Why isn't my adopted dog pooping? Is it stress or constipation?

It's hard to know if this is constipation or anxiety. I do recommend to transition her diet. Most vets do not recommend grain free diets unless a pets has a known grain allergy due to the potential link with heart disease. Some pets will also need a diet higher in fiber to keep them regular. The diet I recommend is Royal Canin. Most pets on this diet have good stool quality. Here is a link about constipation: https://www.petcoach.co/article/constipation-in-dogs-101-what-you-need-to-know/ I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Even housebroken dogs may need re-training and positive reinforcement moving to a new home and family. At this point o would not be too worried about no bowel movement as long as she is eating, drinking and behaving normally. she may have a few accidents as she works on becoming acclimated to her new home but remain consistent and use positive reinforcement and she should adjust quickly.

Go and take him for lots of long walks, this will often help a dog relieve himself. Since he has not done his business on a normal schedule, he may have some constipation or hard poop. this can be helped by giving him one or two tablespoonfuls of canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling) in his food. This shoduld help with the feces retaining water and so be soft enough to pass easily. It will also bulk up the feces and hopefully activate the pressure receptors in the rectum and entice him to eliminate.

I would not be overly concerned about this just yet. Dogs can hold it for a pretty long period of time. It is not great for them to do so but it should not be harmful at this stage. Are you sure she hasn't gone somewhere in the house? If you are taking her out on a leash, she may not be used to going on a leash - this happens a lot. So you may have to have her off leash. Don't make too much of a big deal when you take her out. Only say whatever word you want to cue her to use the bathroom like "go potty". Do not say or do anything else. Once she goes give her a good treat of something she likes. If you don't have an off leash area then I suggest you do the same as above just on leash instead of off. Try to take her to a spot where other dogs have gone as this usually stimulates them to go. Urination is most important. If she goes 24 hours without urinating you need to get her to a vet. It may be days before she defecates and that is not as concerning. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

I am assuming Charlie was previously having diarrhea and that's why you are giving chicken and rice. If Charlie is not vomiting or showing signs of other issues I would not be overly concerned. You can start to switch him back to his regular dog food now and add a little canned pumpkin into the food to see if that helps stimulate a bowel movement. If he does not have a bowel movement by tomorrow or he vomits or stops eating then he should be examined by your veterinarian. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

You can offer Charlie some canned pumpkin and add plenty of water to his food to help with the constipation. There are no safe over the counter enemas for dogs so please have Charlie examined by your veterinarian if he doesn't have a bowel movement soon.

Poor guy. He may be a bit constipated. If he is squatting but no feces are coming out, then its best to take him to your vet to have him checked. He may need an enema to remove dried stuck feces in his colon so that he can freely go. You can also give an over the counter enema (from your local pharmacy) if you are up for it. Make sure he has free access to water and give him some canned food as well to increase his water intake. Constipation in young dogs is also often caused by intestinal parasites, so its good to have his stool checked by the vet as well. I hope that your fur baby feels better and is able to go potty soon! Best wishes and take care.