# Strange Behavior - I Think My Dog is Afraid to Poop



## Mercy Medical (Jul 6, 2010)

Ever since we got Vincent I noticed something a bit odd about him. It appeared that he was somewhat afraid to poop, or something. It takes him forever to go and I absolutely know when he has to go. If he keeps pacing around the room and going to the door constantly, I know something is up...but I take him out for a bit and nothing. He finally gives in and I can tell he has to go because he starts pacing around in the grass really quick and looking back at me. Lately if we're walking he tries to pull himself into the road (more often the not he ends up going right next to the side of the road). Is this a "normal" behavior for a dog? I've never seen a dog that seems like it's afraid to poop before.


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

He was a shelter dog, right? If his previous owners tried to discipline him for messing indoors by rubbing his nose in poop, yelling at him, or otherwise scaring him, he may have connected pooping with being yelled at and abused, which would make him not want to do it in front of humans. That's actually not all that uncommon. The fact that he keeps looking at you (gauging your reaction?) while he goes makes me think this could be the issue.

It could also be painful for him to poop, making him reluctant to do so, but if he's not straining or making sounds when he goes and his poop's not overly hard or anything, it's probably not a pain issue.

If it's a psychological thing, he should eventually get over it as long as you never get angry at him for pooping. It would probably also be a good idea to take some treats with you when you go outside so you can treat and praise him when he poops so he'll associate it with good things. I know you said in your other thread that he's pretty much housebroken now, so maybe treats aren't necessary, but it can't hurt to reinforce that he's being a good boy when he poops outside.

He's such a nice-looking boy.


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## Mercy Medical (Jul 6, 2010)

Crantastic said:


> He was a shelter dog, right? If his previous owners tried to discipline him for messing indoors by rubbing his nose in poop, yelling at him, or otherwise scaring him, he may have connected pooping with being yelled at and abused, which would make him not want to do it in front of humans. That's actually not all that uncommon. The fact that he keeps looking at you (gauging your reaction?) while he goes makes me think this could be the issue.
> 
> It could also be painful for him to poop, making him reluctant to do so, but if he's not straining or making sounds when he goes and his poop's not overly hard or anything, it's probably not a pain issue.
> 
> He's such a nice-looking boy.


Yea, we got him at the SPCA and he was found as a stray. i was wondering if what you suggested might be a possibility. Poor guy. :-(

i dont think its pain. his poop is actually a bit too soft right now, so after we finish up his food were switching to something else. the only other weird thing hes done a few times is he keeps trying to push something out even though hes all done. hes only done that a couple of times since we got him, but it seems odd.

oh, and thanks! im kind of falling in love with him. lol


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

I wouldn't worry too much about the extra pushing, especially if it happens rarely, but you could always mention it to your vet anyway.

I added a bit to my first post about reinforcing him with treats when he poops. I hope he gets over his fear (if that's what it is) soon.


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## rippedcb (Jun 3, 2010)

it could also simply be that his food is not suiting him well and its causing gastro problems.. does he fart a lot? is there grain in the food? try switching him over to a different food or try raw for a few days and see if it gets better..
i've noticed sometimes when my dog gets too many treats that have grains (which treat doesn't) she also has trouble pooping and tries really hard and walks around fast and sometimes even whines even if the poop is soft..


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Mercy Medical said:


> Yea, we got him at the SPCA and he was found as a stray. i was wondering if what you suggested might be a possibility. Poor guy. :-(
> 
> i dont think its pain. his poop is actually a bit too soft right now, so after we finish up his food were switching to something else. the only other weird thing hes done a few times is he keeps trying to push something out even though hes all done. hes only done that a couple of times since we got him, but it seems odd.
> 
> oh, and thanks! im kind of falling in love with him. lol


If you plan to switch his food, start the switch before the current bag is empty. You want to transition slowly over a week or so by adding a little more of the new food and a little less of the old food each day. Abrupt changes often lead to GI problems while their bodies adjust to the new food (some dogs are cool with changes, but others are very sensitive)

I agree with Crantastic that it is probably psychological. Do you have a fenced yard where you could let him out to poop and then step around the corner or indoors and watch him through a window? It would be interesting to see how he acts if he thinks he is alone.


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## Mercy Medical (Jul 6, 2010)

So Vincent is still having his little pooping issue. In regards to some of the questions that were asked:

- We were feeding him Blue Buffalo Chicken and Brown Rice when we first got him. He's finishing up that bag right now. I've noticed that his poop has been pretty soft and was suggested by another dog owner to feed him a lamb and rice formula instead. So we're switching over to California Natural Lamb and Rice. He's been on a bit of a mix of the two while we switch over for maybe a week or so. We're just about done with the Blue Buffalo, so he'll be on California Natural full time soon. I'm already noticing that his poop is much more solid already (yay for me because picking up soft poop is not a fun time).

- As far as treats go, he gets he gets hot dogs when we're doing obedience training (about the ONLY treat that keeps his focus and attention). We have some liver treats that he gets from time to time as well. He also gets rawhide bones, which he typically chews on throughout the day.

- Unfortunately we do not have a yard. :-( We live in a townhouse complex and the only grass space we have available is in front of the building and unfortunately, it's not fenced in. However, when I've taken him to the dog park where he can go off leash, if he does poop he usually ends up going up on a hill a bit away from everyone else. When he was at his grandma's house, he tended to poop over in a corner, away from the house, next to a bunch of trees.

- In regards to farting, no, not a lot. He did a decent amount at night the first few weeks we had him (even farted right in my gf's face...lol), but I haven't noticed much of it lately.

I've actually gotten him on a bit of a better pooping schedule and it has been going fairly well. We go for a morning walk and an evening walk and during both walks I make sure to end up at the same place that I've designated his pooping area. It's a long stretch of grass by the sidewalk on the final leg back to the house. He has actually been very good with pooping around me since I've started doing that. I've even noticed that he eventually ends up in the just about the same place to poop every single time. Anytime he poops I make sure to give him lots and lots of praise. I attempted to give him some liver treats a while ago when we first started potty training, but he wasn't a big fan of them. I haven't tried the hot dogs yet (which he likes a lot more), so I may start bringing those along with me on our walks as more incentive.

Now here's where the problem comes in. I have gotten him on a good pooping scheduling and things are going well, however, he is not a very big fan of pooping in front of his other mom. She took him for a walk this morning and took him to the same place I take him to go poop with no results. She said she even went up and down the area twice and nothing. This happened before with me when she was walking with us. Took him to his pooping spot, no results. I assume that he's slowly becoming more accustomed to pooping with me around and still feels uncomfortable with her. This is probably due to the fact that I'm the one that takes him on a majority of his walks. Anyway, so there was no poop on his walk this morning. While I was getting ready for work, I looked in the living room and found Vincent attempting to squat in the house. Fortunately, I (mostly) caught him in the act and there really wasn't much of a mess to clean up. It's frustrating because I feel like he knows he needs to poop outside, but he is just too nervous about it. When we first got him he'd only poop once a day, so I know he can hold it during the day while in the crate, however I wish that didn't have to happen. I want to be patient with him, but at the same time I have a schedule too and I can't be late to work every day because my dog took forever to do his business. He also doesn't seem to want to poop anywhere that isn't that normal spot now. He used to go in front of the complex when we first got him, but I can't get him to do that anymore. The only other time he didn't poop where he normally does is when I took him for a run a couple days ago...but I assume the running sort of helped move that one along quicker then he was expecting. lol

So there's sort of the problem. He's been very good on potty training otherwise and hasn't had any major pee messes in the house for a couple weeks. He's only pooped in the house maybe 3 times since we got him (we've had him since June 30th) and he pooped once in his crate. It's just frustrating because I feel like I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing as far as creating a bit of a routine for him and praising him and he's still having a hard time.


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