Take her out more. Reward her when she poops. I taught my dog to poop on command by telling her to go poop when she was about to shit. Eventually she put two and two together. If I take her outside, she’ll pee and poo on command. If I’m going to play ball or take her for a walk, she has to go to the bathroom before she’s allowed to play.
@RiotDemon I agree with all of this. I would also add “watch her closely”. Most dogs give subtle signals when they need to go, and if you spot those and get her outside immediately (and I mean immediately, then she’ll start to connect “crap” with “outside”. And praise/reward whenever she gets it right. Most dogs love to please people. The more she sees that doing it outside makes you happier, the easier it will be. But be very consistent and always recognise when she’s telling you what she needs, because if you ignore her, she learns it’s not important, and you will never succeed.
If you have to physically walk her to let her go outside… Once she poops, don’t drag her back inside right away. Dogs learn that once they go, their walk time is over, so they’ll drag it out or not go at all. Teach her to poop at the beginning of the walk.
Close the door. Ask the pet store for a refund. Start pooping in her room and see how she likes it. Just a few options, I’m sure there are plenty more.
A thing we’ve found useful for a lot of dog behavior areas - consistency and routine.
Dogs like consistency. (Don’t we as well?)
Whether that be feeding, letting out or walking.
If we don’t have the chance to walk Charlie, I take him out in the backyard, around the same time of day, and get him running laps around the yard.
There’s one narrow place behind the garage where in the middle of a lap he has to pass close to me. The game is for me to tag him as he goes by - but for him it is to sneak by ontouched. Of course he accelerates and ducks in that stretch!
Benefits other than fun: exercise (at least for him, he is out of breath!) and that running results in the afternoon poop that would otherwise be on a walk. Every time.
Get a leash, attach the dog to your belt loop. Do that 24 hours a day. You’ll be able to figure out when it wants to go to the bathroom. Take it out more often. When it does poop outside go psychotic happy.
Oftentimes dogs won’t go to the bathroom where they eat. I wanted to discourage my dog from pooping in certain parts of the backyard (ie a bunch of rocks the dog loved pooping on and I hated cleaning). I carefully cleaned the area, then sprinkled kibble around the areas I wanted him to avoid. He eventually found many of the pieces, and no longer poops on any of that area. It really worked very well for me.
Hmm, I guess this discussion has died, too bad. I would ask a couple other questions:
Does this happen when you are around? If so you can watch the dog and intervene. But if not, not so much.
The dog is a year old - has she been with you since a puppy? A young dog or one new to an owner needs to be trained into a new poo routine.
Is this a change in behaviour? Has the dog been good before but now not? You’re sure it’s not a medical issue, but it might be the dog reacting to something. Dogs can be very sensitive, and they express dissatisfaction in a limited number of ways.
Has there been a change in location? Was the dog good somewhere before but now not? You have to retrain a dog for every new environment.
Has there been a change in household routine? If you used to walk her more, or now can’t play with her as much, she might be sending you a message.
Has there been a change in food or feeding routine? Some dogs have very sensitive stomachs.
Just a few off the top of MY head! Good luck and let us know how it a ll works out.
Take her out more. Reward her when she poops. I taught my dog to poop on command by telling her to go poop when she was about to shit. Eventually she put two and two together. If I take her outside, she’ll pee and poo on command. If I’m going to play ball or take her for a walk, she has to go to the bathroom before she’s allowed to play.
@RiotDemon I agree with all of this. I would also add “watch her closely”. Most dogs give subtle signals when they need to go, and if you spot those and get her outside immediately (and I mean immediately, then she’ll start to connect “crap” with “outside”. And praise/reward whenever she gets it right. Most dogs love to please people. The more she sees that doing it outside makes you happier, the easier it will be. But be very consistent and always recognise when she’s telling you what she needs, because if you ignore her, she learns it’s not important, and you will never succeed.
If you have to physically walk her to let her go outside… Once she poops, don’t drag her back inside right away. Dogs learn that once they go, their walk time is over, so they’ll drag it out or not go at all. Teach her to poop at the beginning of the walk.
Keep her out of your room.
How old is the dog? Any medical conditions? When does the dog do this? Is crating him/her an option?
Close the door. Ask the pet store for a refund. Start pooping in her room and see how she likes it. Just a few options, I’m sure there are plenty more.
Sign up for obedience training classes if she is a new pup to the family. Consult w/vet if she is an adult and this just started.
she has no medical conditions, and she is just about a year old. Thanks for all the great answers, I love all your answers.
Great advice above.
A thing we’ve found useful for a lot of dog behavior areas - consistency and routine.
Dogs like consistency. (Don’t we as well?)
Whether that be feeding, letting out or walking.
If we don’t have the chance to walk Charlie, I take him out in the backyard, around the same time of day, and get him running laps around the yard.
There’s one narrow place behind the garage where in the middle of a lap he has to pass close to me. The game is for me to tag him as he goes by - but for him it is to sneak by ontouched. Of course he accelerates and ducks in that stretch!
Benefits other than fun: exercise (at least for him, he is out of breath!) and that running results in the afternoon poop that would otherwise be on a walk. Every time.
OK… When I clicked this thread from the main page I totally thought OP was going to be @DaveInSoCal.
@SpenceMan01 I was pretty lucky. My new pupper won’t go in the house. He’ll hold it until we go outside.
@SpenceMan01 So did I actually due to @DaveInSoCal’s puppy announcement. I figured reality was setting in. : )
Get a cat.
@mfladd now the cat needs to be taught how to flush as well.
@RiotDemon
@RiotDemon Not sure you’d want to do that. Some would drive your water bill way up by the entertainment value of doing so.
@Kidsandliz oh true. Swirling toilet water is hypnotic to some cats.
Get a leash, attach the dog to your belt loop. Do that 24 hours a day. You’ll be able to figure out when it wants to go to the bathroom. Take it out more often. When it does poop outside go psychotic happy.
I bet it’s a chihuahua… those things are jerks.
Oftentimes dogs won’t go to the bathroom where they eat. I wanted to discourage my dog from pooping in certain parts of the backyard (ie a bunch of rocks the dog loved pooping on and I hated cleaning). I carefully cleaned the area, then sprinkled kibble around the areas I wanted him to avoid. He eventually found many of the pieces, and no longer poops on any of that area. It really worked very well for me.
Hmm, I guess this discussion has died, too bad. I would ask a couple other questions:
Does this happen when you are around? If so you can watch the dog and intervene. But if not, not so much.
The dog is a year old - has she been with you since a puppy? A young dog or one new to an owner needs to be trained into a new poo routine.
Is this a change in behaviour? Has the dog been good before but now not? You’re sure it’s not a medical issue, but it might be the dog reacting to something. Dogs can be very sensitive, and they express dissatisfaction in a limited number of ways.
Has there been a change in location? Was the dog good somewhere before but now not? You have to retrain a dog for every new environment.
Has there been a change in household routine? If you used to walk her more, or now can’t play with her as much, she might be sending you a message.
Has there been a change in food or feeding routine? Some dogs have very sensitive stomachs.
Just a few off the top of MY head! Good luck and let us know how it a ll works out.
@aetris Also a change to family composition can upset a dog’s behavior. They aren’t great with change in general.