Hey Dog Lovers,
Today we talk about a not so popular topic but one that has come up lately in my puppy classes. Why do dogs take so long to poop ? Although an odd question to ask I thought a blog post would be a great way to explain what I know and found on this topic.
Main reasons:
Sniffing out other dogs’ scents
Elimination is one of our dogs’ most nuanced and effective methods of communication. Take for example fire hydrants are so popular like a facebook group as the message they leave sends other dogs’ messages about where they have been and what they have been doing. When the sniff around for a while they are “reading” messages from other dogs. These messages can tell your dog how many other dogs are in the area, the sexual status of the dog and whether they are friendly or an enemy, what they had for lunch and when they were last in the area. Some messages encoded scent secretions which serve as a cue to make them go potty. Hence why some dogs poop next to another pile of poop. Friendly reminder to always have poop bags with you.
Performance and Location Anxiety
Like some humans that cannot go in public bathrooms this is the same case for dogs. Some are too nervous to go to the bathroom when a lot is going on around them. Try to walk them on back streets or during a quiet time during the day. Some dogs can also develop surface preference when they are young, some dogs prefer soft grass vs cement. Paper or potty pad dogs sometimes find it hard to go outside on grass or natural surfaces. Try to be patient with them when they are trying to find the perfect spot.
The Magnetic Poles
According to a study published in Frontiers in Zoology, dogs prefer to excrete with their body aligned along the North-South axis. The study ruled out other influences such as time of day, the angle of the sun and speed and strength of the wind.
Your dog may be stalling as they just enjoy being outside and know once they are done they have to go back in. To help reverse this condition make sure your dog gets plenty of fresh air without a time crunch.
Training can help your dog go poop faster, commands such as “go potty” or “hurry up” can be trained for this purpose. I use “Go potty” on Aussie since she was little and she goes pretty much on command. Kodiac my black lab would poop on command, just say “Go Poop” and he would go to his designated spot and poop. By far the easiest dog to potty train.
If you enjoyed this post, I’d be very grateful if you would help spread it by email to a friend, on social media or even word of mouth! Thank you so much!
