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Potty Shy On Leash


Guest PghGrey

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Guest PghGrey

Hi All,

 

My husband and I just adopted (as in picked him up last night!) a 4 yr. old male grey male, Rigel (formerly M's Bright Star).

 

Rigel spent the last 4.5 weeks in a foster home with a fenced yard, where I believe he did much of his pooping. It seems Rigel is pretty shy about doing pooping on leash. My husband and I are in the process of obtaining estimates to install a fence, but it certainly won't be up before he needs to poop again (haha)! Plus, we think that pooping on leash is a good skill that will come in handy while traveling or visiting others away from home.

 

Our new guy seemed a bit distressed last night and this A.M. and it seemed clear he was trying to tell us that he needed something. He had also produced a really runny-looking stool at the foster's right before we brought him home so, we were extra concerned about him going. We took him out multiple times walking him around for at least 20 minutes at a time to no avail. This morning after three such outings within an hour and half he relieved himself inside as soon as he got a moment of privacy. (Would you believe he did it on the only small, machine washable, bathroom-style rug in the whole downstairs? -- what a good boy!)

 

My gut tells me that if we can get him to produce on leash and have the opportunity to prasise him up, that that spades will be broken and we will be in the clear. Any suggestions for how we can help convince him that it is OK to go on leash? Has anyone had success by creating more space between human and dog for this activity (i.e., using a harnass and a longer lead)?

 

My other option it seems is to not afford him any privacy in the house when we are home and re-introduce the crate for times when we are away so that he will finally, eventually have to go on leash. He had not been crated for about the last 3 weeks at the foster house. The foster mom said that going in the crate seemed to stress him out and that he was doing great confined to their living and dining areas when they were not at home.

 

Thanks for reading and for any thoughts or advice you may have!

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My Dustin is leash shy for potty......fortunately we have a fence, but when my husband was repairing it, it was a disaster...I actually took him to a vacant home in the neighborhood and used that fenced in yard!! However, when I have had situations where I have had to get him to go on a leash, he can do it after extensive walking - and total desperation to go. I try to let him go to the end of the leash (but be careful not too far in case he bolts and you have nothing to grab).

 

We don't use crates (not opposed, just don't choose to), so my suggestion is to not give him access to privacy (despite his good boy efforts to go on a washable rug). If he comes in and starts sniffing, just get him right back outside.

 

Sounds like you are right...with lavish praise after one or two leach pottys I'm sure he'll learn

 

As far as runny stool - you will read a lot of threads here about diarreah and loose stool. Sometimes it takes a few shots in different foods to find one that work. Stress will also make it loose. When I have gotten Dustin to finally go on a leash, it is usually loose, because he has stressed himself out so much about the leash, that this is what he ends up with...poor fellow.

 

Best of luck with your new baby! Welcome to a wonderful world of greyhounds!

 

By the way...I always use a harness...just FYI. Learned the hard way when one slipped a collar. We use a harness and leash at once.

Edited by mychip1

gallery_22387_3315_35426.jpg

Robin, EZ (Tribal Track), JJ (What a Story), Dustin (E's Full House) and our beautiful Jack (Mana Black Jack) and Lily (Chip's Little Miss Lily) both at the Bridge
The WFUBCC honors our beautiful friends at the bridge. Godspeed sweet angels.

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My first greyhound was a bounce and it was immediately clear that he'd not had to potty on a leash before. Whenever I'd walk him and he'd start to go he would suddenly realize that I was right behind him and he'd get startled. I went out and bought a 15' lead which allowed him to get far enough away from me that he felt comfortable going potty but I still had control of him. Gradually I took up the slack until finally he was going potty normally on a 6' lead. It took me about two weeks to get him to that point but it was worth it and he was happier.

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We had a hard time getting Kasey to potty on a leash when we moved from a fenced yard to walk only home. Patience and persistence is the key. To be totally honest, give yourself A BOAT LOAD OF TIME when you go out for a walk. Try your best not to get frustrated.

 

Go out with him, give him time to go. It once took Kasey 45 minutes to poop. He'll pee no problem, but pooping was out of the question. Or try at 10-15 minute intervals. Go out for 10, hopefully he'll go, if not, go back in the house and try again in 15 minutes.

 

When he goes, praise him like it's the best thing he's ever done in his life. You'll see the times come down once he does decide to go. Some are more shy than others, are there trees around you he can sorta go behind so the whole world doesn't see?

 

To be honest, every grey poops differently. LOL! Ryder, the second we get out the door and a few steps, he'll go without issue. Kasey....has to pace. He has to actually do a fast walk on the grass along a curb, he'll come to the end of the grass where it meets a pathway or sidewalk and he'll go RIGHT on the edge without fail. Your grey is new to you and he nor you are familiar with traits, signals, etc. He'll figure it out, they always do. He'll have to go eventually!

 

The runny poop is probably brought on by stress and excitement right now. Hold tight and it might just firm back up on it's own. If it's not better in about a week, it would be time to check his stool at the vet to rule out any bugs in his system. His whole world is new right now. Be patient. :) OH AND CONGRATS ON YOUR NEW ADDITION!!!! :bounce1

Edited by XTRAWLD

Proudly owned by:
10 year old "Ryder" CR Redman Gotcha May 2010
12.5 year old Angel "Kasey" Goodbye Kasey Gotcha July 2005-Aug 1, 2015

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I've fostered quite a few greyhounds and this was pretty common. Some are just shy and some just don't know what is expected yet. I suggest hooking two leashes together (so you have about 12ft) and turning around so you are not facing him "when he does it". Make sure that you do have a firm grip on the lead because if he startles or sees something, he would have a good amount of momentum to pull you over.

 

As you said, it only takes one time doing it outside with much praise to get them on the right track.

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You can also collect a poo and put it in your backyard -- somewhere where you think he might like to poo and somewhere where you yourself would like him to poo. Smelling their own previous poo can really encourage them to produce another in the same area. This way, before the fence goes up, you may be able to get him pooing in your own backyard AND get him area trained at the same time.

Edited by OwnedBySummer

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Lisa B.

My beautiful Summer - to her forever home May 1, 2010 Summer

Certified therapy dog team with St. John Ambulance

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Guest PghGrey

Thanks, All, for all of your helpful advice and information. We are going to try all of this.

 

I may also get a crate just to ensure he does not have a privacy option when we are not here (our current plan was to gate him in our living and dining areas).

 

Thanks!

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Guest verthib

Thanks, All, for all of your helpful advice and information. We are going to try all of this.

 

I may also get a crate just to ensure he does not have a privacy option when we are not here (our current plan was to gate him in our living and dining areas).

 

Thanks!

 

Gracie was potty shy on leash. We got an extra long one so she could feel some 'privacy' like we weren't on top of her. We also tried various areas on her walk and found she likes the edges of woods or places that are not wide open, like the middle of our yard. Just keep trying and be ready to give treats and LOTS of praise. Also don't switch his food for a few weeks so his tummy can settle. Congrats on your new baby!! Please post pics!!! :)

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Guest jbbuzby

FWIW, my male hound didn't poo for almost three days when we brought him home, and he wasn't even the shy type! This is not too uncommon though. Lots of walking and exercise should help too, as their sphincter muscles relax and it's harder for them to not go. Good luck, and hang in there!

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We had this problem with Brandi. Lots of walking and staying out till she went (I think the longest was 1.5 hours, but that was only the once). I took my phone and a book and went to a nice park where we walked, and waited, and walked, and waited, and walked, and waited. Now we have no problems - it only took us about a week. Hang in there!

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On a lighter note, let me just add this.......I have been around dogs my whole life, but until I had greys, I was never as fixated on poo as I am now! Always with horses have a concern because of colic, but never to this degree with dogs! I have become ruled by poo behavior!!! :lol

 

 

gallery_22387_3315_35426.jpg

Robin, EZ (Tribal Track), JJ (What a Story), Dustin (E's Full House) and our beautiful Jack (Mana Black Jack) and Lily (Chip's Little Miss Lily) both at the Bridge
The WFUBCC honors our beautiful friends at the bridge. Godspeed sweet angels.

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Guest verthib

On a lighter note, let me just add this.......I have been around dogs my whole life, but until I had greys, I was never as fixated on poo as I am now! Always with horses have a concern because of colic, but never to this degree with dogs! I have become ruled by poo behavior!!! :lol

My husband is out walking them now and I told him not to forget to rate the poo! My mother walks them at noon. So we're all on the same page (description), we use a scale from 1 to 5. :lol

It's been helpful to do that during food transitions so we can determine if the poo is getting better or worse. When they have good morning poops my day starts off right!!

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I feel for you - Monty was exactly the same way but also wouldn't pee while on leash. We had a lot of long (2-3 hour long) walks at first. Walking/exercise will help move things along, so the extra long walks eventually would force the issue for him. He also didn't take any treats when outside (was slightly spooky too), so that was even worse. If you can, give him a really great treat - something stinky-good like summer sausage, small chunk-o-cheese, piece of chicken of steak, not dry biscuits - after he finishes outside (if you can manage to get him to not focus on you long enough to do anything!).

 

We never went with a longer leash - we just used the 6' leash and studiously pretended to NOT be there when he'd start preparing to go. Not watch him (except covertly, from the corner of our eye) and were always on the very end of the leash with it loose for him with our arm stretched out and had to be absolutely motionless and silent. Still, the best places to poop at first were on top of bushes. Yes, on it. Made it difficult to pick up (and sometimes dangerous to be near him because of the projectiles!). We had to be pretty hardline about him learning this because we had no fenced yard and it was approaching winter so wanted him to learn before bitter cold temps.

 

I personally wish that all foster-dog-parents would try to get dogs used to pottying on leash when they come in (or at least used to pottying with company) because there are people that will need that at some point. Even those with fences can have issues (visiting others, fence breaks, another issue not allowing them to just use a backyard and off leash). But we worked through it...eventually.

 

Good luck, and I hope it isn't too cold where you are so you can survive long walks!

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I've fostered quite a few greyhounds and this was pretty common. Some are just shy and some just don't know what is expected yet. I suggest hooking two leashes together (so you have about 12ft) and turning around so you are not facing him "when he does it". Make sure that you do have a firm grip on the lead because if he startles or sees something, he would have a good amount of momentum to pull you over.

 

As you said, it only takes one time doing it outside with much praise to get them on the right track.

 

Longer leash and look away. Be sure you have a firm grip on the leash.

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FWIW, my male hound didn't poo for almost three days when we brought him home, and he wasn't even the shy type! This is not too uncommon though. Lots of walking and exercise should help too, as their sphincter muscles relax and it's harder for them to not go. Good luck, and hang in there!

 

:nod Yup, here too, though I think it just took Beth a little over 24 hours. FWIW she always has to do a real walk at a good clip (whether on leash or off) to poop. The first few days when I was just walking her in slow circles on my lawn -- nada. We had to head out into the neighborhood for her to get things moving. And walking someplace with woods and bushes or tall grass alongside our path (we have a lot of bike trails around) always is rapidly productive.

With Cocoa (DC Chocolatedrop), missing B for Beth (2006-2015)
And kitties C.J., Klara, Bernadette, John-Boy, & Sinbad

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Guest verthib
<br />
<br />FWIW, my male hound didn't poo for almost three days when we brought him home, and he wasn't even the shy type!  This is not too uncommon though.  Lots of walking and exercise should help too, as their sphincter muscles relax and it's harder for them to not go.  Good luck, and hang in there!<br />
<br /><br /> <img src='http://forum.greytalk.com/public/style_emoticons/default/nod.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':nod' />  Yup, here too, though I think it just took Beth a little over 24 hours.  FWIW she always has to do a real walk at a good clip (whether on leash or off) to poop.  The first few days when I was just walking her in slow circles on my lawn -- nada.  We had to head out into the neighborhood for her to get things moving.  And walking someplace with woods and bushes or tall grass alongside our path (we have a lot of bike trails around) always is rapidly productive.<br />
<br /><br /><br />

 

Same here... I don't have dogs that can just go out, do no walking and poop on command. Unfortunately :lol

They need to "get things moving"...

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