My dog only poops on walks. How can I get him to go in the garden?

If you have a yard or garden you can leash walk him in the garden or yard until he poops and then bring him back in. If you do not have a yard or garden, you need to get puppy pads or artificial grass and try to entice him to poop on that.

Designate one area and use it. Take her outside to that spot and wait. You can use a spray attractant to keep her interest to one area. As soon as she begins to go, say "Go potty", "Do your business" or similar phrase. Once she goes, offer profuse praise and a small reward then take her for a short walk. Do this every time she goes out. Eventually, she will go 'on command' because she knows she will get a reward afterwards. Be consistent. Be patient.

This can be a normal reaction to dogs who are used to pottying in the backyard, off leash. When you walk them and they’re on a leash they become anxious and nervous about going to the bathroom out in the open and on the leash. My best advice for you is to try and walk him frequently so he gets used to being on the leash. If he is able to hold his urine and bowel movements then it shouldn’t be a big issue. He will need to lease go to the bathroom every 10 to 12 hours. When you do walk him on the leash and he potties use lots of positive reinforcement like praise and treats to let him know you are proud of him and did a good job. Consistency with walking him will help improve this problem. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

Behavior changes can be difficult to pinpoint. However, if he remembers being really painful outdoors when he pooped either right before or after surgery then he may associate outside with pain and now prefers to go indoors. I would encourage you to treat him like a puppy and re- potty train him. Lots of positive reinforcement for going poop outside. Also limit his access indoors by possibly tethering his leash to your belt loop so you can catch him before he poops inside. This will likely take time and repetition. Best of luck and I hope he improves soon. Thank you for using Pet Coach.

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.

Put him on a leash and take him outside to his designated spot. Do not walk around. Just stand there and repeat "go outside" or a similar phrase. As soon as he starts to go, repeat "go outside" and praise "good dog!" as he goes. When he is finished, or if it appears that he is not going to go, bring him inside but do not remove the leash, e3ven if he has done his business. Attach it to your belt loop and keep him with you. Don’t let him out of your sight! When you see him start to circle or sniff, take him right outdoors again and repeat the process. If he does mess in the house, do not scold him unless you actually catch him in the act. In that case, say "NO!" and take him right outside. Tell him to "go outside" and praise as he finishes. Keep him in a crate at night, or for short periods when you are not at home. For further assistance, click on the prompt to start a consult, where we can discuss this at length.

You may need to spend more time with him outside. Wait him out, and when he does go poop outside, give him lots of praise and give him a treat. You may also want to consider crate training him. Get him a crate that is big enough for him to stand up and turn around in. Make it comfortable, in a nice quiet place, with his blankets and toys. If he's stubborn and won't go outside, put him in his crate and close it. If he cries, give him a few minutes to settle down, but if he persists, he may be letting you know he needs to go potty. By giving him just enough room, but not too much, your giving him a 'den' so to speak. Dogs are very reluctant to soil the place where they sleep, so by confining him, you're presenting him with a choice; ask to go out and get the job done, or possible make a mess and have to be stuck with it for a little while. When he has gone potty, put him in his crate but don't shut it. The presence of his blankets and a toy will reinforce to him that the crate is a nice place that is all his own.