Are you a concerned dog owner struggling with your dog’s irregular pooping schedule? It would be great if you could change your dog’s poop schedule, wouldn’t it?
You can modify your dog’s pooping pattern through training. This should be a structured process that begins at an early age. You should always consider your dog’s behavior and preferences, as well as your daily routine, without disrupting your dog’s normal digestive process.
How do you train your dog to a new pooping schedule? What are the potential consequences of this new behavior? How can you overcome them? Let’s take a closer look!
How to change a dog’s poop schedule?
Are you a dog owner who returns to the house to see a mess your dog made? It is not easy to clean the mess, and sometimes you’ll get fed up and may think of giving up the dog.
Don’t be upset. Dogs are not stubborn. It’s just that they are not educated! Here are some simple tricks and methods to train your dog to go outside for fits in your daily routine.
Lemme start by telling you the story of one of my friends.
He has two dogs, Sally and Vindy. Sally has this weird pooping pattern that every day, she poops around 2.30 in the morning.
So they have to wake up every day to take her out. Every day she wakes up and barks at them to signal that she needs to go out, which does not only wake them up but also their neighbors.
Eventually, they followed up this training method that i’m gonna tell you, and now they are out of all mid midnight waking up troubles.
So 3 simple things should subsequently follow for you to train your dog to go outside on a routine.
- Train them to go outside
- Train them to go outside on a schedule
- Stick to the schedule
1. Train them to go outside
Before you train your dog or your little puppy to go outside routinely, you must be able to train your dog to go outside when he wants to relieve himself.
This is a must-learn habit for your dog cus you can’t keep cleaning your dog’s mess every single time.
Usually, it is different from a dog to a dog that time ranges between going outside.
If your puppy is a little bit new to your home probably, it will take 1 to 2 hours. If your puppy is well trained, there can be a 3 or 4 hours gap.
If your dog is housetrained and trained for going outside when they are in the home alone, they can wait like 8 or 10 hours after peeing or pooping.
So, in the beginning, you have a tough job to do, keep checking on your dog an hour after an hour. But believe me, it will get easier!
Remember you as a kid? Your mother taught you everything from scratch? This is the same process, only that they take a little more time to learn.
So at first, puppies don’t know how to hold. So they are gonna pee or poop in your house as much as they like. So how do you stop this?
Puppies don’t give you hints. You have to take them every hour to check if they wanna relieve themselves.
You can simply take them out and command them using a phrase like “go potty” or “go outside.”
Right after they relieve themselves, reward your dog with some treats. And also, praise him by saying “Good potty” or anything that sounds the same.
( You have to use those words consistently, so choose the words wisely)
When you take them out, don’t let them play with you, and every time you use the word, go potty. Give your puppy some time, like 5 minutes or 10 minutes.
If he’s not going to poop or pee, take him back inside but give no treats like “No Roxy! If no outs no ins.”
And repeat this process after one hour. Focus on the signals your dog gives before he goes outside.
Do this training method for days, and finally, you’ll be able to understand the hints of your dogs they give when they wanna go outside.
And also, you can guess the time periods that they wanna go out willingly.
By the way, here is why do some dogs poop multiple times in a row.
2. Train them to go outside on a schedule
Now your dog has successfully trained to go outside. Is it enough? No! Now you have to train your doggo to go outside on a schedule.
First of all, a quick thing to say!
You can’t expect your dog to go outside for a schedule if you don’t feed them on a schedule. So first, you have to feed them on a routine.
Usually, little puppies need to be fed 2 or 3 times a day. Breakfast, Lunch, and dinner. Then you can let your doggo make his schedule for going outside.
Usually, for most dogs going outside is the first thing to do in the morning, but for some, they save it for later in the day.
You can always bring them out after the major meals and even after a good walk.
You can take your dog outside before you go to work and after you return home. This will probably prevent your house from being as most dogs poop or pee in the house due to separation anxiety.
So how do you train your dog for this method? It’s pretty easy.
Always, ALWAYS take your dog outside before you leave home and do the same when you return.
This doesn’t mean you have to be out for a longer period, okay? Even though you were out for like 5 min take your dog outside as soon as you return. And praise him with tasty treats.
This will make your doggo think that it is worth the wait to relieve themself after you return home, and they will never poop or pee in your house.
So I mentioned some easiest routines to try for you, but it’s up to you to come up with a different schedule as it is easy for you and your work.
3. Stick to the schedule
Whatever the schedule you choose, you have to stick to it and repeat it. Don’t rush your dog, as it can take different periods for different dogs to learn.
After your dog has got the point, he will come to you as soon as he wanna go outside.
By the way, here is whether dogs can pee and poop at the same time.
What are the possible problems after changing your dog’s defecation schedule?
1. Cause digestive tract problems
Your dog’s defecation schedule mustn’t interrupt his diet pattern. Otherwise, it will affect their natural digestion process and could cause some problematic conditions.
2. Absence of go-to person
After your pet is trained to come to you, he will always look up to you and take him outside. But what if you are not home?
Then your dog might wait for you to come home, and this delay can make them some difficulties.
3. Dehydration
The new schedule can mess up the hydrating pattern of your dog. So keep an eye on your loving pooch’s water dish whether he takes enough water intake.
By the way, here is whether dogs can poop on the road.
How to overcome post- problems after changing your Dog’s pooping schedule?
You should pay the same attention to their feeding schedule as much as you do to their defecation schedule.
Make sure your dog follows the feeding plan you offer them; otherwise, you have to train them. I have talked about this in an earlier article, but I’ll explain shortly.
- Place your pet’s dish in front of them and wait for them to eat.
- Wait until 10 to 15 minutes until he eats
- Take the dish if he hadn’t eaten and given nothing to eat to your dog until the next meal
- Repeat this in the next meal.
After several days your dog will learn that he gas to eat in time; otherwise, he’ll get nothing. Never go to the defecation schedule until your doggo masters the feeding schedule.
Here’s some extra tip for you. You can guess that if your dog has some difficult condition, check the nature of your doggo’s poop.
The normal poop is compact, moist, and doesn’t change when picked up. If your pet’s poo is watery, that can be a result of some intestinal problem.
If the poo is too dry and hard, it can be a result of dehydration. If you have changed the diet, the nature of the poo can be changed.
So if you feel like there is some abnormality in your dog’s poop or pooping pattern, go to the vet and get their help.
Suggested Reading: Why does your dog keep pooping on the couch?
Things to be aware of
1. Give your dog the priority
Your dog must be the first duty for you in the morning while doing the housetraining.
You know they are very sensitive and easily sense your ignorance, which may lead your dog to pee in the house.
2. Put a considerable space between each turn
Do not train your dog to poop for short periods. Make sure they get enough time to do the digestive process and make even spaces between each turn.
3. Handle the excitements
If you have visitors in your house, immediately take your dog outside as seeing new faces after a long time can make your dog more excited and cause an accident on the carpet.
4. Keep the eye on their water dish
Whenever you see your dog drinking a considerable amount of water, take him outside as soon as they’ve done drinking.
4. Let them relieve themselves after they take a walk or play
After a long walk or playtime with your dog probably get thirsty and will drink a lot of water. And you can take them outside as soon as they have done drinking water.
Conclusion.
You can train your dog to poop/pee outside and on a routine. But the training process must be completed patiently. It is better if you can start training from your dog’s puppy age. You should focus on the feeding schedule of your dog before the defecation schedule. Different dogs prefer different times of the day to relieve themselves. So prepare the schedule focusing on the behavior of your dog and your daily workline.