poconogal

I'm still having a persistent problem with Duke, who turns a year old in October. We have him 1-1/2 months, he is a rescue. He had stopped going potty outside for awhile, after he was kenneled for 2 days due to a wake and funeral we needed to be at. He is now going to pee outside but there are times, sometime first thing in the morning, or at night before bedtime, that he still will not pee. Pooping is still a bigger problem. I recently posted that he had to be given an enema since he wouldn't poop. He's been getting canned pumpkin daily since then. Now he will poop, but that is still totally off schedule. By that I mean he will not go in the morning before we go to work and then will poop in his crate. Big mess. Or, the new thing now is that he will poop after we've gone to bed, even though he was taken outside to do his business usually about 3 times from 5 PM to 9:30 pm. Last night he did his usual - just looked around, sniffed all over, checking out the scents in the country, tried to eat some tree bark, started playing. We took him inside. Took him back out about 1/2 hour later. Same thing. We go to sleep, he goes to sleep. Then he gets up, probably around 3 AM, and poops by the door that goes outside. Of course, we are not at his beck and call to let him out. When he was in Rescue, the woman kept her home door open all the time. He got in the habit of going in and out whenever he wanted. We have not been able to break that habit yet and are getting very frustrated. We need to get past this or he will end up back in Rescue. Now, if he goes in his crate, its still been warm outside so he can be hosed off. Soon however, it will be getting too cold to do so. We tried using baby suppositories and could not get it in one bit. He was standing up. Should we get him to lay down on his side? How do others do it? Any other suggestions? Sorry for this long post, but I just don't know what to do with him anymore...

greenkouki

how many times a day are you feeding, what type of food do you feed, and at what times?
how much water is he drinking?

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doberkim

Do you have a fenced in yard? When you take him out to go to the bathroom, is he on leash or off? How big is the yard?

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DLS

It seems your poor guy has some issues, I do not know why he does not want to do his business when you let him out, maybe he has had a bad experience in his past or he really does not get the urge to poop or pee because of medical reasons. Like nerve damage or whatever. Is there anyway he can stay ouside at night and when you are not home or does he bark, or is your yard to small etc.
I was shown years ago how to match a dog to get them to pass their stools before they went into the show ring, cause sometimes they feel their owners nervousness and well they just hold theri poop usually until they are in the ring and on the down and back. LOL So yes, you could give matching a try and remember if he does go poop outside, praise him, you know, "Good Boy, Good poop" Just make sure your neighbor is not listening to ya. HaHaHa
Good Luck, I hope he learns and can stay with you, it sounds like you really care for him. He is a lucky dog.
To match: I always use paper matches, but I do not think it matters. OK, take the match {some people light it, blow it out and let it cool first} and then insert the match sulfur end first into the anus {just leave a litle of the match out}and then take your boy outside where you want him to poop. It usually does not take long before they feel the irritation of something in their butt and will proceed to try and poop it out.

Julie W

The most stubborn new puppy I had took 3 hours to go potty when I got her off the plane and home. I stood outside from midnight to 3am with her on leash in the cold until she finally went. I'm much more stubborn than any dog I've ever met. You simply don't bring them back inside when you know they have to go potty until they have done it. They stay on leash and get the command until they do it, even in my case if it takes hours, then praise lavishly and run back in the house acting like a happy fool. Actually about that point it wouldn't be an act anyway.

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doberkim

I asked the questions I asked because my own personal dogs hate going on leash and will hold it til the cows come home if on leash, but if let off leash will go immediately.
I've had a good amount of luck in "waiting it out" by using an expen or creating some VERY SMALL area in the yard that I can let the dog off leash - small enough to prevent them from browsing the yard and playing, but large enough to have space to "find the spot". This also works well in training the dog in which part of the yard to go, once they get used to using the "pen".

But I agree - simply dont bring him back inside until he goes, and praise the HECK out of him when he does. If you have to do it over a weekend so you HAVE hours (Which is a sad thought, but it may take hours for a bit!), then start on a friday night and go all weekend. Bring a book outside, set up a chair, and just ignore the dog until they poop. They can lay down, they can sniff the ground, but there's no barking, there's no playing, and there's absolutely NO ATTENTION FROM MOM until the bathroom business is over. The minute they do anything, I have a blast - throw the toys all of a sudden look at them and say "GOOD BOY!", give them cookies, you name it. Fun happens right after you poop.

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poconogal

He can't stay outside at night or when we're not home. I live in the Pocono Mountains where we have bears walking around. Also have a very large pack of Coyotes in our area this year. I wouldn't want Duke to become dinner
We tried using baby suppositories. He was not having any of it - even my husband could not hold this dog in place so that I could put it in even a tiny bit. Should he be standing or laying on his side?

poconogal

He's fed 2 times a day, at 5 AM and at 5 PM. Most every dog I've had (and I've had dogs for 47 years) has gone about 12 hours after eating but not this guy! He sometimes drinks a lot of water, sometimes he'll drink hardly anything. His water consumption doesn't seem excessive though. He was also just to the vet and pronounced very healthy.
Yard isn't fenced, property is 26 acres, about 24 of them wooded. He was off leash, but now there seems to be some very amazing scents around, because he's taken off 2 times this week (I know the deer are now on the move). Yesterday he was visiting a neighbor's dog (a female in an outdoor kennel who has just gone into heat) when my husband caught up to him (he's neutered). Luckily we live on a private gravel road with barely any traffic. Now he will be on leash all the time, until we can fence in an area. But whether on or off leash hasn't really seemed to matter. At night he will still be off leash, because he does not wander in the dark, and most times he still will not go.

He will sometimes go outside, its hit or miss. But he needs to go when he's taken outside, not when he wants to. I like this "pen" idea and I think I will give it a try. Do you think this will aid in getting him to go when he's walked? I assume I need to get him to go outside reliably first... My other dog, a senior German Sheperd/Border Collie mix goes outside, does her business immediately and is ready to go back into the house. I wish she'd have a talk with junior...

Thanks for your help, guys.

doberkim

I'd try the pen - the problem with him just being out on 20+ acres is that he has a lot of other things he can do, and you cannot watch him do them to determine what is happening all th etime.

I'd make a little pen, put him in it, pull up a chair, and wait it out. The minute he goes, praise him and start to put it on command.

The other thing I would suggest is take it back to puppy times - if he doesn't go, bring him back in and put him in the crate and watch him. 30 minutes later, bring him back out in th epen. Rinse, lather, repeat. I do this for however long it takes to get them to go to the bathroom.

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poconogal

I will definitely try the pen. Thanks for the idea.

About 1-1/2 weeks ago, I took him out almost every hour, on leash and off (tried both ways), between 9 AM and 5 PM. I was told to take him out only for a few minutes at a time and if he doesn't go, bring him back in. Instead of crating him when we went back inside, I put or kept him on leash until the next walk. He finally went at 6:45 PM. He's gone a couple of times outside. I make a huge deal of it when he goes. Trainer has since told me to give him a reward, a "$1,000 treat" like a little turkey meatball or something that will make him say "WOW oh boy, that's what I get for going outside... GREAT!!!" but since she told me that he has not gone outside. [edited from previous language which read I have not seen him go outside]. So the pen and the $1,000 treat together will hopefully break this habit of his. I'd like to see the rescue woman keep her door open all the time once it gets cold. Guess she didn't realize the bad habit she started!