The Official "Dogs of the DMF" Thread

[elyse]

danes are definitely odd, but awesome. i always had them growing up, my favorite one, smokey, died on thanksgiving when i was 12. i stopped celebrating thanksgiving until i was 20, seriously

anyway, a vet check probably should be done as a precaution. but outside of that, it could be a change of environment, maybe there is something outside that was moved or even a neighbor may have changed something. animals notice things that we would completely overlook. but also, didn't your wife's sister & kids move in recently? did it start before that? the other possibility is a dominance/territorial thing, since he's 3 that's when danes start to move out of the puppy stage & into the adult stage.

the last time i had a dog revert back i basically treated him like a brand new puppy. i crated him & then i rewarded him for good behavior with the housebreaking. it took a couple of months, but eventually he went back to normal.

[Stella]

we yell "NO!", sat him on the nose and drag him outside whenever it happens.

anyway, a vet check probably should be done as a precaution.... then i rewarded him for good behavior with the housebreaking.

+1

The walking/running while pooping may be because he's even more distressed about 1) already knowing what he's doing is wrong; 2) fearful of the yelling, the swat on the nose and the dragging outside.

I'm a big proponent for the positive reinforcement.  But it sure seems odd that this is a new thing for him when he's not done it before.  Definitely would talk to the vet about it!

Good luck!

[SacDuc]

+1

The walking/running while pooping may be because he's even more distressed about 1) already knowing what he's doing is wrong; 2) fearful of the yelling, the swat on the nose and the dragging outside.

I'm a big proponent for the positive reinforcement.  But it sure seems odd that this is a new thing for him when he's not done it before.  Definitely would talk to the vet about it!

Good luck!

He has always done the poop and walk. He does it outside and inside. Never seen him do it differently. Been like that since day one with us. This is not a symptom that is in any way correlated to him starting to poop inside. Its just how he poops. The pooping inside thing is new however.

My way of thinking is that he HAS to be told it is wrong (NO!, swat, outside) while he is doing it. A lack of negative reinforcement is basically tacit permission. If he CAN'T stop due to something medical then that's a different story. Prior to checking ith the vet I I'll crate him. If he truly can't control it he'll poop the crate too. I really don't think it is a medical/food issue though. Time to cut out the treats and assemble the crate to make sure.

sac

[RAT900]

Our mastiff does the same squat and trot...they like leaving trails I guess

damn female Pit-Border climbs halfway up trees backwards to pee the highest

the rest of the time she is playing caboose on the mastiff humping away on him like a Frenchman on a housekeeper

she either has gender identity issues or dominance issues...... probably both

[Stella]

The thing is he poops on the run even when he is outside.

Oh. 

Well, good luck with your little poop factory!

[Mother]

probably so he doesn't poop on his feet

[The Bacon Junkie]

Oh. 

Well, good luck with your little poop factory!

Nuthin' little about those poops!   

[akmnstr]

Nuthin' little about those poops!   

Yep, as a former owner of a Great Dane I can testify to that.  I don't really think that rubbing your dogs nose in it's poop does anything.  It may make things much worse.  As you say, your dog is nervous and timid.  Such dogs respond differently to strong negative reinforcement.   I agree with Elyse, start the house training over.  Your notion to go back to the crate is a good start.  Use lots of praise when he does his business outside. 

It was an observation of a non-dog owner friend, that us dog owners spend a lot of time talking about poop.  When we get dogs it becomes a central issue. 

[SacDuc]

Yep, as a former owner of a Great Dane I can testify to that.  I don't really think that rubbing your dogs nose in it's poop does anything.  It may make things much worse.  As you say, your dog is nervous and timid.  Such dogs respond differently to strong negative reinforcement.   I agree with Elyse, start the house training over.  Your notion to go back to the crate is a good start.  Use lots of praise when he does his business outside. 

It was an observation of a non-dog owner friend, that us dog owners spend a lot of time talking about poop.  When we get dogs it becomes a central issue. 

Rubbing your dogs nose in it certainly does not work. It makes the dog think that what ever he was doing right before you grabbed him was wrong. Unless you catch him in the act of pooping every time he does it this is likely something different every time. You will confuse the hell out of your dog. No training will be accomplished.


Last night as soon as I laid down Jasper came over and nudged my arm with his nose. I almost threw a damn party with how much praise I gave him as we made a bee line for the back door. He got up again in the middle of the night and again I praised praised praised and got him out the door. No pooping in house last night. Maybe I'll get lucky and I'll be able to do this without the crate. But one more poop in the house and he gets crated for a week. we shall see.

sac

[elyse]

YAY JASPER!!!! 

[triangleforge]

It was an observation of a non-dog owner friend, that us dog owners spend a lot of time talking about poop.  When we get dogs it becomes a central issue. 

When dogs talk among themselves about us, I'm pretty certain that they believe human economics revolve almost entirely around dog poop. That, or our religious beliefs.

[SacDuc]

It was an observation of a non-dog owner friend, that us dog owners spend a lot of time talking about poop.  When we get dogs it becomes a central issue. 

Ever known people who cranked out a couple of toddlers? The conversation is ALWAYS about human waste products and how smart the little bastards are. Sickening.

sac

[somegirl]

I discovered this morning that dog poop smells even worse after sitting on a heated floor for half an hour.


(MrI is traveling for work so I'm busy being a single mom and just lucked out this morning with timing on everybody waking up.    That and Grover woke up with a sprained paw and probably wasn't able to move far enough to come get me before he had to go.)

[Mother]

On sunday I went shooting

I was laying in some rocks playing sniper and knocking off pennies at godlike ranges of 50yds

Under a blistering sun

ignoring bees and the ants crawling on me

then it hit me

like a shotgun blast

I was stunned

Blinded

completely paralyzed

when I regained the ability to move I looked around to see what it was that had immobilized me

I saw Grace finishing up the most heinous poo I had ever smelled

she had to have been 40+yds away

bees were crashing into each other

birds fell out of the sky stone dead

an airliner at 32,000 ft changed course

No more Joe Joes and hot sauce for you!!!

[akmnstr]

Yeah, the last 4 posts.  That's what I'm talking about!  Doggy poo.