, you should make a trip to the vet to make sure that they aren't sick.