Rainy Day Blues?

I recently had a client ask me why her dog Honey who is usually toilet trained starts to wee and poo in the house when it rains?  And how could she fix this?

This is a common problem I'm asked about and luckily it is usually quite easy to resolve.

 It's important to remember that our behaviour changes when it rains.  We also don't go outside and often will give up unhappy vibes when we have to.  Our dogs watch our behaviour carefully.  If you think about this you can't really blame them.

My tips for resolving  this issue with Honey:

• Go back to basic toilet training at first.  When it rains take her outside every two hours and after each meal.  You need to stand out in the rain as well so have your wet weather gear handy.
• Go to the toileting spot and walk around slowly.  Ignore Honey and don't give her eye contact.  That way she can focus on observing you.  Be relaxed and calm.  
• Hopefully Honey will now start to sniff and explore etc.  Once she is sniffing watch her out of the corner of  your eye and as soon as she squats to pee praise and reward her.  When Honey finishes peeing head straight back inside.  She can come with you if she wants or stay out - her choice.
• At first you may need to be out there for quite some time.  Initial patience will pay off.  Once Honey realises that the way to get back inside is to get on with business the time will get shorter and shorter.
• If she won't go outside, take her out on lead at first.

If despite this you still find a mess inside there are some important dos and don'ts

• Stay calm and don't make any fuss
• Remove Honey to an area where she can't see the spot where she toileted.  This is not a punishment so take her there kindly and calmly.
• Clean up with a neutralising solution and don't let Honey see you cleaning up.  If Honey sees you kneel down and start scrubbing where she just toileted she may think you are marking the spot.  In other words you agree this spot should be marked.  Also, the fact that you followed her lead on the marking puts you in subordinate position and could reinforce incorrect hierarchy.

CalmaCanine's toileting insights:
1.  If your dog is having "accidents" in the house it is unlikely that they are accidents unless there is an underlying medical condition.
2. Dogs can hold on to number ones for a long period of time.  In the case of an adult male I've been advised up to 48 hours!  Puppies and elderly dogs are an exception to this.
3.  Number Twos can be accidents as sometimes "you just gotta go".  But these can also have underlying behavioural causes