Henry and I have two questions about "going out"

[Henry's Folks 0]

Hey folks,

Henry is acclimating nicely to our home, he is a good little boy and we love him to pieces.

He is however having a little trouble with using the bathroom, and not what you might think...

While we first brought him home and when we were on holiday visiting my parents he was doing great. He was using the bathroom every time we went out as soon as he hit the grass multiple times a day. Now that we are back home he is not interested in going. We have to stay outside with him for 15-20 minutes to get anything, and he is only going to the bathroom number-one about once or twice a day. What's worse, he is only going number-two once every other day. This worries me. I am trying to be patient since travel can effect things like this, but how long should I give him before I do something (vet?)? And what can be done? Is this normal for the breed?

We are rewarding him with treats and praise when he does go, but he is still only going once or twice a day. He has had NO ACCIDENTS in the house, not one. And the boy stays by our sides constantly. We think he was going regularly at my folks because he could smell the other dog's markings... but I don't know.

The other issue we are having is that Henry is still eating his own excrement. We have scoured the yard and tried to pick up everything we could find, but he still seems to locate little "morsels". He knows we don't like it, and tries to sneak around when he is supposed to be out "doing his business."

We have read that we should scold him when he eats the poop, but it breaks my heart o yell at him. I really tried to stay firm with him the other day; it was raining, he hadn't gone number two in over 24 hours, so we sat in the rain. He kept trying to go in and get under the porch, but I kept picking him up and bringing him back to the yard to walk. Finally he started to sniff, my hopes soared... and he began munching a turd. I yelled at him and he ran away from me and tucked his tail and then rolled over. It made me feel awful, just terrible. And he ran from he again in the yard later that same night, I guess he remembered and was scared of me We really want to do this right with him, especially after what he has been through as a rescue, but he is testing us in lots of little ways as of late and we want to discourage negative behavior. What can be done besides yelling?

He seems confused and scared when we yell about the poop eating, but he always tries to sneak a bite when he goes out again. I am worried that since we are yelling at him about the poop eating he is "holding it" for fear of getting yelled at when he goes. It's a heck of a situation.

If you have any suggestions, or can offer us a time frame of how long it takes to break this nasty little habit please let me know.

Kind Regards,

Brandon

Edited November 30, 2009 by Henry's Folks

[xr4man 7]

yeah, i'd like to know how to break hunter of that habit too. he doesn't do it much anymore, but he is a little turd-burgler sometimes still.

isn't there some sort of powder or something you can put on their food that makes there dooky taste bad to them?

[Ozzy'sMommy 5]

i think the best way to prevent eating poo is to pick it up immediately after they go. my oz won't go #1 or #2 withough walking almost the whole backyard to find the perfect spot. occasionally he does go immediately but that is only if the weather has been poor and he isn't able to go out too much. oz also only has to go out twice a day to pee (if we go on walks he will mark all over but if home he will find a spot he likes and then pee for awhile standing in one spot).

you may want to just give your vet a call and see if they advise bringing henry in or can give you some advice over the phone.

when he finally does go does he look like he is in pain or is having trouble going? like he could possibly be constipated or have a uti?

[MisterMom 11]

Mine don't/won't go out unless I go with them. Angel & Coco were poop eaters. I pick it up as it hits the ground.

Missy only poops every 2 or 3 days at times. If it gets really backed up, I put on her leash and walk her a few yards down with a baggy - those new yards are irresistible.

Angel can go 12 - 15 hours without peeing, Missy longer if its raining and wet.

So it might be normal depending on age.

[xr4man 7]

most of the time hunter will go poo twice a day. but it almost always requires a walk around the block.

he can hold his pee for many hours, but usually goes whenever i take him out. that usually only requires a short walk in front of the house.

[Henry's Folks 0]

Thanks everyone.

We are planning to pick up the poop as (or before) it hits the ground from here on out. And do a cat poo search bi-weekly. We are planning to get a flashlight to follow him at night. Even with the big halogens on Henry is able to find the dark spots and seems to like to poop there...in shadows...like batman.

I guess we shouldn't worry too much about the regularity and the infrequent peeing, since it sounds like many of you have the same kind of success. He just went number-one, but it has been since last night since he last went. I don't know how he does it. He does not seem to be in pain for either number-one or two. We were just so used to our old Schnauzer, Schatzie, who would go like clockwork from day one.

I will keep watching him.

Thanks, again.

Edited November 30, 2009 by Henry's Folks

[Ozzy'sMommy 5]

ugh cat poo...oz LOVES cat poo so we always have to search our yard for it before we let him out. he won't eat his own or other dog poo but for some reason cat poo is irresistable. thankfully it's only happened maybe a handful of times but i always wash his face and brush his teeth after i've caught him.

if its storming outside oz has been known to only pee once a day...oh and we keep a washable pee pad inside the house for those instances.

[luvinpreciousntoby 0]

my precious only poops once a day.. sometimes once every 2 days.. and seems like she can hold it forever!!! I think they will grow out of the poo eating phase... but we just picked it up.. that was the easiest way.. I wouldn't scold.. as you found out.. they get confused... and scared easily.. we work too hard to earn their trust and love... Good luck and keep us posted

[NickyPhyl 1]

Brandon,

I have a Poodle/Schnauzer mix that does both poo & pee on command! He goes no matter what.

My Shih Tzu have all been very different. They seem to be able to hold their pee forever! None of my Shih Tzu have eaten their poo, so I can't help there, but I do know that picking it up seems to be the only sure-fire way of preventing it.

You & your wife are doing a fine job with Henry, just don't beat yourself up over every little thing. These babies are so forgiving & love you no matter what!

Hugs

Phyl

[kcsheperd 13]

Hi there.. Some of them just go at different times..Payslee pee's like every 2 hours it seems, and Sawyer & Rally can hold it forever! They usually poo twice a day,but lately Rally has been doing more..I've noticed that he always really needs to go when we walk (stimulates his bowels).. As for the Poo eating, Not sure if it works or not, but I did see something in one of my pet catalogs over the weekend called DETER that you feed them, and "Supposedly" (says the ad) its 98% effective..but like I said, I'm not sure about it..Might be worth a try..

[tzuhouse 4]

Well, if you find the secret for the poo eating.....PLEASE share....we have a club here, so welcome to the poo eating club....LOL

[FairyTail Josette 14]

Here is a good link for poop eating, coprophagia.

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+1551&aid=155

I have not had to deal with this personally, but, others have told me the deter, feeding pineapple, or tobasco sauce on the poo doesn't usually work. Picking it up, as you mentioned, is usually your best recourse. It could be that his previous owner reprimanded him in the wrong manner, so, now, he feels he needs to "hide" it. It's difficult to say why they do eat it. I have also been told to never pick the poo up in front of him, if possible.

Like Phyl mentioned, you and your wife are doing a terrific job, it just takes time and he's had a lot of adjusting to do, recently. :D

[Henry's Folks 0]

Thanks everyone. We have been picking up his business immediately and have scoured the yard regularly to keep out kitty deposits too. So far, so good.

I had not heard about picking "it" up when the pup is not around, but we will start doing that too so that he does not confuse the message and think it is a bad thing to go outside. He has not tried to eat his own feces since my original post, so we are making progress.

We appreciate the advice and support, great forum.

[Boo and Gidgys Mom 2]

Gaboo seems to be able to hold it for a long time too. Except when we go for a walk. Then he has to poo and pee several times. We are lucky though because he uses his doggie door and goes on the back deck where he uses a litter box. He gets a treat for this good behavior. He has tried to fool us though. sometimes he goes out comes back in, expecting a treat. I'm ashamed to say even though I know he has not gone potty, he usually still gets a treat just for being so smart. I think he has me trained more than the other way around.