My dogs this past month have stopped eliminating outside

Just pitching in.

My 3 yr old Lab-Hound mix has been dropping brown bombs outside like clockwork. Nothing unusual about his habits as of late.

reply to post by LoneGunMan


Hi LoneGunMan-

My experience with this is not current-

However the same thing happened to a dog I had many years ago.
One day out of the blue- he started to refuse to go to the garden- he was incredibly scared and shaking everytime we tried to walk him in that garden.

It was absolutely strange, because he grew in my house, and was used to be in the garden- even sometime staying there at night.

Anyway, we decided that if he didn't want to go there, then we should respect that- for some time he didn't even wanted to come near the door that takes you to the garden!-

That "phobia" lasted for a few weeks. His behaviour didn't change- he was the happy dog we always had- but he just didn't want to walk into the garden.

And day out of the blue again, he lost his fear and reconnected with that space again.

Anyway, we never understood what could had possibly happened to him.

reply to post by DaWhiz


Cancer is a possibility. Yes, my dog that I had previously started doing a lot of his business right on his dog bed (unlike my current dog he preferred a bed not a crate) . He did indeed have bone cancer. He was about ten. Our current dog is three. We did not have this dog checked for cancer. She was checked only for uti and hormonal issues that can cause incontinence in spayed females. I do think her gait seems off but the vet and my husband don't see it. The vet has pronounced it a behavioral issue. He told us to just watch and report back. She has not had an accident yet this week. I only suspect it could be quake related because it got really persistent in the week leading up to the quake. But she has never acted fearful. I won't discount the possibility of cancer. That is always a possibility with large boned dogs like ours.

The cats are a more complicated matter.

Sorry I have no9t checked on this thread since I first wrote it.

To answer some questions I have read on the first page.

I live in the countryside in Mid-Michigan. I have not sprayed any chemicals on my lawn. I have about 2 acres. A section about half the size of a city lot is fenced for the dogs the rest is open and is bordered by farmer fields. I have two decks. One is on the front of the house and one on the back.

They refuse to get off either deck and act frightened about the damn lawn. One is a black Lab the other a Maltese. There is not any sign of predators.

I don't have any more input about my sons friends dogs behavior since it came up in conversation.

They are both highly intelligent...maybe not the lab so much but enough to understand what they are doing is against the rules. They run and hide when I try and get them to go out unless we go through the garage to the driveway. They will step into this portion of the lawn from the garage but not the front of the house or the back.

Its just frick'n goofy.

Make sure your dog is getting lots of crude raw protein and less carbohydrates if at an older age. a big femur from almost any animal makes any dogs life 100 times better. if you find they cant grind down the bone, get them bone meal treats.

im going through a similar situation so i can understand the frustration when your dog is perfectly house trained for over a decade and then suddenly "gives up". never fun when you finally have to make that decision.

[edit on 5-8-2010 by 7minds]

Originally posted by plutoxgirl
reply to post by LoneGunMan

 

That "phobia" lasted for a few weeks. His behaviour didn't change- he was the happy dog we always had- but he just didn't want to walk into the garden.

Hi back, how have you been?

You are so correct it is just like a phobia of certain places.

They do seem to try hard to make sure they go inside when we are not looking. Then sit on the couch and look sheepish. I keep telling them they are going to lose they're happy home but so far no answer.

I have had a lo of dogs in my life. Never have I had a dog act like this after being potty trained.

Thanks for replying to my thread plutoxgirl.

[edit on 5-8-2010 by LoneGunMan]

reply to post by 7minds


Both dogs are two years and six months old.

New dogs.

When Dogs defecate, they do so for two reasons, one is of course to relieve themselves, and the other is to mark out their territory.

A Dog's poo is it's calling card to other canines and predators, it's saying "Hello there, I'm claiming this territory as part of my territory" and is a challenge to other canines and predators to either challenge that claim by a counter-defecation (pleasant I know) or to recognise that dog's territory claim.

A dog's poo can also act as an invitation if the dog wants to meet up and have a good time and have puppies, as in a female dog on heat: "Hello, Ding, Dong, Trixy the Wild Labrador here, why don't you come up and meet me sometime and have my puppies?"

First and foremost, your dog's prime central territory in in your garden or as close to your home as possible, anywhere, while out on a walk is a boundary marker, it's saying "This is the beginning and end of my territory" as your dog thinks anywhere further to defecate maybe unsafe encroaching another's dog's territory and inviting trouble.

If your dogs have stopped defecating while out on walks, then it's possible that a new dog/predator, or a large number of dogs/predators from one pack has moved in close by, and your dogs, recognising the other dog/predator as being stronger in numbers or health, have recognised their dominance, and have given way to avoid a fight which they fear they may lose. Instead of being driven away, or fighting, they have hunkered down to minimise meeting that opposing dog/predator, and only defecate in your garden or near as possible to your home to minimise contact with the 'other dog/s or predator that they fear.

Your dog defecating instead in your garden or near to your home is saying to the new dominant canine/predator force that has moved in that while all the territory beyond is theirs, this territory is our central home, our central den, and this is where we draw the line. You have all that territory beyond, we have given away, but come across this line, we will fight back and defend our family, namely you.

The fact that so many people are reporting their dogs are not defecating outside is interesting. It may suggest another theory, that perhaps the dogs are too lethargic from the hot weather to defecate and mark their territory any further then their den (your home) then they have to, so as to avoid fighting in this hot weather.


My dog is still defecating outside while out on walks, but does not always do it, no matter how far she is walked. Confidence in the ability to defend that territory where it's marked by the poo is key I think, and perhaps sometimes they sniff a Canine or predator in the air they do not want to challenge for territory.

My bay retriever pooped in the basement; first time ever.
Sandy

I live way out in a rural area in Arkansas. That means I don't live in a city nor do I live in the city limits of my nearest town. I merely live in the county and since the BP oil spill occurred, there were times that I thought the storms were spreading Corexit and other oils all over the place. Since those rain storms that passed through, the plants in my area all appear as if they are yellowing and dying. Most all wild berry bushes that I pick blackberries from have all died and withered. The grass is turning yellow and even tree leaves are spotted and yellowish.

My pet is a rat terrier dog of about 4 yrs of age and he is house trained. We go or stay outside whenever possible because of course I enjoy being outside and so did he, or so I thought until recently.

My pet has recently been hard to get to do his business while outside. After observing him for a few weeks now, it appears that he is having trouble finding that sweet spot that so many dogs need to find before they can relieve themselves. That sniffing process where they finally find the spot is not working like it use to.

While at first I thought nothing of it, but one morning the outside air was so unusual in odor that I almost passed out trying to get back into the house. Afterward, I waited a few hours and when we went out, my dog did not want to be outside. He was dragging me to take him inside after just a few minutes. This puzzled me because it was so out of character.

While I don't know what is causing it, something has made my dog rather skid-dish about being outside when he was always an outside dog. Now, he appears as if he would rather hold his water than to go outside and do anything.

While this is not scientific in anyway, I appreciate reading that this phenomena is not just happening to me and my dog.

Thanks for the posting. While I realize the subject matter is largely unprovable, it communicated that I am not crazy in my observations. For that revelation, I thank you for proving to myself that I wasn't imagining things.

Thanks again.

Ok, this has happened to my for the past few days. I live in southern Texas. The county does spray for mosquitoes but that has never bothered the dogs before. They always do it late at night and by the next morning any lingering smells should be gone. I have two Yorkies and a Papilion mix. The Yorkies are a yr and half old female and a 6 mo. old male. The Pap mix is a male, 2 yrs. Of course they have accidents when you don't pay attention to them. This is different. They still tell me they have to go out but my little girl won't go into the yard and the Yorkie male shakes constantly when he's out there. My little girl will go on the patio. The Pap doesn't seem to be any different. After reading about the dog deterrents I'm beginning to believe that may be the problem. I bought one of them to teach my little girl not to bark every time she hears something outside. Once or twice was all it took and I never used it on them outside. However, think the 11 yr old son might have. Working on getting them back into their routine. We also have a neighbor whose dogs bark constantly and are always outside, he may have tried the device on them. Going to also ask the neighbor next door if he might have put something in his garden to keep deer and things out. Hope you figure out the problem. The reason I am on this site now was because I was looking for answers to this problem!

[edit on 24-8-2010 by Shae55]

My Basset Hound does his business outside anytime of the day - no problem. But when it gets dark he won't go off the porch. I have to practically drag him on the leash to get him to go out in the dark and then he does a quick pee or 2 and drags me back in. This has only been going on for the past couple of months - before that he would go out any time.

He was 3 feet from a rabbit last night and turned around trying to get me to go back to the house.