# Pooping while walking on the treadmill.



## yuugi (May 6, 2009)

So my PWC Matilda seems like the energizer bunny since she was spayed. She's alot more restless, disobedient, talking back, refusing to potty on command or potty outside at all.She's a year old now and seemed to be on her teenager phase since she was 8 months old, but it has gotten much worse now. NILIF has been on effect since day one.

So we have been exercising her extra, but no matter what we do it seems like she just can't get enough. So we have also started putting her on a treadmill again. We usually do this when there is a bad winter weather like -20ºC or when we want her to burn some extra energy, or rarely when we don't have time for a long walk.

She learned how to use the treadmill, but has never been very happy in it. She no longer fights it or anything, she just never seems very relaxed. However yesterday she was in there running with her tail high in the air so i think she's starting to enjoy it now.

Problem was today. I took her outside in the morning, she did her business and loads of poop. When i put her on a treadmill around 2 hours after, she went and dumped a poop while she was walking in the treadmill. I caught her in action so i was able to correct her, but i'm wondering if this is going to become a problem?

Has your dog ever pooped while they were on the treadmill? I'm not so sure how to curb this problem, except that if it keeps happening i'll have to stop using the treadmill that was so useful.

We feed her meals with the buster cube, i do plenty of obedience training to wear her mind and we play fetch on the hallway, but the treadmill and a long hour walk were the only thing that helped, and the treadmill especially on very bad weather conditions. 

She's also re-started being stubborn about pooping outside. She even held her poop for 2 entire days a few days ago. At first i wouldn't give her any freedom in the house,or playtime outside until she had done her business outside, but lately, and because she is a year old i started giving her freedom even if she hadn't done her pooping outside.
Apparently i was wrong and i have to go back to the basics.

And i guess now i know her opinion of the treadmill


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## Elana55 (Jan 7, 2008)

First of all, if you catch a dog pooping indoors you don't correct her.. you take her outside and as whe finishes up you have a puppy party.. Tiny treats (like very tiny bits of cut up hot dog). 

When your dog poops and pees outside what do you do? Are you right there with her and telling her she is soooo good and feeding her treats? EVERY time the dog "goes" outside you need to be there with praise and treats, especially since she has relapsed into not being house trained. 

I have to say that the two most important things I teach my dog are to come when called and housetraining. I absolutely hate it when a dog poops or pees in the house. I find this intolerable. I also find it absolutely intolerable when a dog does not come when called. Those are my two "biggies." I am absolutely anal about both. 

What dog food are you feeding? Cheap dog food = more poop because it is full of undigestable fillers which just make more poop.  I feed grain free stuff (Evo in this case) and I don't feed a lot (68 pound dog gets 2-2.5 cups a day).

Exercise usually gets things "moving along" (poop). So, it is still important to exercise her outside with you for quite awhile (at least 45 minutes 2X a day.. and -20C is around -4 fahrenheit so bundle up and briskly walk anyway for 30 minutes.. good for both of you). 

As to a dog wanting more exercise.. you can also do some serious training. Engaging a dog's mind can make them as tired as any physical exercise in a lot less time. 

I use the Clicker for this as it makes the dog think and figure things out. www.clickertraining.com is a good site. You can also look for 101 things to do with a Box. Use different size boxes, do the training in 5 minute intervals and have fun. Work for no more than 20 minutes at a time. There is nothing the dog does in this that is wrong so it is all fun. You can do this isdoors. 

Remember.. dogs, like kids, need serious training and guidelines in which to work (NILIF is good for that as is the Premack Principle which is upgraded NILIF). They also need stuff to do that is engaging and fun. 

Clicker training doing 101 things with a box, teaching the dog to open and close doors (she does it too!), turning lights on and off, etc etc. is sort of like a kid who is nuts to play base ball. It still requires effort and concentration but it is fun effort and concentration and the ultimate result is a tired kid. With the clicker and getting the dog to figure out puzzles you are going to get a tired dog. You will also be amazed the crazy stuff you can teach the dog to do while at it.


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## tunisianswife (Aug 11, 2009)

even though she had gone potty earlier, perhaps the walking on the treadmill stimulated peristalsis in her intestines and she just was too preoccupied with her treadmill enjoyment and couldn't hold it until it was too late? just a thought.

I'm sure someone on here that has more experience can offer a better reason.


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## yuugi (May 6, 2009)

She potty trained rather quickly and hasn't had accidents in the house since she was 3 months old, but did this treadmill pooping wich is rather odd.
I always take her out on a leash, and tell her to "go potty", and when she does her business i praise her and give her a treat. I'm using verbal praise more often now since she's a year old and quite honestly this is the first accidents since she was 3 months old. 

I never said i didn't walk her when it was -20ºC, but half an hour walk is nothing for her.Plus at this temperature she starts hopping like her paws are hurting and i also find it very hard to breathe. So i did an extra 20 to 30 minutes on the treadmill on these days. 

I will be changing her food to a grain free one, because i think she has some digestive issues with the current one (Royal Canin Medium Adult). Usually when we are on walks, even though she had gone 2 minutes before, she has this insane messy poops that are impossible to pick(or close to impossible). She also seems to have them when overexcited or if she has gotten really scared(like a big bus passed by). 
She only gets fed 1 cup a day, on a morning and evening meal so i don't think it's a matter of quantity.

I will try to check for fun games we can do indoors to tire her mentally, so thanks for the suggestion!


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## Elana55 (Jan 7, 2008)

I think you answered your own question.. she is having somewhat runny poops from your description, so it is a LOT harder to hold and a dog with this issue will have to go bathroom more often. 

I realize 30 minutes is "nothing" when it comes to exercise.. but it is usually enough to get the pooping done. In your case, with somewhat runny poops, you have something else to deal with. 

Have you taken her to the vet for a blood panel (including thyroid)? She may have another issue that is physical. When you do that, bring a poop sample "just in case." There are some parasitic illnesses that are not worms (coccidia, giardia) that can cause somewhat runny poop and are not always seen on analysis. Be sure to talk to your vet about the hyperactivity and the the runny poop.


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## yuugi (May 6, 2009)

She always has hard, normal colored poops, except when it's that second time during the walks or when overexcited or fearful. Some people got lucky with a change of diet so we will try that. I actually had her on a bland diet of rice a few days ago(because she was puking) and she barely pooped then. It seems like the food she is in now is affecting the ammount of poop.

However i do take her out often, but she refuses to poop alot of those times. I notice that if she poops twice a day we have absolutely no problems, but if she doesn't...well i already described the result. 

As for her hyperactivity, wich is kinda insane especially when meeting people or dogs, the vet thinks she has an anxiety disorder. 
I brought her to the vet last week because she kept peeing in her crate during the night. After medical issues were ruled out, it was labeled as behavioural and the problems seem to have ceased when i started letting her sleep with the crate door open. She doesn't have these issues during the day.

The vet recommended Clomicalm for her, but we are trying to curb this problem with more physical and mental exercise and also trying to change the sleeping arrangements for her. So far no peeing problem, just a new one of her pooping on the treadmill. 
Let's see if a change of diet can help with that.


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## hulkamaniac (Feb 11, 2009)

Walking will get a dog going. It could just be that walking on the treadmill is enough to make her have to go. Having her walk around the block at that same speed would probably have the same effect.


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## poodleholic (Mar 15, 2007)

> She potty trained rather quickly and hasn't had accidents in the house since she was 3 months old, but did this treadmill pooping wich is rather odd.
> I always take her out on a leash, and tell her to "go potty", and when she does her business i praise her and give her a treat. I'm using verbal praise more often now since she's a year old and quite honestly this is the first accidents since she was 3 months old.


Then this is unusual for her, which is usually indicative of a problem. What that problem is needs to be determined. The pooping while on the treadmill is not "odd" at all. Being on the treadmill stimulated her bowels, so she pooped. That's perfectly normal. With the goopy stools, and irregular elimination, she may have an irritable bowel, and that could easily be caused by the food she's on. Observation and recording those observations is a good tool in determining what's going on with a dog. 



> As for her hyperactivity, wich is kinda insane especially when meeting people or dogs, the vet thinks she has an anxiety disorder.


For pete's sake, she's 12 months old! She's still a puppy, and that kind of behavior, especially in her breed, is hardly "abnormal!" ANXIETY DISORDER? Get another opinion from a vet who isn't into using drugs at the drop of a hat! 



> I brought her to the vet last week because she kept peeing in her crate during the night. After medical issues were ruled out, it was labeled as behavioural and the problems seem to have ceased when i started letting her sleep with the crate door open. She doesn't have these issues during the day.


She was just spayed, right? This peeing could be post-surgical incontinance, and exacerbated if she's feeling stressed. Since it's cleared up, no problem. 



> The vet recommended Clomicalm for her, but we are trying to curb this problem with more physical and mental exercise and also trying to change the sleeping arrangements for her. So far no peeing problem, just a new one of her pooping on the treadmill.
> Let's see if a change of diet can help with that.


Find another vet. This one is too quick to label normal puppy behavior as "anxiety" and prescribe drugs! Again, pooping on the treadmill is not surprising, and a very normal result from the activity itself. You're worrying about nothing. Changing her diet to a better food can't hurt.


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## Gingergal (May 5, 2009)

Yes my puppy poops on my treadmill! (well he used to)

As he is now 4 and a half months and no accidents inside (never poop until the treadmill) I know it's just the stimuli of exercise (he can't help it).

He is the same on walks, all of a sudden he has stopped won't move then I look back and yep he is pooping.

I put a rubber mat at the end of treadmill on floor as in an emergency if I see him lowering himself and emergency stop the treadmill it usually catches it (and no to others who say then take him out, it is always too late - he does the poop so fast), then I take him outside (sometimes he will do some more).

*I now will only put him on the treadmill if he has pooped outside immediately beforehand or at a push pooped outside and hasn't had anything to eat (but within 2 hours I wouldn't chance anything longer).* And and since then, no problems.


What was even worse on the treadmill is that it wasn't one solid poop but very liquid then a bit of poop at the end, and by the time I stopped the treadmill, it had gone all the way round the belt (clean up is awful!)

But now he is slightly older and this is the 2nd round of the same puppy food (innova dry puppy kibble) it is now solid, guess he got used to the rich puppy food.


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