Schedule for a 5.5 m/o puppy

[foreverhis84]

So, my standard poodle puppy is usually pretty fantastic in the house and hadn't had an accident at all since she was 3 months old... until today, when she pooped in the house right after having been let out! So obviously I can't let her have free roam anymore and need to restrict her freedom until she can be trusted.

I work from home 2 days a week and send her to daycare when i'm in the office. For the days when I am working from home, here is the schedule I propose:

7-8am: walk/playtime/potty
8-10am: crate time with breakfast in crate
10- 10:30: potty break, playtime/training session
10:30-12:00: crate time
12:00-1pm: walk/playtime/potty
1-3pm: crate time with lunch
3-3:30: potty break, playtime/training session
3:30-5:30pm: crate time
5:30- 9:30: dinner, hang out with us after work, walk, training, etc until bed time

Is this reasonable? When she was free roaming she usually slept this much during the day anyway, but i can't let her free roam until i know she won't poop inside so back to the crate it is.

Also keep in mind that 2-3 days a week she's in daycare (which she LOVES and has a structured naptime) so this is for 2-3 days a week max.

 

[hoangpr]

@foreverhis84 Why do you think she pooped in the house today?

The schedule doesn’t seem unreasonable. The only “risk” with crate time is that it removes your pup from a potential learning experience. You can reinforce and reward the outside poops, but don’t forget to have a game plan for eventually moving her back to free range!

 

[foreverhis84]

@hoangpr I have no idea why she pooped in the house, honestly. She hasn't pooped inside since she was 9 weeks old, and even her pee accidents pretty much stopped after a couple of weeks and completely vanished at 3 months! She had just been outside, and i always go out with her and praise her for pottying. We always stay outside for at least 3-5 minutes to give her time to do her business and bark at mouse farts

One thing is that she is inconsistent with when she poops. Sometimes she goes before bed, other times she'll go in the morning, or even late morning. Her food intake is fairly consistent so i'm not sure why this is, but her poos seem healthy so i haven't overthought it until now.

 

[hoangpr]

@foreverhis84 Your last paragraph sounds JUST like my pup. But she got spayed this week and suddenly started pooping near the house like clockwork. Who knows what’s going on there lol. Just realized it’s because I’m feeding her more.

But your last paragraph really does seem like the key to solving the problem. Maybe your proposed schedule can focus on squeezing out those poops at expected times, introducing super high value treats, and identifying the environmental or emotional factors that knock her off track You got this!