[tylerh]

My dog is an 8 month dog old golden retriever and he will only poop in a certain place a certain way far from my apartment. He will only go poop if he is off leash and in the complex dog park. I want him to be able to go wherever outside or at least on command. How do I get him out of the habit? Can I completely avoid the park and make him poop or hold it longer? How long would I be able to do that so he doesn’t become too constipated?

 

[Knute]

Ummmmm........ You want to "make him poop"? You want him to "hold it longer"? Seriously? Can anyone make you poop on command?

Take him for a long walk on leash. Avoid the park or his favorite spot. Begin teaching the command for potty. Give a praise and reward when he completes the task.

My dog knows the command "WC" means to potty. Mostly, it is watering bushes. He poops when needed. I can't command him to poop. Some walks he poos 1x others 3x. Some days I use 1 poo bag, others I use 3 poo bags.

 

[tylerh]

What I meant by “hold it longer” is that he is already holding it and not going unless we are in that one spot. I was asking if it was okay that he was holding it even longer, not that I want him to do that. I am not trying to get him to hold it.

And you can in a way “make him poop” and poop with command. Therapy and service dogs are trained enough to do this. I’m just trying to make him not hold it. I can tell he is holding it.

I am already doing those things you suggested so I guess

 

[LeoRose]

Sounds like you've got two issues going on, not pooping on lead and only pooping in one specific area.

I think the first thing to work on is pooping on lead. Some dogs can feel pressured by you being so close if they are not used to it, so using a longer lead (10 - 15 feet) might be a good idea. Do you have a potty cue (mine is "go hurry')? If not, then start using one. Take him to his preferred spot, and as soon as you see him starting to act like he's going to poop, give your cue. Once he's done, praise and treat like you would have when you were first house training him. When he looks like he's made the connection between the cue and going, try it with the long lead. If he doesn't go after a few cues, take him back inside, and try again in 15 to 30 minutes.

When he is consistently going on lead in his preferred location, start taking him to other places, again with the longer lead, give your cue, and wait to see if he goes. If he does, praise and treat. If he doesn't, take him back inside, wait 15 to 30 minutes, and take him out again, go to the new spot, and repeat.

Once he can potty in different places on the longer lead, you can try a shorter lead.

In my opinion, teaching them that they can potty on lead in different places and on different surfaces is a good idea. There is nothing quite like taking a city dog, used to pottying on grass, through the desert, and her being so appalled at having to pee on bare, sandy dirt, that she doesn't pee for over six hours.

 

[Knute]

Therapy and Service dogs will spend about 2 years in training. Yes, they are trained to eliminate on command. Although, I would expect there are specific circumstances.

Yes, LeoRose has offered you good details about training. Remember, your dog is only 8 months old. Patience and repetition and reward.

Agree on the different surfaces. I'm in a very large city, we encounter pavement, grass, sand, construction debris, cobblestone, black top, concrete......just about any surface you can find in a city. My dog eliminates on any surface, always on leash during walks.

Please be mindful of the people who come later. Use Poo bags. Yes, its a bit disgusting. You invert the bag over your hand, collect the deposit, reinvert the bag, properly dispose of bag with contents. You don't come in contact with the treasure. Cost is very small per bag, generally less than a $0.01 USD/bag. It is much better than discovering a dog's landmine with your shoe.

 

[parus]

My dogs are both trained to eliminate on command and they're just pets. It's useful to be able to tell them to empty the tanks in places and times where it's convenient. I used basically the same approach LeoRose suggested. My adult rescue got it within a few weeks. (I suspect he had been punished for accidents, as he was initially really shy of eliminating in people's presence.) The puppy got it right away because he copies the adult.

Goldens are people-pleasers and most are excellent at reading people - he could well have it in his head that you don't like to see poop even if you've never punished him for accidents, as we tend to grimace and groan at the sight of a stinky deposit. I suspect once it clicks that you actually want him to eliminate on a lead, he'll adjust to that quite readily.