Need Help with Feeding and Pooping Schedule Please!

[ramama]

We just moved out-of-state and our dog is mad at us. I swear. She is pooping all over the house and DH is on his last bit of patience with her. At our old house, she had her best dog friend and we would go out all the time with him. Now, it seems that if there is no Gemini, she would just rather poop in the house. As in, she's not even telling us that she needs to go out any more (or very rarely, at least).

Before, she was kind of free-fed. We fed her sometime in the morning and sometime in the evening, and left the bowl down so if she didn't finish it, she could snack on it throughout the day. So, since we were out with Gemini so much, whenever she happened to poop was fine. But I think now we need to know when she will have to poop, so we can be sure to be outside in that time-frame. This is important, because there have been times when I take her for a walk, and she poops on the floor not two minutes after we return. It would help to know that this is the walk she has to poop on. Add to that, our new house has mice, so we got a cat, and poor Lola is just.not.happy. I try to give her as much over-the-top attention as I can, but DH is perpetually mad at her for pooping on the floor twice a day (and he is her favorite person in the world! In Lola's view, the sun shines out of DH's ass) and it's just a vicious cycle...

Here's my plan: feed at regular times twice a day and leave the bowl down for 30 minutes. If she doesn't finish it, then oh well, she'll learn. Keep an eye out for any pooping regularity, and then adjust the feeding schedule accordingly so that she poops at times that are good for all of us (I prefer that she not poop at, say, 11pm, because there are no streetlights here and I can't ever find her poop to pick it up)

Does this make sense at all? Could it work? If you've had problems with an adult dog pooping in the house, could you share what you did to remedy it? Although I've grown up with dogs, this is the first dog that is "mine," so I'm quite a beginner. Even if you think, "even an idiot would know this," share it anyway, because I might not know it LOL!

Lola is a 4yo dachshund, by the way

[Ola_]

She's NOT mad at you, she is just confused and stressed (by the move, the new cat, the routine change, your husband's anger) and in a new place. Often when dogs are in a new house they need to learn from scratch that this house is part of their "den" and is not like outside where you can poop. We had a couple of accidents during our first week in our new house when we moved too.

The trick is to keep an eye on her, clean the accident spots well, and slowly she will adjust. How long are the walks you take her on? Normally the exercise helps to stimulate their bowels so try extending them a bit - maybe it's just long enough for her to feel the need, but not actually poop. Also, have you taught her a potty cue? That is super helpful, especially if you're in a new (possibly distracting) place or you know your walk is almost done and she hasn't gone yet. Once you know when she normally poops you can use the potty word to make sure she goes - for example I have one dog that never poops at night and another who very rarely poops in the morning. I kind of keep a mental tally so that I know if Chaos didn't poop yesterday afternoon or this morning, she will definitely need to poop this afternoon - and I make sure to tell her to go so she doesn't get distracted by a squirrel or try to run inside just cause it's raining, you know?

I think the idea of set meals is a good one too, it will help to get her on a routine. While you're getting the potty problem under control I'd keep her beside you (i.e. call her to come with if you're leaving the room, etc). Make sure you are using one of those enzymatic pet cleaners that removes the odor, regular cleaners don't remove the smell well enough for strong doggie noses. Once the spot is clean and dry, you can feed her some of her regular food or treats on that spot, just put it right on the floor - this will help her to see it as a "non potty" spot. And if there is a particular room or area of the house that she seems to poop on frequently, it may help to block it off or close the door and only have her there when you can supervise closely.