I am fighting a TREMENDOUSLY difficult battle with my boxer’s issue and I feel that I have tried everything, yet I remain completely unsuccessful. I am going to share my journey from the beginning in hopes of more accurately determining a solution to my problem. Please forgive me for the lengthy story, but I am desperate for answers.
I got Wallace at 10 weeks old. She is now 1 year, 3 months old, solid white, floppy ears, and is spayed. She learned very quickly during house training as a puppy, and still to this day WILL NOT mess in the house while I am at home. I started crate training her from day 1 and she adapted very well. As advised, I used a divider and gradually gave her space as she grew.
Throughout the first 4 months of her crate training, I worked very long (12 hour) days, yet I never had a problem (the first few weeks friends would help by letting her out at lunch). Even as a puppy, she was flawless at holding in her pee and poop. Around 5 or 6 months old, I got a new job that wasn’t as demanding of my time; and her shifts in the crate were reduced to a more traditional 9 to 5 (at the absolute most with many days being significantly shorter).
Then one day I came home and Wallace was covered head to toe in feces! I was speechless. This outrageous catastrophe continued on very inconsistently for months. For a while, it would happen a few days in a row, and then stop for a week. And then it would go on spurts 6, 7, or 8 days in a row. And then maybe even go a month straight without a problem!
At first she would just poop. Then she began to pee with the poop. And she would ALWAYS be covered in it! It was never just lying in the corner. Sometimes there would be feces on the top of her head and behind her ears, and always matted in her paws and on her “elbows and knees”. I bounced around many conclusions as to why she was doing it as I searched for advice from multiple vets, breeders, and boxer owners. But I never received any information that solved my problem.
My routine stays extremely consistent. She gets NO other food except her dog food, and cheese as a treat. At times I’m convinced it’s behavioral. And other times I’m convinced it’s a health issue. I stopped feeding her twice a day when it first started, hoping to help solve the problem. And still to this day I only feed her at night.
She began eating the poop (I think to get rid of what she knows is wrong and b/c she doesn’t like sitting in it) and that seemed to confuse people in giving advice. I’ve tried medicines in case it’s a sensitive GI tract. I am currently spending a fortune on the Hill’s Prescription Diet: Canine I/D. For a while it seemed to cure the problem. But eventually, she began pooping and peeing again.
Most of the time, she will do it within the first 20 minutes of me leaving. Then she howls as she detests sitting in what she’s done. This obviously seems behavioral. But a lot of the times, she’ll pass gas the day before and the day of poop disasters. Which makes me think it’s a health related issue. Yet she has been and sometimes is still able to hold it for extremely long periods of time in the crate without a mess; and to this day she hasn’t messed in the house once while I’m home (no matter how long)! But, this problem is significantly worse with over the counter dog foods. Purina brand foods yielded terrible results. IAMS worked amazing for a while, but then eventually failed. And now the ID seems to be the best option, yet it hasn’t solved the problem as it still allows her to make messes.
I finally lost my patience and basically gave up on the crate. I began leaving her in my bedroom on my bed with her toys while I was gone. For the first 3 weeks she was an angel! I thought I had found a creative solution to my seemingly never ending problem. But after the beginner’s luck wore off, it became a poop and pee discovery EVERY SINGLE DAY! Now when I come home, I always find pee spots and poop remnants on various areas of the carpet where she defecated, and then ate the evidence.
I know she has the ability to hold it. And I always have her poop and pee every morning before I leave and when I get home and another time when the day/night permits. She only eats at night. She has no worms and her fecals always come back negative. I feel so lost and hopeless. My bedroom is now ruined as it reeks disgustingly of urine and nasty odor; but I was just simply emotionally overwhelmed with the constant crate cleanings.
I am in love with Wallace and I am extremely passionate about boxers, but this ongoing issue is robbing me of the joy of owning this amazing breed. I am not as happy as I should be with her, and it is wearing me down. Plus, I am being drained financially from constantly having to purchase cleaning supplies, expensive brands of food, as well as pay for doctors’ visits and exams. I need help. I need answers and/or a solution. Anything anyone can do to help will be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Nick
I got Wallace at 10 weeks old. She is now 1 year, 3 months old, solid white, floppy ears, and is spayed. She learned very quickly during house training as a puppy, and still to this day WILL NOT mess in the house while I am at home. I started crate training her from day 1 and she adapted very well. As advised, I used a divider and gradually gave her space as she grew.
Throughout the first 4 months of her crate training, I worked very long (12 hour) days, yet I never had a problem (the first few weeks friends would help by letting her out at lunch). Even as a puppy, she was flawless at holding in her pee and poop. Around 5 or 6 months old, I got a new job that wasn’t as demanding of my time; and her shifts in the crate were reduced to a more traditional 9 to 5 (at the absolute most with many days being significantly shorter).
Then one day I came home and Wallace was covered head to toe in feces! I was speechless. This outrageous catastrophe continued on very inconsistently for months. For a while, it would happen a few days in a row, and then stop for a week. And then it would go on spurts 6, 7, or 8 days in a row. And then maybe even go a month straight without a problem!
At first she would just poop. Then she began to pee with the poop. And she would ALWAYS be covered in it! It was never just lying in the corner. Sometimes there would be feces on the top of her head and behind her ears, and always matted in her paws and on her “elbows and knees”. I bounced around many conclusions as to why she was doing it as I searched for advice from multiple vets, breeders, and boxer owners. But I never received any information that solved my problem.
My routine stays extremely consistent. She gets NO other food except her dog food, and cheese as a treat. At times I’m convinced it’s behavioral. And other times I’m convinced it’s a health issue. I stopped feeding her twice a day when it first started, hoping to help solve the problem. And still to this day I only feed her at night.
She began eating the poop (I think to get rid of what she knows is wrong and b/c she doesn’t like sitting in it) and that seemed to confuse people in giving advice. I’ve tried medicines in case it’s a sensitive GI tract. I am currently spending a fortune on the Hill’s Prescription Diet: Canine I/D. For a while it seemed to cure the problem. But eventually, she began pooping and peeing again.
Most of the time, she will do it within the first 20 minutes of me leaving. Then she howls as she detests sitting in what she’s done. This obviously seems behavioral. But a lot of the times, she’ll pass gas the day before and the day of poop disasters. Which makes me think it’s a health related issue. Yet she has been and sometimes is still able to hold it for extremely long periods of time in the crate without a mess; and to this day she hasn’t messed in the house once while I’m home (no matter how long)! But, this problem is significantly worse with over the counter dog foods. Purina brand foods yielded terrible results. IAMS worked amazing for a while, but then eventually failed. And now the ID seems to be the best option, yet it hasn’t solved the problem as it still allows her to make messes.
I finally lost my patience and basically gave up on the crate. I began leaving her in my bedroom on my bed with her toys while I was gone. For the first 3 weeks she was an angel! I thought I had found a creative solution to my seemingly never ending problem. But after the beginner’s luck wore off, it became a poop and pee discovery EVERY SINGLE DAY! Now when I come home, I always find pee spots and poop remnants on various areas of the carpet where she defecated, and then ate the evidence.
I know she has the ability to hold it. And I always have her poop and pee every morning before I leave and when I get home and another time when the day/night permits. She only eats at night. She has no worms and her fecals always come back negative. I feel so lost and hopeless. My bedroom is now ruined as it reeks disgustingly of urine and nasty odor; but I was just simply emotionally overwhelmed with the constant crate cleanings.
I am in love with Wallace and I am extremely passionate about boxers, but this ongoing issue is robbing me of the joy of owning this amazing breed. I am not as happy as I should be with her, and it is wearing me down. Plus, I am being drained financially from constantly having to purchase cleaning supplies, expensive brands of food, as well as pay for doctors’ visits and exams. I need help. I need answers and/or a solution. Anything anyone can do to help will be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Nick
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