For us, dog owners, our pups are not just pets. They are best friends and family members. We have to keep an eye on their health. One crucial way to early detect any health issue in them is the precisely monitoring of their body language. This article will teach you some useful tips to monitor and train your pup's bowel movements. Besides, you will learn how to help healing some related issues such as constipation.
If you have gotten a new puppy recently, you will learn very useful tips that will help you going through a gentle and proper potty train.
Whether you need a full guide to house train your pup with smart dos and don'ts tips, or only want to learn how to establish a daily routine, you will find what you seek in this article!
Scroll down to check out, and remember to leave us a comment about your thoughts below!
1. When Does Your Pup Need To Go?
Source: LittleThings
Pups differ in their needs off course. However,
the above chart is just a good guide to follow, and you can just take it as a general a rule!
According to the age of your pup, this chart indicates the duration length that they can wait until their next bowel movement.
Do not wait more than one to two hours to bring a young puppy outside. Slightly older pups can wait for three to four hours. Adult dogs who are completely house trained are definitely the most qualified to stay alone at home without messing inside. They can wait for eight up to ten hours to use the bathroom.
2. How To Potty Train Your Young Puppy
During your puppy training to use a potty for the first time, you need to anticipate their every move. At their first week of training, you have to be very patient. Take your puppy outside every hour, and take in consideration that you will need to encourage them with every possible positive way. You can use treats and keywords to praise them to go to the bathroom.
Dogs are smart creatures. When you give them their favorite treats and the same encouraging words every time, they will connect between their actions and the rewards they get. Take in consideration that you should not let your puppy play during the potty time. Give them five to 10 minutes to go potty, and
it is OK if they do not poop at every time, you can try again the later hour. Over time, you will learn more about your puppy's signals that indicate they need to pee or poop.
3. Establishing A Daily Routine
Life full of routine is perfect for any pup. They just love routine and want it more than they want anything else. Begin your day together with an early morning walk. If you do not let your canine friend out first thing in the morning, they might think that you forgot about them, and they might begin potty inside the house. Remember this,
always walk your pup before you go to work and when you get back!
Sticking to the routine morning walk will help preventing your pup from being confused. They will learn easier and faster to go potty that time as long as you stick to the routine they used to. So, keep this rule in your mind,
the more you stick to the routine, the more they stick to potty time!
Another helpful tip is to
feed your pup at the same time every day, and when they stop eating, let them out for potty for five to 10 minutes. Finally, get used to
go to bed at the same time after a last 10 minutes outside.
4. Knowing The Signs
A while after you begin training your dog to go potty,
they will learn to show you a signal that they want to go outside to pee or poop. As a general rule, you should
pay more attention to your pup actions during the period of potty training.
Whenever they stop what they do and start whining, scratching at the door, circling around you, barking, or even looking silently at you, chances are
they want something, which you could easily predict if they want to go potty outside (if they have been inside the house for long time).
5. Mistakes And Accidents Are Expected
When you have a puppy going through house training, you have to be patient, specially, if that puppy is in the beginning of potty training.
Expect some little accidents, as this is common in puppies less than one year of age. Definitely, you are not the only one going through this, so never give up on the training!
Whenever you catch your puppy going potty in the house, stop them, and take them to their bathroom spot outside immediately. Remember that
whether they do it all outside or just finish it there; you have to keep using the praising technique, the keywords, and treats, after they finish outside of course.
After being patient during such accidents,
do not waste your efforts by scolding your puppy, making them look at the mess, or rubbing their nose in it. This is not helpful at all, in the contrary, this will just scare them from the training routine, and may make next times even worse! All what you have to do is to
clean the soiled area very well, as the smell may encourage your puppy to go potty again at the same place!
6. Reasons Why They Don't Poop
Sometimes, your pup will not want to poop, even if you take all the right steps. Do not be frustrated, and instead, take a wise look to the other possibilities.
You must
take medical issue as the first factor to inspect, so check up with a vet. Remember not to proceed with any treatments without consulting your vet.
Secondly, dogs are similar to us humans, they would prefer going through this private moments in a peaceful environment.
If you are training your pup in unfamiliar area or in a noisy place, they may reject the idea of going potty outside.
Finally, a simple exercise can be very useful in this case. When you find that your pup cannot go potty,
give them a nice and gentle tummy rub. Clockwise rubbing can be very helpful moving things along.
7. Constipation Signs
If your pup did not have any bowl movement for two days, this is a sign that you have to take them to the vet right away.
According to
pet expert Dr. Karen Becker, dog owners should observe their pups appear bloated. Constipated pups are not necessarily unable to poop at all. They still can pass stool, which is usually smaller, darker, and sometimes has blood or mucus inside. If your pup whimpers when trying to poop, or crouches while straining, they could be constipated.
Unlikely, constipated dogs could suffer from worse than just whimpering. They can vomit or lose their appetites. To prevent things from getting that bad, monitor the bowl movement of your pup every time they go outside. Dr. Becker suggests
checking out if the quantity of urine and feces, smell, texture, and color are normal.
8. Constipation Reasons
Dehydration is the most common cause of constipation. This cause can be prevented as long as you keep an eye for any hard dry stool that your pup passes, and, of course, as long as they drink sufficient amounts of water!
Accidental ingesting of bones, dirt, plants, or stones can also cause dogs to become constipated, as these things can lead to blocking of the colon.
Moreover,
WebMD tells more reasons for constipation. It can be a result of fibers containing diets, insufficient exercise, obesity, pelvis trauma or injuries, or lack of grooming.
Worse causes of constipation are intestinal tumors, neuromuscular disorders,
hypothyroidism, and hypercalcemia.
9. Suggested Diet Changes
Besides the plenty of fresh water and exercise, you can shorten the constipation bout for your pup by doing several other things.
Dry and processed foods such as snacks are not the best diets for your canine friend. That is why
Dr. Becker recommends that you have to
be sure that your pup is on a species-appropriate diet. A little piece of raw meat, or balanced cooked meals are good choices. Besides, you have to be
very aware about what you feed your pup, and you should also take in consideration that there are
some human foods should not be given to your pup.
Try feeding your pup some additional dietary fibers, such as canned pumpkin, husk powder, dark green leafy veggies. In addition, organic ingredients like aloe and apple vinegar are also very useful in speeding up the recovery from constipation. Finally, just as with humans, natural probiotics can do wonders for the bowels.
10. Don't Get Stressed
Surrounding your pup with positive energy is the most crucial way to keep their overall health good. As mentioned earlier, you should
never use any sort of punishment with your pup, as their minds cannot relate directly between their accident and your anger.
When you are nervous, impatient, or trying to rush a pup relieving themselves, you are leading them to feel stressed too, which can cause them inability to poop or pee. Instead of nourishing the stress,
try staying with your pup outside for longer. Make the training easier by
exploring the yard until you find the most familiar spot to them, where they feel relaxed and safe.
11. Plan For Them When You Leave Them For Long Time
Prepare for your pup in case you leave them for more than five hours. While you can just
train your pup to poop in a specific place inside the house, this may cause them to get used to poop only inside the house, or only on certain kind of surfaces! Rather than that, ask a pet sitter or a responsible neighbor to take them out regularly while you are not around.
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