April 21, 2011

My Lab poops in the bed of my truck everytime I load him up. How can I help my dog to learn that what he's doing is not acceptable?

Full Question:
My 5 Year Old Lab has a problem with going to the bathroom. A good friend suggested I contact you. I hope you can help.

My Lab poops in the bed of my truck everytime I load him up to take him to the river or for a run in the country. He just gets so excited, I don't think he can help himself. My Lab lives to hunt and retrieve! That's all he's interested in. He doesn't care for petting and playing, just working. He gets a good deal of excercise as he walks three miles with me each morning. He gets fed 4 cups of good dry dog food at 6 am and again at 6 pm. He is a very hyper and intense dog. When we are going hunting or retrieving, we forgo our morning walk cause we don't have time to walk and then go hunting. I try to get him to "go" before he gets in my truck. Usually I am not successful. He goes any way. I never feed him prior to loading him up. He usually hasn't eaten in 12 to 18 hours when he gets in the truck. I have tried loading him up and taking him just down the road and then letting him out to do his business but it doesn't usually work. I want to be able to just tell him to "load up" and off we go. No poop, no mess. Help! How can I help my dog to learn that what he's doing is not acceptable?

Jim
Cindy
Cindy Cindy's Answer:
The only way to deal with this is to make the dog go to the bathroom BEFORE he gets in such an excited state. If you know putting him in the truck gets him worked up to the point that he poops, then teach him that he MUST go to the bathroom before he gets in. If he won’t go to the bathroom, then he doesn’t go on a truck ride.

If you’ve allowed this cycle to become established for 5 years, it’s not going to be easy. The dog needs an elimination command too, so you can tell him what you expect.

We have a section on the website about house training. That would be the place to start.

Cindy Rhodes

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Expert Dog Trainer Cindy Rhodes
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