House Soiling in Dogs: The 5 Real Causes — and Why Scolding Never Works
A dog that relieves itself in the house is rarely just “not house trained.” Most often, it is marking a territory it believes it controls, reasserting an ambiguous status, too frightened to relieve itself outside, or suffering from separation anxiety. Scolding changes nothing. Clear leadership and a structured use of the “mat” command do.
The 5 causes of house soiling
1. The dog that dominates its owners. When a dog thinks it is the leader within a family, it is entirely natural for it to mark the territory, and therefore to relieve itself in the house. It may even hold back outside so that it can mark the territory when it comes back home. And when a dog is the pack leader at home, it also wants to be the leader outside: it may relieve itself at friends’ homes, at the vet’s, at the restaurant…
2. An ambiguous hierarchical rank. When you come home and pet a dog that comes to you, you submit to it; if at mealtime you send it away from the table, you dominate it. Very often, dogs have an ambivalent status with their owners — and a dog whose status is ambivalent will relieve itself right after losing power: you send it away from the table, and it goes and relieves itself in another room.
3. Poorly acquired house training. A two-month-old puppy cannot hold it for more than two hours while awake. A puppy that is not taken out regularly enough, that was allowed to use puppy pads or newspapers, or that had a garden available to relieve itself whenever it wanted, has not learned to hold it. Most dogs trained on pads keep relieving themselves in the exact spot where the pads used to be.
4. The fearful dog. When a dog is afraid, it can be impossible for it to relax enough to relieve itself. A very fearful dog living downtown may stay outside for hours — and only relieve itself once back in the calm of the house.
5. Separation anxiety. A dog suffering from hyper-attachment may relieve itself when its owners are away. It has nothing to do with revenge, as some owners might think; it is the consequence of anxiety.
Why scolding never works
During house training, you must not get angry at a dog that relieves itself in the house: it could end up eating its feces to avoid its owners’ anger. The underlying problem will persist, and scolding will not change anything.
What works
For a dog to become house trained, it is essential to dominate it: if it dominates, or if its status is ambiguous, it will relieve itself on the territory. This means putting in place all the rules concerning food, territory, contacts and sexuality. When owners change the rules of life, it is common for the dog to relieve itself in the house even more often before stopping — this does not last more than 3 weeks if all the rules of life are applied.
To speed up the process, the “mat” command is very effective: a dog does not relieve itself where it rests, so it will make an effort to hold it when it is confined to its mat. Used with a precise progression, this method is demanding but very effective. I have seen dogs that had lived in kennel boxes for years become house trained in one week.
Stephan MairesseProfessional dog trainer & canine behaviorist, 30 years of experience across 16 countries, more than 2,000 dogs trained. Certificat de capacité N°750108. Read his full background →
The complete house-training program — the day-by-day “mat” protocol, how to limit space, and what to do with fearful dogs — is in Module 8 of the course.
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