Dog Community

Is it normal for my dog not to do his business on walks?

Posted : 6/14/2006 11:47:56 AM

Panda doesn't like doing business on walks, he just likes exploring the unexplored (to him at least). He only uses the restroom in our back yard. Just wondering. Also, do dogs know when you are doing something that hurts them but is for their good? For intance lets say Panda had stepped in a nail, and I pulled it out, and it hurt? Would he know I was doing it to help him out?

jones

Posted : 6/14/2006 12:23:08 PM

Some (not all) dogs will prefer to do their business on a certain spot or sometimes a certain substrate (only grass or only dirt, for eg). If it's a problem you could try to retrain him to use more than one potty spot.

As to your second question, I know it was only hypothetical, but just FYI if your dog really stepped on a nail you should probably leave it in and rush him to the vet. Anyway, I'm not sure... I think most of the time dogs will not understand that you may have to cause them pain to help them. However, dogs are famously forgiving. A lot of people say that when they hurt their dogs either by accident or for some necessity, they apologize and the dog seems to understand that.

angelamarie

Posted : 6/14/2006 12:24:06 PM

My adoptee, Teddy, never poos during his walks, but he tinkles on everything in sight. He's just too busy with his hyper excitement over being on a walk in the first place. Before we got him, he was never walked, just stuck out on a rope near the house when he needed to go out.

My Misty, who I raised since a puppy, will poop on a walk.

cakana

Posted : 6/14/2006 12:40:24 PM

Neither of my dogs will either pee or poop anywhere but in our backyard. I think it's because we trained them early on that they should only go there. It works well for us, since I don't want them going when we're on a walk (wish my neighbors felt the same way about their dogs). The downside is that when we travel with them, it takes awhile before they'll feel comfortable enough to go.

fuzzy_dogs_mom

Posted : 6/14/2006 4:51:11 PM

Sometimes Max goes while we're on a walk, sometimes twice [

], and sometimes we get a late start and he's already gone in the back yard.

Joyce

Benedict

Posted : 6/14/2006 4:57:35 PM

If you want him to "go" on a walk, the tip I have read is to get up early one morning, throw on some clothes, and take him out for a walk right away - pick him up and carry him out the front door, if that's an option for you. He'll likely go out of desperation and when he does, praise the heck out of him. Just remember to clean up after him if he does!

HTH

Kate

Dario Medina

Posted : 6/14/2006 6:32:11 PM

Nah, I don't WANT him to go on his walks, I was just wondering if it was normal that he didn't. Panda is the first dog that doesn't that I am aware of, but as others have said here, their dogs too only go in their backyard. ^_^

glenmar

Posted : 6/14/2006 7:30:23 PM

This could be a problem if you ever travel with your dogs. They do need to be comfortable going somewhere BESIDES just home. Thor once "held it" for 18 hours because he wasn't used to going outside of the yard.

whatsh0uldmyl0ginbe?

Posted : 6/14/2006 7:48:49 PM

wow 18 hours!!

glenmar

Posted : 6/14/2006 7:54:29 PM

He was under a year old at the time too. We'd gone from WV to upstate NY to visit our oldest son and camped in the motorhome. While we were THERE he was fine about toileting at the campsite....but the trip BOTH ways was a bladder nightmare!

micksmom

Posted : 6/14/2006 9:13:18 PM

The Husky/GSD we had before Mick wouldn't poop when anyone was watching, so there was no pooping when walking him. Honestly, it had nothing to do with being too busy checking things out. He'd stop "mid poop" if someone walked into the yard, or if I tapped on the window. Good thing when we went away we had friends who fed him for us.

Xebby

Posted : 6/14/2006 10:04:06 PM

Gizmo only poops on grass but never on a walk unless I let her have time to sit there and go. I often stop for a pee break but hardly ever a poop break. If I want her to go when on a walk I let her on the grass and then turn my back to her and let her have her space, she knows then that is her time to poop. She almost does it on comand, I say ok when I have my back turned and I can see her squat out of the corner of my eye.

I think they way I taught her this was after she had her surgery I could only taker her out on a leash when she needed to go. I would take her to her pee spot then to her poop spot. She would not go so I thought maybe if I pretended I wasn't watching... yep that worked.

ron2

Posted : 6/15/2006 6:12:18 AM

Some people have bragged on getting their dogs to not use the bathroom anywhere else but the yard. I agree with Glenda that there are times when they may need to go somewhere else, such as travelling, etc.

As for helping a dog in pain, it depends. For a nail in the paw, you may have to go the vet for sedation and stitches.

Shadow has had a grass burr in the corner of his eye fur. It was at the end of the walk. So, I got him inside and put a soft muzzle on him. Then, I ended up having to scruff and stroke his face a few times and he finally relaxed so that I could roll it out of there. A few other times, he'll get a burr between the pads on his feet. I get him to lay down and roll so that I can rub his belly and get him totally relaxed. I take swipes at the paw until I roll it out of there.

pumaward

Posted : 6/15/2006 6:27:50 AM

I wish Maddi weren't comfortable when going poo on a walk in the city... then I wouldn't have to carry a bag of poo around... but, alas, she's a nervous pooper!

We don't often walk in the city though... especially since she jumped out into the road suddenly with on coming traffic! Scared the bejesus out of me.