Separation Anxiety?

[katecoop]

So, we have a schnauzer mix who is almost two. He was housebroken quickly and has no problem waiting to go outside. However..

He has developed a habit of pooping in one corner of our living room. This morning I let him out, he went, then H took him on a little walk (normally he only goes on the walk in the morning) and then we both were upstairs getting ready. Within ten minutes of coming in he had pooped in the living room.

He does it about 5 days/week, most often when we are home but engaged in other tasks. I'm not sure if this is a reaction to being ignored? 

I'm not sure what to do, but we are thinking about getting another dog in a few months and I would like to conquer this habit before then. I plan on asking the vet when we go for his annual in May, but we dealt with separation anxiety when Coop was a puppy, so I wasn't sure if this was a form of that? And either way, how do we get him not to do it?

[straymo]

It does not sound like SA to me, especially if that is the only thing going on and it is while you are actually home.

1) What is your reaction to the mess? Unless you catch him in the act, you can't react to it at all, simply clean it up. If you do catch him in the act, interrupt him with an "eh eh" and immediately take him outside. Again, no punishment.

2) What are you using to clean it up? If you are not using an enzymatic cleaner and or not using according to the directions, he'll still smell the spot and continue to use it over and over again.

[katecoop]

We don't react since we never catch him. It's so weird, he is stealth like! And we have been spot cleaning with Nature's Miracle. Maybe we should clean the carpets in that room entirely?