Everyone has been there, you’re out on a walk with your canine pal and he decides to go about his business in a built up residential area. You reach into your pocket and realize you’ve forgotten poo bags. Now this was a pure accident and it happens to everyone, so you sheepishly head off with your hood up. But he then continues to offload a number of other stools throughout the walk, as some dogs do to try and mark their territory. Never mind-- you certainly don’t forget your poo bags again after that!
If he insists on only defecating on walks, there is no quick and easy taking him to the field over the road in the evenings. You may not have time to give him another long walk in the evenings, so training him to poop in a designated area will alleviate these concerns.
Training your dog not to poop on a walk will involve training him to poop in a specific place instead. That will involve teaching him some obedience commands, but mostly it will entail establishing a consistent routine and taking steps to discourage him from going about his business mid-walk.
If he is just a puppy he should respond quickly to training as his brain is still young and malleable. If your dog is older you may need several weeks to successfully drill this training into him, as you’ll need to break a habit he has developed over many years.
Getting this training right is important if you want to be able to quickly nip over the road in the evenings to deal with his business. If you could just let him into the yard in the evening then life may be even easier again!
Before you do battle with his bowel movements you will need a few things. You will first need to identify a designated space where you do want your dog to do his business. Once you have found that, you will need treats or his favorite food to incentivize and reward him.
A leash will also be required for training and you’ll need to find 10-15 minutes each day for the next few weeks. After you’ve sorted the above, you’re ready to tackle all of these toilet training methods.
Loki has never went poop on a walk, until about a month ago he started going poop every time I took him on a walk. It was normal for him to urinate on walks but never for him to poop and for this reason I never had to carry doggie bags. Why has he just started pooping on walks and how do I stop this from happening again?
Hello Ali, I can't say for sure why. Honestly it's more unusual that he never pooped on a walk before, than him pooping now. The movement during a walk and the scent of where other dogs have gone potty both encourage a dog's body to feel the need to eliminate. His age might be making him hold his poop more at home because its uncomfortable to poop now, then when he walks he can't hold it anymore because of the movement. The added movement might make it easier for him to poop now if that's harder for him because of muscle deterioration. The scent of a new dog on the block might be causing it. The timing of when you take him for a walk - like right after feeding him or running him around, might be causing it. To deal with this you can trouble shooting a few things. First, when you take him potty outside, tell him to "Go Potty" and give one treat if he pees and three if he poops in your yard. This is to teach him to go potty on command if he doesn't already know that. When you take him on a walk, before you walk him down the street, walk him around your yard, tell him to "Go Potty", and after he pees walk him around a second time for even longer, telling him to "Go Potty" again to try to get him to poop. Once he pees, and poops if he may need to, then take him on the walk. Check with your vet and make sure there isn't arthritis in his back or something else that would cause him to hold his poop during normal potty breaks (I am not a vet), or something causing diarrhea or unusually soft poops. Pay attention to when you feed him - many dogs need to poop within an hour of eating, so time your feeding and walking schedule accordingly or spend extra time walking him around the yard thirty minutes after he eats, before you walk down the street. Have you switched his food and if so has that changed the frequency of how often he poops or how hard or soft they are? - that can effect whether he is holding it do to discomfort of going, or needs to go more often because it's really soft - so goes again during a walk. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
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I already had a designated spot and schedule and yet he still poops on walks, throughout the entire time we are out on the walk, even until he is pooping out water and he still continues straining to go unless I put him back in the back yard. I stopped the walks due to lack of this control. Can you offer any insight? This has been pattern for many years so I don't walk him often
Hello, Walking stimulates a dog's bowels, getting things moving along, so many dogs will poop after being walked around if they have not gone yet that day. What you are describing is a medical issue and not behavioral...As I am sure you know, continuing to poop more than two times on a walk is not normal and is a sign that there is something physical and not behavioral going on. I suggest a trip to your vet to find out what's causing it and addressing the cause if it's something that's treatable. - I am not a vet. There is also an ask a Vet a question section under the medical articles found on wagwalking.com (this is the training section - and ask a trainer). You could ask one of Wag's Vet's about the issue to get an idea of different things that might be causing it, but you would still need to visit your vet for testing to find out exactly what's going on. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
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A few of questions:
1) Should we allow her to potty or pee during a "walk"?
2) Per a schedule we made, her potty times are 6am, 10am, 2pm, 7pm. During those times, should we only take her out to "that spot" to potty and then come inside again?
And if we take her out in between those times to pee, should we bring her right back inside after she pees?
While Millie has been with us for 2 months, she has not had an accident in the home for a few weeks now. Due to our lack of knowledge, we've combined her leisurely walks and her bathroom breaks together. Now we're at a point where she walks but doesn't poop for 4-5 hours after a meal even we we take her outside to poop.
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
Hello Virag, A lot of this depends on what you want to teach. Some people want to teach pup to go potty in only one area of the yard - in which case they should only ever be taken there to go potty for the first year as much as you can manage. Other people want pup to be familiar with pottying on a variety of surfaces or locations to make travel easier, such as on grass, dirt, and gravel, at home, the park, and on vacation. If you don't want pup to only potty in only one spot, it's okay to take her to various areas of your yard, but have the rule be Potty first - play or walks second. If you keep the outside play times and walks for after she goes potty in your yard, then they become a reward for going potty and actually encourage her to hurry up and go potty, instead of hold it to get to go for a longer walk. When she doesn't go potty, bring her inside, crate for one hour, then take her potty to the yard again (or an area near your home if in an apartment). Wait until after she goes potty, to take on a walk or have playtime. Check out the crate training method from the article linked below and pay attention to the tips about teaching Go Potty and using rewards to help pup go faster. Also know that as dogs get older they are less likely to poop directly after eating. Many continue to do so, but it becomes less of a direct link. Pay attention to when pup's normal poop window seems to be in the morning and evening. Crate Training method tips: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-german-shepherd-puppy-to-poop-outside Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
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Potty training question. What do I do about going potty when I’m visiting someone with my puppy, such as a family
Hello Lynna, I recommend following the crate training and tethering methods with puppy, that I have linked below. When you can't directly supervise pup, crate them or tether them to yourself with a hands free leash, especially somewhere new. You can make almost any six foot leash hands free by attaching a carabiner to the handle and clipping it to a belt loop or belt. Be sure to stick to pup's potty schedule extra carefully too since pup will be less likely to alert you that they need to go in a new place, once they have learned to alert you at home. It will take a few months before pup is alerting consistently at home too though. The crate training method will only give pup freedom when their bladder is empty to prevent accidents, and the tethering method will keep pup close to you so that you can spot when they need to go - if you don't want to crate them the whole time. The combination of methods can help best when traveling. Crate Training method and Tethering method: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-german-shepherd-puppy-to-poop-outside Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
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In my yard I take Dash to his potty area. But what do I do when I go to my daughter’s house
Hi there. Most dogs are smart enough to know to go outside no matter where they are at. You can bring a few treats with you and when your dog goes potty in a new location, give him a treat for going.
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Hello, I have adopted Shelley since Aug 2019. When I adopted her, I left her at my mom's house for about months because I was in the process of moving to new apartment. it seemed like se was already trained because she was going to the backyard to pee and poop. After a month, I brought her with me to the apartment. My apartment has a court yard. I take her and she pees but I walk her outside and she poops. I am planning to buy a house in years. Now I am worried what if she gets used to walking and pooping and she wont poop in my future backyard. Is it possible?
Hello! I wouldn't worry too much. She is old enough that a transition shouldn't mess her up too much. After you move, you can spend a week or so going outside with her (off leash) and reward her with treats for going. That should be all you need to do to get the message across to her in her new environment.
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