Lady's Bad Potty Habbits
 

Hi Everyone,

I've switched my American Cocker Spaniel to Red Dog Deli's raw food diet. She's on her 2nd month and doing very well. No allergies, no itchies, clean ears and much less eye discharge. For the first month she was on the diet she had some trouble passing stools so I added a healthy tablespoon of pumpkin to each feed and all is going well.

However, while she was struggling with soft stools, she developed the habit of just going anywhere she felt like ... on the sidewalk, on the foot path, just anywhere. Before the raw diet she would at least find a patch of dirt or grass.

Any ideas on how I get her to go back to her old habit of finding a patch of grass or dirt, preferably to the side of the sidewalk or footpath? Oh, and you should know that we live in a very dog friendly town with great access to trails so Lady spends most of her time off leash when we are out.

[QUOTE=Floppy Dog;1042538]Hi Everyone,

I've switched my American Cocker Spaniel to Red Dog Deli's raw food diet. She's on her 2nd month and doing very well. No allergies, no itchies, clean ears and much less eye discharge. For the first month she was on the diet she had some trouble passing stools so I added a healthy tablespoon of pumpkin to each feed and all is going well.

However, while she was struggling with soft stools, she developed the habit of just going anywhere she felt like ... on the sidewalk, on the foot path, just anywhere. Before the raw diet she would at least find a patch of dirt or grass.

Any ideas on how I get her to go back to her old habit of finding a patch of grass or dirt, preferably to the side of the sidewalk or footpath? Oh, and you should know that we live in a very dog friendly town with great access to trails so Lady spends most of her time off leash when we are out.[/QUOTE]

Your dog is not going try and find a good spot to poop when she has diarrhea . You need to help your dog get better , you should call the vet up and see what they say about she having soft stools. The raw food and pumpkin may be to much for your dog to handle.

You may have to leash her at your side when you're walking the paths so you can guide her to a better place for elimination when she feels the urge, Floppy Dog. I'd treat it like I would potty training--interrupt an elimination in an inappropriate place and move to a better place to finish, then praise.

Yes, back on the leash to help guide her to better choices. You could even be more proactive and go to the spot you want her to soil and stand still until it happens then reward her. The softness of her stools prevent her from holding it long enough to choose her old grassy spots.
Endosorb is a wonderful chewable that absorbs the excess moisture in her colon and forms a good stool. You might have to get it from your vet. We get a big jar of 500 for $50 and it lasts forever.
It might be that she is not getting quite enough calcium in the raw diet. The added calcium helps form a stool that looks like a coyote scat - very firm, very white and odorless.

[QUOTE=tenderfoot;1042563]Yes, back on the leash to help guide her to better choices. You could even be more proactive and go to the spot you want her to soil and stand still until it happens then reward her. The softness of her stools prevent her from holding it long enough to choose her old grassy spots.
Endosorb is a wonderful chewable that absorbs the excess moisture in her colon and forms a good stool. You might have to get it from your vet. We get a big jar of 500 for $50 and it lasts forever.
It might be that she is not getting quite enough calcium in the raw diet. The added calcium helps form a stool that looks like a coyote scat - very firm, very white and odorless.[/QUOTE]

coyote scat is really diffidence looking than dogs poop. We have a coyote around here and the scat is gummy looking and I notice it will wash away in the rain . And it was not white at all , the coyote was marking it territory and left scat everywhere.

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for your replies.

Just to clarify for barkingdog, Lady never had diarrhea just soft stools. The pumpkin is working just fine without overloading her system. She's been on it before.

I'll go back to leash training, with treats. Lady is a very smart little doggie. I'm sure it won't take very long for her to get back into her cleaner habits.