I have an odd question...

[Discussing Labradoodles & Goldendoodles]

But, jace has recently started this thing where when we take him out to do his business it takes FOREVER, I mean he sniffs, and sniffs and sniffs, and I honestly stand out there sometimes for around 30 min. I wouldnt mind being out there for so long, but some mornings its the trip out before i have to go to class. I know he needs to go, he just has the huge elaborate process before he will go #2.. He's getting to that age where he's becoming more territorial, but we're getting him fixed in a couple of weeks so I think that may help with all of that... But I guess my question is, is this huge potty process a territory thing, or do we need to do some sort of training to get him out of this habit. And I don't know if its a tactic to get to stay outside longer but i don't think it is because he gets a lot of outside exercise throughout the day(around an hour and a half to two hours total)

[Deanna & Desi & Cori]

Are you in your back yard or on a walk?  We found that if we took Sedona into the yard on leash she'd go faster than if we just let her roam.  Off leash meant play time, on leash meant business.

[Camilla and Darwin]

When we were potty training Darwin we'd always praise him a ton and say "good potty" when he went poop. Eventually he knew what it meant, and eventually he knew what "go potty" meant. We usually let him roam and find a good spot (always on leash) but if he is taking too long we issue the "go potty" command and he snaps to it. :-)

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Whenever I have to be out of the house early (like 5-6:00 am) which is unusual and I need the girls to potty quickly before I go, I walk them on the street.  For some reason they seem a little more focused when I do it that way and to go quicker.  In the middle of the night if one of them needs out I always do it on leash and I use the "go potty" word and I just try and keep them focused by switching direction and things like that.  I don't let them just stand still and sniff ... we focus on what we are out there for. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

This behavior is instinctive in many dogs. In the wild, where you leave your feces can be a survival issue. The smell of the feces can clue predators in to the location of the pack. That's also one reason why dogs kick up they hind legs after they go, as if they're trying to bury the poop. Instinctively, they are.

When dogs keep moving back and forth sniffing before they "go", one thing they are doing is gauging the wind direction. They are trying to place the feces so that the wind will carry the scent away from their "den". They aren't doing any of this consciously, it's something that has survived in them for hundreds if not thousands of years and part of what helped their ancestors survive. It's also why most dogs will go to the part of the yard farthest away from the door by which they exit and enter the house. If Jace isn't able to get to that "farthest" place in the yard when you take him out, it might be part of the reason it's taking him so long to find a good spot.

 

[Chels*Claud*Midas]

wow this is extremley interesting!!! i had to call my husband and tell him about this.. and i hear him on the phone talkin to midas..so proudly saying "u gauge the wind direction baby?? u poop away from the den to protect us?" lol we are sick arent we?? lol

[Ginny Nightingale]

Yeah, MOST dogs--not my Mattie--in the morning,she goes RIGHT outside the back door so she can come right in and eat!!! She is one fast pooper! But the others so go much farther out....

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I think males of all species are much more anal (pun intended) about pooping than females. Males have a greater need to feel "secure" before they can go, for some reason. And it seems to take them longer, too. To quote Michael Moore, when was the last time you saw a woman carry a newspaper into a bathroom? 

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

So interesting. Peri goes immediately and I always thought it is because we trained her to go potty on command pretty much (we know the times she almost always poops).  Taquito gpes all the way up to the furthest corner of the yard to poop. So interesting.

[Rachel and Ollie]

Wow, this is good to know. Ollie always tries to pull me further in the little apt yard. I thought he just smelled something and I like to be near the trash can especially when he is taking forever when I need to get to work. I'll try letting him go further away. Good info Karen!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I adopted JD as an adult, so I don't know what his bathroom habits were before I got him, but he was extremely well housebroken, to the point that he would not "go" in my very small yard at all, only on walks. Even now, 7 years later, he still prefers to poop when on his a.m. and p.m. walks, and will not do it in the yard unless he has no choice.

I do think part of that is because he wants the feces far away from the house, but I also think the exercise helps gets things moving, so to speak. :-)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yep, the exercise definitely helps!

[F, Calla & Luca]

Luca will go in the yard but he often goes on walks too. I think the walking gets things going.