You’ve come to know that awful smell when you enter your bedroom: your dog pooped under the bed again! It stinks and it’s an absolute pain to clean. You try your best not to get frustrated and angry with your dog, but they keep doing things like this!

How do you stop a dog from going to the bathroom under your bed? And why are they doing this in the first place? Well, keep reading, because in this article “How to Stop Dog From Pooping Under Bed,” we’ll answer all the questions you have. Most importantly, we’ll teach you how to stop it from happening ever again!

How to Stop My Dog From Pooping Under the Bed

To stop your dog from pooping under the bed, interrupt them whenever you catch them doing so by giving a calm but firm “no.” You should then immediately take them outside to finish.

In the future, take your dog outside regularly to go, and wait until they do. Once they have gone potty outside, you should praise them and give them pets plus a small treat right away. Do this consistently and be patient, while having others in the house follow these same steps, and they should pick things up soon enough.

But you’ll still need to address why your dog poops under the bed in the first place, which is most likely related to anxiety though dominance issues (and wanting to mark) are also possible. In either case, they both can be traced back to your dog not viewing you as a capable leader in the home.

You’ve probably heard before that all dogs are pack animals, and that in every pack there will be a pack leader. How does that lead to your dog pooping under the bed, you’re wondering? Well, when they don’t respect your leadership this can lead to your dog trying to fill the pack leader role on their own.

With a dominant dog, this causes them to want to mark their territory indoors while a dog that is experiencing extreme anxiety is going inside because they want to go in the safest place possible. Both can be corrected — along with the many other behavioral issues that come with each — by proving to them that you are their pack leader.

“Perfect, so how exactly do I do that?”

I’d recommend watching an excellent free video series that’s on just this subject — how to be your dog’s pack leader — by a renowned trainer named Dan. In it, he explains everything in ways that are very easy to understand and teach to your own dog, and he gets right to the point so you’ll start seeing real results with your dog in no time.

Start watching Dan’s free training series now by clicking here. And don’t worry about having to be mean, because Dan loves dogs just as much as we do — you won’t ever even have to raise your voice to get all of these wonderful results.

Why Does My Dog Keep Pooping Under the Bed?

Your dog keeps pooping under the bed for a few possible reasons. If they feel anxious, your dog might poop under the bed because they feel safe and secure while doing it there (it’s like a cave, and dogs descended from wolves). Dogs feel particularly vulnerable while going to the bathroom, so if they already have stress issues, they’ll be even worse when they need to go.

It’s also possible that your dog is more dominant, and trying to mark its territory. If this is the case, they’ll likely be trying to go other places they shouldn’t be going also, like peeing in the house at night or pooping in the living room, for example.

Finally, you could have just accidentally trained your dog to poop under the bed. If you’ve let them do their business there once without issue, they may think it’s an acceptable place to be going potty. Dogs are creatures of habit and will continue doing things that work for them!

Will My Dog Grow Out of Pooping Under the Bed?

Your dog will not grow out of pooping under the bed on their own. If they’ve learned this nasty habit, then it’s not simply going to go away with age. They’re doing it for some reason, and you need to get to the core of why it’s happening, then address it through training.

Both anxiety-related and dominant marking behaviors that lead to pooping under the bed and other places they shouldn’t are common, so you shouldn’t feel like you’re alone here. But you do need to begin training the behavior away immediately, or it will continue while also leading to your dog developing other behavior problems too.

How Do You Discipline a Dog That Poops Under the Bed?

To discipline a dog that poops under the bed:

1. If you catch them in the act, give a calm but firm “no.” Don’t yell or get angry, however.
2. Take them outside right away to finish.
3. Whenever your dog needs to go or should need to go, go out with them and be patient.
4. Once they go potty outside, immediately give them excited praise, pets, and a small treat.
5. Be patient and consistent (you’ll have some more mistakes along the way).
6. Ensure that anyone else in the home is following these steps also.

But whatever you do, do not yell at or strike your dog when they poop under the bed (or for any other misbehavior). This is cruel, and will also create other much more serious behavioral issues.

I’m sure you’re eager to stop your dog from pooping under the bed as well as the other behavioral issues you’re likely experiencing, so I’ll let you get started on things. Remember the tips we went over that should help things in the short term, and be sure to share this article “How to Stop Dog From Pooping Under Bed” in case you need to refer back later!