Why won't my dog just poop already?

My dog is so weird. He has to run all over the yard looking for the perfect spot to poop. Not just any spot will do. If I take him somewhere outside of our back yard to do his business, he frantically sniffs the ground, wimpering and whining and won’t pick a spot and just go!!! Drives me crazy!!! It’s my stubborn pekingese. I love him to death but this is just ridiculous! He whines like a little baby! I am not looking forward to this winter. I have to get him in the habit of going in one spot sort of close to the house so we’re not traipsing thru five feet of snow every time he has to go to the bathroom. Thanks, had to vent. Any insight would be welcomed =)

Answer #1

My dog did the same thing! I know how you feel. But the way I fixed it was by taking it to the same spot time after time and wait until he goes no matter how long it takes. -_-

Answer #2

you are right, I don’t always have a ton of time to stand outside with my dog. have little kiddies to chase after. makes sense, though, what you’ve said. I need to probably walk him a little more, too. I know that moving helps keep things moving. I’ll try the leash again. he’s such a stubborn dog, though. he knows when I say “go poop” what that means, he just sits down and ignores me… grrr

Answer #3

You can teach them to poop when you tell them to “go potty “on the leash but you have to leash them and take them out to potty. Than tell them go potty, it takes work and it doesn’t sound to me like you want to stand outside with your dog.

Dogs actually run around to poop to get their bowels moving. Just like people. Take a walk after eating and you will need to poop too. Many dogs also have a favorite spot they like to go.

Answer #4

I’ve never met a dog, who wasn’t extremely “picky” about where he poops…females are just as bad…Think of it as a “lesson in patience”… :)

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Answer #5

I think thats just a trait of those kind of dogs, they can be a pain, they are so picky and whiny, try getting some of those potty pads and training him to go on it

Answer #6

my dog does that too.. it’s pretty normal.. if you want him to go in a certain area then buy one of those doggy play pens, put it outside near the house and put him in it every time he has to go potty.

Answer #7

My dog is like that too, it is normal. Try getting a doggy playpen so that he only can go potty in one place.

Answer #8

of course he has a penis, “he” is a male dog. not sure what that has to do with him pooping.

Answer #9

I have a shih tzu and he does the same thing :) Try not to give him cheese.

Answer #10

as a pup, told our dog (cavachon) “go potty” as she was doing her business…#1 and #2. It is now on a schedule, first thing in the am, noon, dinner, and before bed. I take her out, say “go potty” and she does her business. When playing her favorite thing (fetch w/a ball), we don’t start until she goes. She looks up at me in excitement to throw the ball…I say “go potty” and she squats instantly. Her only problem is chasing those darn squirrels! They taunt her and make her lose her mind behind the window!

Answer #11

hello I also just got a shih tzu puppy he is 5 months. his name is Coffee, he is the cutest little thing ever but boy he really can tick me off. so when he was only 8 weeks he would run outside for 15 minutes in the yard (not fenced in) I have him on a leash. And finally he would poop which is great and its sad that at this point I was working double shifts so he had to stay home by himself. well then I got fired (which was a blessing in disguise) and my husband and I went to mexico to see his family. and it was the same thing trying to get him to poop outside so we wouldn’t have any accidents in the house. well he ended up hurting his back leg and he had to have a cast on it. he wouldn’t eat nor poop for a whole 24 hours, I was worried. but finally he started to eat and poop and this was great because now everytime I took him out he always pooped in the same spot (in mexico)every day every morning. well once we came back to the US he sorta kept the pooping in the same spot in his yard again but now…forget it!!! its the same thing staring at the cars like he hasn’t seen a car, or a person walking by and he is totally distracted by rabbit poop in the yard he looks for it to eat it. I’ve tried the leave it command but yeah right he will totally swallow that nasty rabbit poop and I scold him and he does it again. he knows its bad. but I won’t stand outside with him for more than 15 minutes heck no not in the freezing cold, rainy and now were getting snow, screw that!!! I love my puppy coffee but like I said it does try your patience and plus I have no absolutely no combined effort from my husband, gosh even trying to put the freaking leash on him is like asking to walk the darn dog for hours!!! I didn’t know my husband would be that way but I was the one who wanted the dog, oh well I’m use to it now! but yes these dogs need to poop and thats it! have fun everyone!

Answer #12

Honestly, when is that last time you tried pooping when someone told you to poop right now? My dog likes to be walked for up to 40 minutes before he poops so I schedule my time in such a way that at least once a day I can walk him for the amount of time he seeks. I love him and although Im busy, I dont want to turn him into a little neurotic dog that is all stressed out. : )

Answer #13

I had the same issues with my pug, he took sooo long to sniff out a spot and sometimes he’d have poop visibly almost out of his butt… then he’d get distracted, stop, and have to find a better spot!!! I’d have to walk him for 30 to 40 minutes sometimes just so he’d poop. I have health issues and it’s bad for me to be standing for that long, especially in extreme heat or cold. It was crazy! He’d eat all day… not poop all the times I’d take him out during the day… so before bedtime I’d make it a point to “wait” for poop just so I could be sure there was no accidents for me to find in the morning. I have no idea why he holds it all day. Anyway, now that it’s winter… he doesn’t like to walk so much, he gets cold and wants to go home before he gets a chance to poop. He actually held it for 2 days! I decided that the best thing to do was to just put him out the back door on his leash, I looped the leash around the doorknob and shut the door. I turned off the porch light and ignored him for a few minutes while he whined and scratched to get back in. It worked! After 5 minutes, he pooped. Now whenever I do this, he poops quickly because he knows that the faster he goes potty, the sooner he gets to come back inside with me where it’s warm… and he gets a treat for pooping! Hope this helps anyone who has these issues.

Answer #14

Mine circles around a spot ten times before he lands each time, then he uses his back legs and scruffs the grass and dirt.Grrr at me! LoL !Hi! All, I adopted a Wired Hair Scott Terrier, he is three and for sure he was abused by his former owner. He had 38 ticks on him, I spent the first several hours debre him of all of them. He trust and loves me, he never poops or pee’s in the house or yard. He never chews anything with the exception of his toys. He is sooo affectionate. My situation is, he is so afraid of going in the yard, and the winter here in New England is coming in, and I cannot walk him on ice and snow. I have servre Arthritis, and other illness, and just would not be able to do this all the time. I leave him out he hangs for life at the door, it breaks my heart. He behaves like, “ But mom, I did not remember doing anything wrong,” poor thing. We have such a bond. I thought life was lonely and over at 53 years old, not so, he has filled the void hugely. I never loved an animal like I do Max. Better part is he loves me back. So help me let Max know, he is a good boy, mom loves him, and it is not so scary to go in the yard.

I have walked him on the leash, I have stayed with him, I have told him it is OK. He is too scared to go.

Answer #15

My dog is a Welsh terrier and is the most stubborn challenging dog we have ever had. This morning I walked him twice - as he was trained, on the leash - in his usual area - but he won’t even pee,let alone poop at times. I mean, most dogs will look to atr lweasty pee when they go out after a 10 hour overnight period. He just watches birds, trees, leaves, passing traffic - pedestrians up to half a mile away - he freezes like a statue and just stands in one spot. No sniffing the group - no anxious walking - nothing. I do not have time to walk him 3 or 4 times in the morning 10 to 20 minutes at a clip. We have resorted to crating him between walks, and walking him every 1-1/2 to 2 hours. I need some way to get him to focus on findinfg a spot and going, in a reasonable amount of time.

Answer #16

my dog does the same thing amd its really agravating and I dont want to be mean by yelling at him but sometimes I just get so annoyied when all he does is whine but wont go out when I take hin

Answer #17

omg I have the same issue and am convinced it’s these breeds of small dogs. I have a shih tzu and have the same prob as everyone on this post. It used to drive me up the wall…now I try to tell myself…It’s my duty to take him outside…some days/times I can afford to walk for up to 30 mins around the entire neighbhorhood so he can find his spot and urge and go. Some days I can’t. And when I get to my door to come inside he looks at me like “oh *&$% I missed my chance to go” and I say you sure did lol. I don’t feel bad anymore because I take him out several times (4-5xs a day) for no less than 15-20 mins at a time if not longer. And I play fetch everynight after dinner. So he will have to learn when we’re outside it’s his chance to go…walk or not. If you miss it …u miss it. He is so stubborn he will hold the poop for well over 24hrs! can you believe it?? I start to feel so bad that I will break down and run with him so he can go. But I’m not making a habit of it…these dogs are way too spoiled

Answer #18

My shih tzu is 13 and he’s had me on a short leash for many years. I take him out back in the same spot everyday 3-4-5 sometimes 6 x a day! It can take him anywhere from 10-40 mins to go, often running around in the same spot back and forth (maybe 100 times around?) till he’s panting, tripping and nearly to the point of collasping before he poops! I can’t even begin to express how exasperating this is. It’s not his age, he’s always been like this, but becuase I’m getting older I’m losing my patience. He had severe reaction to “harmless” medication a few years ago, at which point my inlaws refused to watch him anymore for us. They told us 5 days prior to leaving for a 2 week vacation to CA! We had to cancel the trip and have not been anywhere since, even overnight. We are considering boarding him just for a night or two to get a break. He’s adorable and the love the my life but I really feel like I’m at a breaking point. I feel so stressed out much of the time. My husband doesn’t help, he takes him out for 2 mins then says “he only had to pee” (( ugh!! )) then tells me I’m “obsessed’ with putting dog out (I’m not - he will bite and scratch himself to the point of bleeding if I am not proactive in taking him out).

Thanks for giving me a place to vent! I feel better already! :o)

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