Why does my German Shepherd poop in the house?

If your German Shepherd has been pooping in the house you’re probably wondering why and what you can do about it.

This post will show you a number of reasons why your German Shepherd might be doing it and what you can do to stop it.

So, why does my German Shepherd poop in the house? Possible reasons are that it is still young or it is getting old, it’s stressed, it hasn’t been trained not to, it’s ill or that it has separation anxiety.

There are a number of things that you can consider when trying to figure out why your German Shepherd does it. Depending on the cause there are also a number of things that you can do about it.

Why your German Shepherd poops inside

Each of the different reasons why your German Shepherd poops in the house will likely come with a number of clues.

Below, I will mention a number of reasons why it might be doing it and the signs to look for.

It’s young or old

If your German Shepherd is still a puppy then it would be likely that it is not yet able to control itself. However, it will be very important to make sure that you train it to learn that it is meant to go outside when it needs to pee and poop. I will show you some ways that you can do that below.

Likewise, if your German Shepherd is getting old now it could be the case that it is not able to control itself like it used to be able to. In this case, it would help to let it out right before bed and to allow it to have access to the yard whenever possible.

It’s stressed

The reason why it has been pooping inside could be that it is stressed. This would be more likely if something recently happened that would cause it to become stressed such as someone mistreating it, someone moving away, another pet dying or a change in its schedule.

It would help to consider what happened at around the time that it started pooping inside. If it does seem like something might be causing it to become stressed then it would likely help to get the advice of a dog behaviorist or a vet.

It hasn’t been trained not to

If your German Shepherd is still young then one possible reason could be that you have not trained it to go outside yet. If you have not trained your German Shepherd to learn that it is supposed to go outside when it needs to poop then it won’t know that it’s supposed to. You can see how you can train it to go outside when it needs to poop below.

It is ill

The reason why it has been doing it could be that it is ill. This would be more likely if it has started doing it suddenly, it has been acting differently or if its poop is runny. In this case, it would help to take your German Shepherd to a vet.

Separation anxiety

The reason why it has been pooping inside could be that it has some separation anxiety. This is where your German Shepherd does not like being left alone and it gets anxious when it is alone.

This would be more likely to be the reason if your German Shepherd tends to get very anxious when you are going out. Signs of it being anxious could include pacing, crying or being destructive when you are gone. It would also be more likely if it only seems to poop inside when you are not around.

If your German Shepherd does seem to have some separation anxiety then you can watch the video below to see a number of tips on what you can do about it.

Things to consider

Before trying to get your German Shepherd to stop pooping inside it would help to have a good idea of what is causing it. Below, I will mention a couple of particularly helpful things that you can consider.

When it started doing it

It would help to consider when your German Shepherd first started to poop inside.

If it has always done it then it would be likely that you need to train it to go outside because it hasn’t learned to go outside when it needs to poop.

Whereas, if it started to do it suddenly then it would make it more likely to be due to illness or stress and it would help to take it to a vet.

At what times it does it

It would also help to consider the timing of when your German Shepherd poops inside.

If it seems to poop inside when you are not around then it would make it more likely that it has some separation anxiety. Whereas, if it seems to do it shortly after eating then it might be the case that there is something wrong with its diet.

If you are unsure of what food to get for your German Shepherd, consider getting dog food designed specifically for German Shepherds. You can get a GSD specific dog food on Amazon here and one for GSD puppies on Chewy here. 

How you can get your German Shepherd to poop inside less

Below, I will mention a number of things that you can do about your German Shepherd pooping inside.

You can look at the book Training Your German Shepherd on Amazon to get more tips about how you can train your GSD.

Train it not to

To train your German Shepherd to poop outside you’ll want to take it outside on an hourly basis and to wait for it to pee or poop. When it does you’ll then reward it with a treat and with attention.

When you’re outside, be boring so that you don’t prevent it from peeing or pooping naturally. This method works by teaching your German Shepherd that peeing and pooping outside gets it what it wants and it encourages it to do it outside.

You can watch the video below to see how it’s done.

Keep it in a certain area

Another thing that you can do is to keep your German Shepherd in a certain section of the house. Dogs don’t like to pee or poop where they live so if they live in a smaller section of the house then it will discourage them from peeing or pooping there. It can also help you to monitor it more easily.

Crate training

Another effective method is to crate train your German Shepherd. When done properly it will give your German Shepherd an area that it can go to that it considers as its own home. When it’s in there it will be much less likely to pee or poop there and it will encourage it to wait until it can go outside.

Many crates have removable trays which can help you to clean it up much more easily if it does have an accident.

Let it go outside regularly

A very important thing for you to do is to let it go outside to pee or poop regularly. If you currently make it wait for long time periods before it can go outside then it will be much more likely to feel the need to pee or poop inside.

Take it to a vet

If you are unsure why your German Shepherd keeps peeing or pooping inside or you can’t get it to stop then it would likely be very helpful to take it to a vet for expert help.