How to Train a Rottweiler to Poop Outside

Hello, Typically when dogs mark for dominance they do it with pee and not poop. Pooping is more vulnerable, so dogs tend to want a bit or privacy and to feel safe when they poop - whereas they will be comfortable peeing almost anywhere more of the time. At this age, if pup was fully potty trained in the past, the issue is often that pup either doesn't feel safe pooping outside - maybe a new dog next door, an animal that tends to come into the yard at night and leave it's scent, or a scary noise, or an older dog who bullies them and is nearby outside; Or, pup is too distracted while outside, so quickly pees, then spends their time sniffing and exploring and playing instead of pooping (a dog can choose to hold their poop for longer than their pee); the dog comes back inside, where it's calm and boring and safe, and they find a place to hide and poop there because its more convenient. Finally, if pup is pooping more than three times in 24 hours or the poop looks really soft or watery, I would see if vet, because the issue may be an upset GI system for some reason, that leading to some incontinence with the pooping, which creates poop accidents inside when the urge to poop hits pup too quickly. Go with pup outside when its time to poop if you aren't already, observe whether pup seem distracted, nervous, and if they are pooping when they go outside, and how many times in 24 hours. Go with pup outside every time if you aren't already (like if you have a fence you just let them out into. If pup is getting distracted, take pup out on leash, walk them around slowly, tell them to "Go Potty", give a treat if they pee, then tell them to "Go Potty", walk them around slowly again for ten to fifteen minutes, and five four treats, one at a time if they poop then. If they don't poop and they haven't pooped during that part of the day yet (morning, afternoon, evening), then crate them when you return back inside, taking them back outside after an hour of crating, repeating the walking and "Go Potty" command training each time you take them, until they finally poop while outside with you - at which point they earn freedom out of the crate until its the next part of the day when it's time to poop. You can also tether pup to yourself with a hands free leash instead of crating when home, to help prevent accidents inside between poops outside. If the issue is fearfulness, I would spend time with pup outside, rewarding confidence and working on obedience commands that help to build confidence, while gradually desensitizing using treats anything you discover pup is specifically nervous around, starting from quiet and further away at first. If the issue is medical, then address that with your vet first. After clearing up anything medical, then you may also need to do a crash course on potty training using the crate and hands free leash just to reset habits. Resetting habits won't be effective by itself though until anything medical going on is also cleared up though. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Oct. 3, 2022