“What did I just step in??” Is your dog pooping in your shoes? Whether you’ve found out the hard way or not, I’m sure you’re ready to learn why your dog keeps pooping in your shoes. Is it because they’re mad at you or something else? Is there some sort of smell you can put in there to get your dog to stop pooping in your shoes?

Today, we’re going to answer all of these questions about this frustrating and absolutely disgusting problem for you. Most importantly, we’ll tell you definitively how to stop your dog from pooping in your shoes! Soon, this nastiness will all be behind you for good. So without further ado, let’s get to our article “How to Get Dog to Stop Pooping in Shoes.”

Why Does My Dog Keep Pooping in My Shoes?

Your dog keeps pooping in your shoes because your scent attracts them to it. While gross and frustrating, this isn’t something unusual for dogs as they’re naturally attracted to the smell of their owner’s feet and shoes. The familiar scent makes them feel comfortable and safe while they do their business.

Dog’s have an acute sense of smell, so while your shoes may just smell like musty feet or the ground to you — to your dog, they smell just like you. Still, this is obviously not something you should let continue and it’s definitely understandable that you want your dog to stop pooping in your shoes as soon as possible.

If your dog is pooping in your shoes, then they’re likely “comfort” going elsewhere too. If they can’t get to your shoes, then there’s a good chance your dog will poop in your closet instead. They might also look for spots that don’t carry your scent quite as much, but still have an attractive hard surface to go on. Is your dog also pooping in the garage, or maybe even pooping in the shower?

These types of behaviors all root back to the same thing. To stop your dog pooping in your shoes for good, you’ll need to do so through behavioral training. Skip to the last section now where we’ll tell you exactly how to make that happen.

Do Dogs Poop In Your Shoes When They’re Mad?

Dogs do not poop in your shoes when they’re mad at you or anything else. Dogs don’t grasp that destroying personal property is a way of getting back at someone, so they wouldn’t seek out your shoes — or any other areas or things — to spite you when they’re upset about something. You’d see more direct behaviors like avoidance or growling.

What Smells Keep Dogs From Pooping in Shoes?

Vinegar is a smell that will keep dogs from pooping in shoes and other areas. Make a mixture of 50% percent water and 50% distilled white vinegar, then apply with a spray bottle or cotton balls. Be sure to check the materials your shoes are made out of first to ensure they won’t be damaged before spraying them directly. Placing the cotton balls inside is your safest option.

We should be clear, however, that this should only be used as a temporary solution while you’re in the process of training away the behavior of your dog pooping in your shoes. It’s understandable that you want to keep your shoes pristine, but don’t use this method and expect to just be done with this whole issue.

The behavior will still exist, your dog will just show it in different areas. So while putting vinegar in your shoes will stop your dog from pooping in them, that doesn’t mean that your dog just isn’t going to find somewhere else unpleasant to poop instead.

How to Stop Your Dog from Pooping in Your Shoes

To stop your dog from pooping in your shoes, start by using a 50/50 mixture of vinegar and distilled white vinegar applied with a spray bottle or cotton balls. Check your shoe’s materials first to ensure that they won’t be damaged. Placing the cotton balls inside will be your safest bet.

This will keep your shoes safe from your dog’s poop sneak attacks while you work on training away the behavior, which is also absolutely necessary.

You next need to begin accompanying your dog outside whenever they go potty, even if it’s just in the backyard. When they go, whether it’s pooping or peeing, give them very excited, pets, praise, and a small treat. Make sure that anyone else who takes them out is also following these steps, even on walks.

If your dog does poop in your shoes or anywhere else in the house they’re not supposed to, give them a calm but firm “no” immediately. You should then place them in time-out in their crate or a closed-off room with no toys for about 10 minutes.

With time, patience, and consistency, your dog should soon learn that pooping in the backyard or on walks gets them rewarded, while pooping in your shoes gets them negative results.

Still, you need to address the fact that your dog wasn’t obeying commands as soon as you gave them. Your dog is going to continue having problems like this, and if you don’t start doing something about them now, they’ll only be more difficult to deal with in the future.

Let’s talk about what might be causing your dog to not listen when you tell them to stop something. You’ve probably heard before that dogs are pack animals, and that in every pack there is a pack leader. But when your dog doesn’t obey your commands to stop pooping in your shoes or stop other misbehaviors, they’re clearly telling you that they don’t respect you in this role.

But once you’ve proven to your dog that you are not just their pack leader, but a capable one worthy of their respect, they’ll stop pooping your shoes, and they’ll stop all of their other misbehaviors too. They’ll obey your commands at all times. And best of all? They’ll do all of this happily!

Sounds terrific, doesn’t it?

“Of course, but how am I supposed to do this?”

You should start by watching an excellent free video series by a renowned trainer named Dan which is on this exact subject: how to be your dog’s pack leader. In it, he’ll explain everything in ways that are very easy to understand and teach to your own dog, and he gets right to the point so that you’ll start seeing these important changes in your dog in no time.

Start watching Dan’s free training series now by clicking here. And don’t worry, because no, you’re not going to have to yell or be mean. Dan never uses those types of methods. Not just because it’s the right thing to do, but also because loving teaching techniques are the fastest way to achieve permanent changes in your dog’s behavior.

I’m sure you’re eager to get your dog to stop pooping in your shoes and solve their other problems as well, so I’ll let you get started now. Good luck with everything, and thank you for reading our article “How to Get Dog to Stop Pooping in Shoes.”