Adopted a 5 year old

I adopted a five year old mini-schnauzer, and it took him two weeks to
adjust to his new home. He came to me from a 10 acre farm, and his
owners were breeders. He was well cared for, neutered, and
housebroken. Soon after his vet visit for shots he suddenly started
pooping in the house. I really think it was accidental, since the vet
told me to change his food because he was having gas, and the poop was
runny. I work all day during the week, and I don't want to leave him
out, although I have a fenced, gated yard. He is so affectionate, and
I want to keep him forever, but my husband is concerned about the house
soiling. Any suggestions.

ceb...

The SpotBot -- the best $125 you'll ever spend. Queenie is having a bout of
stomach upset now too and I just set this thing over the spot, turn it on,
and in 3 minutes, no spot. No work, either. It is a revelation.

sighthounds & siberians...

Does it only work automatically? Is it possible to use it to clean a
whole rug? I need something to spot clean area rugs, but would like
to be able to clean a whole rug with it.

ceb...

It's automatic in the sense that you put it on the spot, press a button,
and it cleans the spot. It doesn't move around on it's own, though, you
have to move it to the next spot. The joke about it is "now I've got a
dirty rug with a bunch of clean spots on it."

MauiJNP...

how does it do for the smell left by the soiling?

ceb...

It works great! Bissell (who makes the SpotBot) makes a special Pet
Stain/Odor removal formula for the machine.

You could probably use whatever cleaner you wanted in there, you have to
watch that it isn't highly foaming, however. I thought I might use
Nature's Miracle, but I have been happy with the Bissell product so have
been sticking with that.

I have found (a) you don't need as much of it as they say (now there's a
surprise) and (b) you almost never to use the "set-in stain" setting,
which takes longer and uses more formula (this is true even if the stain
is set-in.

MauiJNP...

I think I am sold, thanks for the info.

montana wildhack...

If you use an enzyme cleaner specifically formulated to clean carpets
and remove dog oders, I'm guessing it's perfection.

sighthounds & siberians...

Which is what we'd have here.

I was recently reading Consumer Reports and they recommend rather than
buying a whole rug cleaner, renting the Rug Dr from the supermarket to
clean entire rugs. I keep meaning to do this....

shore...

I have a Hoover steam cleaner that's never done a
particularly good job. Over time it became so clogged with
dog hair that it's now unusable (it's really difficult to
get into the suction path to clean it). My mother is
visiting and took it upon herself to rent one of those
supermarket cleaners, and wow, what a difference! *So* much
better than the consumer market carpet cleaners.

sighthounds & siberians...

That's probably a better idea than buying one, but it's not as
convenient.

AMB...

It's been awhile since I rented one from the supermarket. I found the
weight of it hard to deal with (in and out of the car and even when
pushing it around).

I do like my Hoover steam cleaner. Instead of using the shampoo each
time, I like to use Nature's Miracle with water. It does clean and
leaves it pretty "fresh" smelling (after it dries).

I had a Roomba, but didn't use it diligently. (Too much stuff always
seemed to be on the floor and it didn't function well on some of the
carpet we had.) When I did use it, I really liked it (especially
under the beds.) The battery developed a "memory" from being plugged
in, but not used, and wouldn't hold a charge. It went to Goodwill.

We recently bought a house and really wish I could justify the expense
of another Roomba since we have wood floors and a low-pile carpet. I
think it would be great with the wood floors.

Anne
and Baxter
(who is shedding, even as we speak!)

Mustang Sally

montana wildhack...

Those only work where you put them down. They don't work like a Roomba,
which we are considering.

Roombas only vacuum and I don't think their Scooba counterpart works on
carpets...

Anyone here use a Roomba?

sighthounds & siberians...

Roomba? Scooba? What the heck are they? Never heard of either one

montana wildhack...

Roomba is a robot vacuum and Scooba is a robot floor scrubber.

With Roomba, you charge it up and let it go in your room (s), where it
will automatically clean for you. Some of the more expensive Roombas
allow you to program a pattern, some of them, sensing they are running
out of power, will go back to their chargers and recharge, then go back
to cleaning your floors...

My understanding is that while they don't do corners too well, if you
have a hard surface floor and run the thing every day, it will do a
pretty good job of keeping things clean, cutting down your
sweeping/Swiffering time.

sighthounds & siberians...

Ah. Is there such a thing as a non-robotic carpet cleaner?

Marcel Beaudoin...

We have one.

We call her Emilie.

sighthounds & siberians...

Not *that* kind of carpet cleaner, Marcel. We have a couple of canine
Hoovers. I meant a carpet *shampooer*.

Mustang Sally

Mustang Sally

of them.

Mustang Sally

Mustang Sally

MauiJNP...

crate him while no one is home

FurPaw...

You probably changed his food too rapidly - start by mixing a
little of the new food (probably a different one than you tried)
with the old, and change the proportions to increase the amount
of the new food gradually over a few days. Some dogs have
"sensitive" digestive systems.

If he hadn't been pooping in the house before the food change, he
probably just couldn't hold it - it was diarrhea, after all.

Crate him while you're out - he'll probably sleep most of the
time, and won't be distressed if you introduce him to his crate
gradually, feed him in there, give him treats in there. He
probably will come to look at it as his den and spend time there
even when the door isn't closed.

Or confine him to a room that is easily cleaned up, like the
kitchen or bathroom, with water and a comfortable bed.

Can you come home for lunch to let him out? Or do you have a
neighbor or someone you could hire to do that? At 5, he probably
can normally "hold it" all day, but it would be a kindness and
break of routine for him if someone could stop by.

HTH -