Dog hates the cold refuses to do number 2 outside - Page 1

My SIL has DDR GSD almost 3 years old. They recently moved from AZ to ND and the dog absolutely refuses to poo outside. He pees and no matter how much she encourages/runs/plays with him all he wants to do is run inside where it's warm, and then he poos inside. Leaving him outside is not an option due to no fence until after the ground thaws. There's a HOA that requires a 6 ft fence if dog is not on a leash and attended, even if an invisible fence used.

She's tried staying out with him for over 2 hours at a time several times, but he still refuses. She's crated him and he poos in his crate and then lays in it. She's tried tying him to her or leashing while in the house. When she does this, he won't poo inside until she's gone, even if for less than 15 minutes. She's tried the parts of the designated area with snow, concrete, and smooth rocks and he still won't poo. He pees fine on the smooth rocks and snow.

Anyone have any ideas on how to fix this?

Thanks, in advance.

Have the owners tried to put a coat and/or booties on dog to go outside? Maybe the dog doesn't like the cold on the paws, or body. Other than that, I have no more ideas. It sounds like they have tried to manage the dog inside the house but some dogs don't care if they wallow in their own feces, unfortunately.

Is there some of his poop out where they want him to go? Or another dog's poop (no worms)? Or another dog pooping while he watches.

Can always Q-tip him to make him go. Maybe doing that a few times will give him the idea to go.

Thanks, Koots and ZweiGSD. I'll pass the suggestions along.

:-)

Okay, this is kind of extreme but this sounds like an extreme case.

I've heard of trainers using a rectal suppository to make a dog poop. This is sometimes done with dogs that have to be trained to poop on command, e.g., seeing eye dogs and other service dogs.

Another thing I would do is make sure the dog is fed at the same times every day. This will help regulate its bowel movements, and by watching when the dog poops, the owner can get a better idea of when the dog needs to go, and can take it out at that time, and use the suppository.

https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-56185/adult-suppositories-rectal/details

This is, of course, a short term solution, until the dog learns it is supposed to go outside. And in this particular case, if I caught the dog IN THE ACT of pooping inside, I'd read him the riot act.

I once had a problem with my male dog urinating in the house after I moved to a place where there had been dogs. He seemed to wait until I was out of the house for a few minutes to urinate, and, of course, scolding a dog after the fact is pretty much useless.

One day, I caught him in the act. (I was on the phone, so I guess he figured I wasn't going to notice.) I yelled at him, scruffed him, and hurried him outside.

That was the LAST time he peed inside (except for when he had to be on Prednisone, and was drinking a ton of water as a result.)

Thanks, Sunsilver. I'll pas your ideas along, too.

I know it sounds gross, but the Q tip method is probably the best option till warm weather gets here and the dog can be acclimated.

when I was showing, it was common practice to use a match stick if the dog did not go before ring time. always worked and never an issue. Qtip does sound safer.

probably a youtube or google on it somewhere.

I had much rather do this than have the dog end up laying in poop and have to clean that up, crate and dog.

best,
Rik

First, put dog on regular schedule. Find out what times it likes to poop indoors. Then, at those times, take dog for long walks on leash. Train dog using command such as 'Do It'. When dog urinates, praise. On walk, keep repeating do it like a mantra hundreds of times. Eventually, dog will poop. Then praise lavishly.

If this does not work, consider buying a professional size rectangular wire fence kennel 10 feet by 10 feet. Kennel should have no floor but be open at bottom and rest on the ground. If it is a GSD, it has two coats. Therefore, when weather is above 20 degrees F, it is safe to leave dog outside in kennel. GSDs are used as avalanche rescue dogs and are kept outside in winter in Austria and Switzerland. Be there when dog poops, Praise. Then bring indoors.

If dog not coprophagic, leave poop on floor of kennel. At next time when dog usually poops, take outside, put in kennel. Keep saying do it. Dog will sniff old poop, and evenually will poop. Be there for that. Praise, bring indoors.

I have trained many dogs to poop on command, of course, when it is their time. Crucial is regular feeding and exercise schedule and patience.

Could the dog possibly have some arthritis or inflammation the the cold and squatting to poo flares causing pain (yes dogs as young as 3 can have some arthritic changes from injury, congential issue, or lots of exercise).  My female will not potty outside in the cold unless I have her on pain medication (started when she was young).  Just a thought.

Praise, bring indoors.

Yup, neglected to mention the praise bit!