Potty Issues

[chrstnajos]

Hi, I wrote once before but things haven't gotten any better....only worse. Haley is our 3 month old boxer. She hasn't had an accident in the house for the past two weeks which I think is wonderful! The problem is actually when she's in the kennel. Haley poops about 10 times a day. I even called the Vet and he told me that it's normal sometimes. Before we kennel Haley, we take her out. No matter if she's kenneled 20 minutes or 2 hours, she always poops in the kennel. Now, if she would just poop and leave it alone, I would be okay with that...she doesn't do that though. She smears it all over the kennel, she needs a bath and the kennel needs to be hosed out every day! My friends is lending me her wire kennel because Haley is currently in an all plastic one. I'm hoping this helps but does anyone have any other suggestions?

 

[Net45582]

Gosh,if she's pooing that much,I'd say you either need to change foods or feed less. What are you feeding and how much?

 

[chrstnajos]

She's currently on Science Diet Puppy Large Breed that the Vet recommended and she only eats about 1 1/2 cups a day. I'm actually taking her to the vet today for some more shots so I think I'm going to talk to him about switching her food.

 

[graciegrace]

You can probably read through some of the posts in the puppy feeding forum, but Science Diet is not a good quality food and I think I read that boxers are not considered large breed. That may be the problem.

 

[SILLY6PAK]

She sounds stressed. Maybe the kennel isn't the answer for her. Could you gate her in a laundry room or bathroom and see if that helps. That much poo no matter the time left sounds like seperation anxiety. Also Science Diet is horrible and Boxers are not large breed dogs.

 

[Jill's boxer]

It does sound like she might have some separation anxiety...all that poop and "fingerpainting"! Also, as the others have said, contrary to what your vet will tell you, Science Diet is really not a great food, and it may be one of the contributing factors as to why she makes so much poop! In my opinion, and my experience with my first boxer who started out on Science Diet, the soy can be a big issue and the cause of too much poop and flatulence! I would take a peek at a few threads in the feeding forum and do a search for the whole dog journal list of top foods. Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's soul is a good one, as is California Naturals, Canidea, Wellness, Timberwolf Organics....just to name a few! Also, Ellen (Silly6Pak) had a good suggestion, perhaps you can try confining her to either a bathroom or laundry room instead and see if that lessens her anxiety. Get a tall babygate to secure the doorway (closing the door might make her more upset and damage your door!) and just boxer-proof as best you can!

 

[chrstnajos]

Thank you all so much for you advice! I will make sure to read the other forums. I did question the doctor about the "large breed" dog food and he told me that nutritionally it's best for her? I may have to get a second opinion on that! We did take her to the Vet on Monday and they ran a test. She tested positive for Cocidia (not sure of the spelling) and tape worm. She's been on medicine for the past two days and its down to about 3 times a day with her pooing. We also tried an all wire crate and she's been okay in it. Maybe she didn't like not being able to look around? Thank you again for all your help! I'll make sure to read up!