Toilet habits of a cocker spaniel

[Paula1001]

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My husband and I own a 5 year old cocker spaniel who poos at least 4-5 times a day. My husband has the opinion that our dog should only poo and wee when he is being walked I.e once in the morning and once in the evening. I on the other hand like to let him out whenever he wants because I find it harsh that he should have to wait to poo/wee at specific times and I'm also not sure it would be great for a dogs health to hold it in. I know for me, when I need to go I need to go! Am I being unreasonable?

Oh also we've spoken to vet etc. Nothing medically wrong with the dog. He just poos a lot.

 

[gypsysmum2]

One of the reasons dogs poo a lot is they find their food very bulky. What are you feeding him? We may be able to suggest alternatives.

I am on you side in this. I would let him out if he needs to poo.

My dog, when he came from rescue, did lots of poos. It has settled down a little but he still does at least three (we have a big garden so don't always see where he goes). A vet nurse friend told me that the parasite giardia (we know he had an infection) can cause the dog to do lots of smaller poos. He has settled down a bit now that he is more relaxed.

 

[JoanneF]

I agree with Gypsysmum. Of course he (like us) could hold his toilet for a bit of time, but if you are able to let him go out, why wouldn't you? We all can only hold for so long and if you don't let him out you risk accidents in the house and regressing his toilet training. Another cause of lots of poo is feeding too much.

 

[dogmatize]

This post makes me a bit cross. I'm wondering if this has been going on for the poor dog's whole 5 years. Next time your husband is nipping off to the toilet tell him he can't go until bedtime - see how he likes it!

I remember reading that a dog can hold on for 5 hours but anymore is expecting too much from them . My dogs are let out whenever they ask - at least 5 times a day and most of them will pee and poo every time - depending on the weather.

What they are fed really does make a big difference to how often they poo.

 

[Paula1001]

Sorry for the lateness in response. I was expecting to be notified by email of any replies to my post but this is not the case.

Gypsysmum2 - we feed him dried dog food, I think the brand is Iams or sometimes a specific dried food for Cocker Spaniels. Could you recommend something else more suitable?

Joanne F&Dogmatize - It's fairly new restrictions my husband wants to impose. Mainly because we moved house and A) we have a lot of leaves in the garden the same colour of dog poo, people have on more than one occasion stepped in it. We do try and pick it up but sometimes impossible to find, especially at night B) he does not cock his leg when weeing and his wee burns the grass. Have tried dog rocks but they haven't worked. Again, any advice appreciated.

 

[JoanneF]

I still think if your dog needs out, its unreasonable not to let him if you are there. Regarding food, Iams isn't as good as the advertising would like you to believe. Have a look at www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk where they independently rank dog food. I am feeding Gentle on Gypsysmum's recommendation.

 

[gypsysmum2]

We, too, have lots of leaves and I agree that it is a nightmare finding the poo to pick it up. Ours is also a very large garden. I think there is a market for a harmless fluorescent dye to be fed to dogs so that we can locate the poop!

Could you not go out with him when he toilets or watch from the window so that you know where he has left his deposit?

The only thing I can suggest for the wee problem is to water the area he uses if you know where that is?

I am afraid that these sorts of problems are all part and parcel of dog owning.