So I have a 7 month old retriever mix puppy. When we first got her she used to poop outside almost as soon as we would get out there. Now over the last few weeks she refuses to do so. She just gets way too distracted by every little sound outside when trying to poop, then won't. We will stay outside with her on 45 minute walks trying to get her to go and she won't, yet as soon as we go inside she will wait to be alone and immediately poop. Any good ways to stop this behavior? I try to reward her every now and then when she poops outside with treats but considering she does it about twice a week its tough.

4/16/2008 6:20:41 AM

A lot of dogs will learn that they get a longer walk/time outside if they don't poop, since you usually turn around and take them in.

Have you tried crate training?

4/16/2008 9:31:27 AM

Can she pretty much eat anytime she wants? Taking away the food solved my dog's issues. She goes to the bathroom the same times every day.

4/16/2008 10:56:16 AM

i've never had a dog that didn't eat all its food at once (unless something scared it from going to the food bowl when it was first put out)

4/16/2008 11:05:49 AM

like ^^ and ^^^ have alluded to. Make outside times not always about going to the bathroom and feed them small portions at set times during the day and take them out immediately afterwards.

4/16/2008 11:13:56 AM

My dogs decided they were too prissy to shit outside when the ground was wet.

4/16/2008 11:15:07 AM

4/16/2008 1:18:36 PM

Quote :

"i've never had a dog that didn't eat all its food at once (unless something scared it from going to the food bowl when it was first put out)"

My dog rarely eats all his food at once.

My suggestion is to keep in her the crate when inside until she learns to poop outside. She's not gonna poop while in the crate.

4/16/2008 1:34:11 PM

After you feed or water your dog, take it outside and tell it to go to the bathroom. If it doesn't do that after say 10 minutes, take the dog back inside immediately and put it in its crate and take it back out in 30 or so minutes and tell it to go to the bathroom again. Repeat this process until the dog goes to the bathroom. Then use the outdoor time as a reward for the dog going to the bathroom.

Whatever you do, do not let the dog continue to be outside if it doesn't go to the bathroom.

4/16/2008 1:38:38 PM

^ +1

4/16/2008 9:22:44 PM

in related news, my dog won't always poop each day...but when we go to the lake or dog park, she'll (quite literally) poop 3 or 4 times in an hour...if we don't make it to either of those places in a two or three days, she simply doesn't poop...what's up with that?

she eats well (she's a grazer, i don't monitor her actual intake, but she eats regularly and i have to fill up her feeder on a regular basis), she's fit and trim, and when she does poop, it looks fine (consistency, color, shape)

4/16/2008 10:26:18 PM

leave it alone. i can't crap if anyone is within 20 feet of my bathroom.

4/17/2008 10:15:47 AM

how about this.....my dog has had the runs for the past i'd say 36 hours. he's not eating much (though he did eat some chicken that i gave him last night). for the most part he actually seems to be a in good spirits - jumping around and acting like normal. that is until he has to go, then he really has to go and its runny. we've had a couple of accidents in the apartment, and he has never gone number 2 in the house before. should i be super concerned? or is the probably just a little virus that needs to get out of his system? maybe try new dog food?

4/17/2008 10:21:57 AM

friend of mine is having a similar problem..

the dog's poo has been squishy for a little while now. she said it started around the time she switched to a dog food her vet recommended. its getting worse (softer/more liquid )...

dunno if its the dog food.. or these new treats she's been buying.. she even suspects that the dog may have gotten into some ant poison that was put out in parts of the yard (apparently her dad put it out there.. so she's not really 100% sure where it is)...

the dog is just a pup.. and she pretty much had it potty trained until recently... but now its getting worse.. the other day it #2'd inside the house.. i took it out and it didnt go at all.. then we went back in the house and ~5 minutes later it did it again (this time i caught it and yelled, the we took it outside so it could finish)

it kind of sucks b/c you can tell the dog knows better but couldnt control herself.. she hasnt been able to get it to go to the door and bark when it needs to go out yet..

[Edited on April 17, 2008 at 10:31 AM. Reason : ..]

4/17/2008 10:30:50 AM

Quote :

"the dog's poo has been squishy for a little while now. she said it started around the time she switched to a dog food her vet recommended. its getting worse (softer/more liquid )..."

you are supposed to gradually switch to a new food over a couple of weeks. digestive problems can result if you just quit the old one and immediately switch to a full bowl of the new stuff.

4/17/2008 10:48:37 AM

^well i have to say that in my case i have not switched foods. its the same food that he's been eating for a while now.

4/17/2008 10:57:30 AM

well i was really talking to beethead, but in your case, if it was my dog and it's been say 48 hrs and it's still just as bad/getting worse, i'd go to the vet.

is the dog vomiting at all? has it continued to drink water (if not, dehydration is a major concern)? what color is the dog's poop?

[Edited on April 17, 2008 at 11:05 AM. Reason : ]

4/17/2008 11:01:36 AM

^^^ Try putting a bell on a string on the door. When you take it out, ring the bell. Eventually the dog will get that ringing the bell = outside. Then if you are in a different room in the house you know they are there instead of the dog staring at the door then giving up and shitting on the floor.

4/17/2008 11:07:31 AM

^^dog has vomitted twice, but it was not much and that was late tuesday night

he is continuing to drink. the poop yesterday was kinda an orange-y brownish color.....then it was yellow-y brownish, and then this morning it was brown, and i do have to say a little more solid then its been in the past

4/17/2008 11:18:47 AM

ok well if it's more solid and he's starting to eat more, i'd hold off on the vet unless you have lots of monies and want to go anyway.

4/17/2008 11:24:07 AM

ah - yeah, i would rather hold off on the vet. i just wanted to make sure that i was not doing something terribly wrong (first dog ever)

4/17/2008 11:26:53 AM

Nrallen, are you giving your dog some rice with the chicken? That's what I do with my dog when she has a tummy ache.

I also got this stuff at Petsmart called Pet Pectillin Diarrhea Medication. I mixed it with her food, it seemed like a doggy Pepto. Her problems cleared up in a day or 2.

4/17/2008 12:20:41 PM

i'll try that you tonight. thanks malagoat!

4/17/2008 12:22:56 PM

Quote :

"After you feed or water your dog"

lol

4/17/2008 4:03:43 PM

you can give them plain pepto (like the kind you take) too, fyi. sometimes it's cheaper than the dog meds. i've given it to both dogs and all 3 cats before.

4/17/2008 4:25:54 PM