Georgie won't poop ouitside!

[Georgie'sMom]

Hi everyone,
We have a sweet little girl who is almost 9 months old. She lets us know most of the time when she needs to pee but we can bring her inside after a long walk, a play session, trying to give her lots of time to poop, and she comes in and does her business on the pad my husband insists on putting in the corner. I have protested this for months, and my instinct is that he has trained her to go on the pad. She came to us in the winter, it was often difficult to get her outside at the right time as we both work in the day (hubby came home at noon to take her outside and give her attention. She used the pad then. We kept her in the kitchen but not crated.
My question is this: if I just take the pad away, or take it outside after she relieves herself on it, will she somehow transfer to pooping outside? I've even kept her in her crate for a few hours, then taken her out for a good long time and have had some success with that, and I gave her a lot of praise. I want to get rid of the pads, period, and work from that. Am I on the right track?

Another question: is it okay to trim some of the hair around that area to help her keep that area cleaner? We often have to clean it for her. Is this something a good groomer would do?

 

[Lightplum]

Yes get rid of the pad. there is no reason to have a pad inside a house. crate her. she will not poop in her crate, when you see her starting to do her pre-poop dance..sniffing circling...etc bring her right out. There is absolutely no reason why a 9 month old dog should not be house trained. My puppies at 6-7 weeks old go outside to start training no matter the weather, they are hardy little dogs, snow/ice/rain is not going to kill them, you just need to invest in a good coat

yes you can trim the fur on their butt, just search poop chute on the forums and there is diagram after diagram...lots of poop talk here!! Some are obsessed with it

 

[Georgie'sMom]

Thanks for the advice;she is good about peeing and she WILL get this pooping thing fixed this week-I am determined!

 

[corbinam]

Yes get rid of the pad. there is no reason to have a pad inside a house. crate her. she will not poop in her crate, when you see her starting to do her pre-poop dance..sniffing circling...etc bring her right out. There is absolutely no reason why a 9 month old dog should not be house trained. My puppies at 6-7 weeks old go outside to start training no matter the weather, they are hardy little dogs, snow/ice/rain is not going to kill them, you just need to invest in a good coat

yes you can trim the fur on their butt, just search poop chute on the forums and there is diagram after diagram...lots of poop talk here!! Some are obsessed with it

Just wanted to agree on all counts with Linda

You can do it!

 

[Lysette85]

There comes a time for every dog where you just KNOW they have to poop. For my puppies ( and most dogs) it's this: In the morning I feed my dogs their breakfast real quick before I even let them out of their cages. THIS is your golden opportunity to begin training.

Here's why: After he eats, it moves along whatever is already in his digestive tract, so he'll have to poop to make room for the food he just consumed. SO, wait a couple minutes to let all the food settle in his stomach to begin the bowel movement process. Grab a super yummy treat, and take him outside for the sole purpose of pooping-NO PLAYTIME. As soon as he starts to poop-don't "freak out" with happiness as this may startle him, but say calmy and happily "good boy, go POTTY outside". As soon as he finishes, give him the treat. Make this a habit. Know when your dog normally poops-depending on age it's 2-3 times per day-usually after a meal- or every 6-8 hours.

As far as getting rid of the pads go, remember that he may also just associate that particular spot of the house with going potty. So, for the time being, put either a bowl of water, or a crate or something in that spot to make it a "no potty zone" to him. Crating is a MUST for this to work. At 9 months, he should be able to hold it for up to 8 hours. Bring the tasty treat out with you every time you take him out (I keep a treat jar on a shelf right next to my front door) Let him know you have the treat at the door, say "Go potty outside?" and then go outside and repeatedly say "go potty" every 30 seconds or so. If he just stares at you asking for the treat, turn your back, walk around, ignore him until he squats to go. Good luck!

This worked so well for my dogs (now 6 months and 15 weeks) that they will actually force themselves to poop even just a little bit so they can get a treat. This is great for when I know I have to be gone for a while and I know they've emptied themselves completely.

 

[Georgie'sMom]

Thank you so much-this sounds like something she will respond to. I also went today and got her some Wellness puppy food as she doesnt' seem to like the purina puppy chow. I'll mix the two for a few days. Maybe if she eats better it will move through her better too.
I jsut love her to pieces and want her to feel proud of herself.

 

[Chris]

The technical term you're looking for is "poop-chute." Yes, I think we all trim the poop-chute!!!

 

[Lysette85]

Thank you so much-this sounds like something she will respond to. I also went today and got her some Wellness puppy food as she doesnt' seem to like the purina puppy chow. I'll mix the two for a few days. Maybe if she eats better it will move through her better too.
I jsut love her to pieces and want her to feel proud of herself.

That's great that you're upgrading to a better food. I feed my pups Orijen and they LOVE it. The bonus of straying from foods like Purina that use massive amounts of corn and grain is that you will see a drastic change in the amount and frequency of poops! Note: I would make the switch over more than just a few days though. To avoid any chance of diarrhea or upset stomach, I would mix only a few pieces in on the first day (per meal) Day 2 add a few more pieces. Pay attention to her stool for any sign of it being runny or not formed. If all is well, continue to increase until you're about half and half. Leave it at half and half for a couple days, then continue the increase until you're all the way transitioned. This usually takes 10-14 days. This was what worked for me. There are people on here that are experts with transitioning food and they may have other helpful advice, but all will agree the safest way is the slow way. Do you have any pics of her?

Here's my 2 babies Claussen the sable and Little Bear the bi-black:


Let us know how it goes!

 

[Georgie'sMom]

Well, it took all day,and she kept trying to go to her spot where the pad used to be, but I just kept taking her out until finally she pooped! OUTSIDE! She likes the new food. So today I'll just outlast her again-I didn't take my eyes off her all day yesterday-until she gets this in her brain. Thanks to all for the encouragement.

 

[danisgoat]

Well, it took all day,and she kept trying to go to her spot where the pad used to be, but I just kept taking her out until finally she pooped! OUTSIDE! She likes the new food. So today I'll just outlast her again-I didn't take my eyes off her all day yesterday-until she gets this in her brain. Thanks to all for the encouragement.

Glad to hear that things are working out for you