Ask a QuestionHere are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community or ask a new question.
We adopted an 18 month old Cocker Spaniel around 3 months ago. She goes all night with no problems and in the morning she does her business fairly quickly. We take her out a least 6 times a day and we walk her around a mile every day. She seems to poop around 3 or 4 times a day. Is that a problem? She does poop in the living room a least once every day or two. Can anyone help?
By Michael from Media, PA
Is she doing her business the same time daily? If so, take her outdoors and walk her awhile at the time. You might get lucky and she'll emliminate outdoors.
Try collecting some poop & placing it in an area of your garden that you want her to do it. Leave it there until she gets the message, take her out to that spot each time you take her outdoors, often dogs poop just after eating a big meal for the day & in the mornings. Cleanse carpet totally so that no smells linger of previous mess. Steam clean or use baking soda mixed with white vinegar & water, not disinfectant as this has ammonia in it which smells like urine to them & will continue to attract the dog to that spot. Good luck.
I rescued a Bassett Hound from the street about 7 weeks ago. She was very malnourished and deprived of food. I have been giving her Royal Canin which has helped with her weight. The vet said she is about 1.5 - 2 years old.
My problem with her is the frequency she goes potty. She consistently poops 6-7 times a day. Recently she has started pooping in my bedroom right after I take her inside from pooping outside. She has pooped in my bedroom after doing the same thing outside for 2 straight days now. I'm beginning to lose my patience with how much she potties and her pooping in my room. Any help or direction would be greatly appreciated.
A lot of thoughts and questions come to mind reading your post. It is frustrating not knowing this dogs history. You will have to get to know this dog a lot better before you can solve her problem. I guess the 1st question I would ask is, do you want to work hard at this problem? You will need to work with your Vet to see if it is a physical problem, worms, disease, allergies to food, other illnesses. Then you will need to consider behavioral problems that are pretty common with rescue animals.
I recently adopted a Pit Bull from someone I knew. She does really well peeing on a leash and not having accidents in the house, but she has not pooped outside once since I've had her. She has pooped in the house around the same spot every time and in her crate when I leave her for even 30 minutes.
I take her out 3-4 times a day and feed her around the same times every day, but she still poops in the house. I'll take her for a walk, and once we get inside if I look away for a minute she has already pooped in the house. How can I train her so she doesn't do this anymore?
Do you know if she was doing this before you adopted her? You do not say the age of your dog so if she is still a puppy then this could still be part of her training period.
No two dogs react the same way to change or training so it will probably take time and a lot of patience but she will learn so give her a nice hug and keep trying different tactics.
I have a Golden Retriever, 10 months old, who poops in the house. If he is taken outside, he doesn't do it, but right after coming back he does. How do I train him.
You can crate train him, by keeping him in a crate, and letting him out under supervision: "Crate training takes advantage of your dog's natural instincts as a den animal. A wild dog's den is their homea place to sleep, hide from danger and raise a family. The crate becomes your dog's den, where they can find comfort and solitude while you know theyre safe and secure (and not shredding your house while you're out running errands)."
There are other training methods, but whatever you employ, you need constant vigilance.
The thing to do would be to catch her in the act, and with a firm but gentle voice startle her out of it (such as by saying NO!) and then quickly take her to the pad where you want her to defecate.
When she successfully completes the poo, give her praise and a treat.
PetSmart has training classes. I would take my dog. Once he responds to commands, he will take to potty training.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
My dog always poops in the house. How do I get her to stop without crating?
By bella from Viex Carre
First how old is your dog now? Second, if it is still a puppy, crate training is the way to go. If introduced to a crate as a pup, dogs like crates. Covered with old bath towels or a blanket, it recreates a sort of den, and dogs in the wild sleep in dens. It's a comforting place to sleep where they feel protected and will rarely relieve themselves in it unless they simply cannot hold it. Never use the crate for punishment, it is not a jail. Only close the crate when you cannot be there to let him outside at the appropriate time. (07/18/2010)
By Beth
I have a 3 year old Dachshund who from 8 weeks on was pad trained. Now I am living in a house and am trying to break her of the pad. It's kinda working, but kinda not. She won't pee in the house, but she is still pooping, even after taking her outside and her doing her business.
I need some sort of help in trying to figure out how to stop this. At night she has no problems, but during the day is when it happens. Any suggestions?
By Jeri from Columbus, OH
Yeah, well we have a 6 yr old Rat Terrier/Chihuahua and she still isn't housebroken. I have tried everything, she won't even go on puppy pads in the garage. I think some dogs just refuse to go outside for one reason or another, and I think in our case she is jealous of our daughter. Everything got 100 times worse when she was born. Maybe she is mad you moved? Any other changes? New children, roommates, etc? (09/11/2009)
By Jennifer
You may have to attach her to her leash and to you so you can catch her before she poops. Has she ever pooped on a leash? My hound dog had the same issue. He will not poop on a leash or if I am near. (He was a rescue so I suspect he was punished when he pooped in the house so associates pooping near people with punishment.) I had to (and still do) put him on a line outside in the morning and watch from inside. As soon as he starts pooping I go out and say "good boy, go poop," so he associated "go poop" with pooping and sees it as a good thing. He is not completely cured but much better than he was.
Monitoring when you feed your dog would help as well. Dogs poop a few minutes after eating usually. Good Luck. I love my hound so much and have dealt with in-home pooping for years. (09/14/2009)
If she is still using the pad, start moving it slowly towards the door, a foot or so a day until you are at the door, then just outside the door and on out to where you want her to poop. Make sure anytime you catch her pooping on the pad or outside that, you praise the heck out of her. Keeping her close to you with an umbilical (a leash tied to your waist) so you know what she is doing at all times is a big help, too. (09/14/2009)
By Mary Ross
Does anyone have advice on how I can train my dogs to go to the bathroom outside 100% of the time?