Help with new rescue

Something is wrong with that dog. Have the vet check

As a foster mom to small dogs, I strongly recommend crating. Be sure the crate is small enough so the dog can't poop on one end while sleeping at the other end. It should be just big enough to turn around in and lie down in.

Also, even if you want to change kibble, it's a good idea to feed the dog whatever he's used to until the stressful transition time has passed. I don't know how many times I've had to feed a dog a kibble I hate for a few weeks, until the dog feels comfortable in my home. Stress can do a number on their little tummies.

toedtoes, all we have ever had are Maltese, which are small dogs and they have all gone on the grass. 11 out of 12 (she is our 12th) My husband cuts the grass very short in the area they go, always has. In snow, he always shovels a big area where they can go.

I am going to a different time tonight to feed her. I am also going to put a dog bed in the bed and stay beside her tonight. I hope to be able to keep an eye for her moves. All of our other dogs have either licked our faces or pawed us at night if they need to go outside.

I hope one of the many things you have suggested will work. Thank you

If she's holding, then definitely up the praise and make a schedule of her times. She is likely holding until she just can't anymore (except at night - since you're asleep, she likely sees that as an opportune time to go. So she'll go even if she can hold it longer).

If you can work her feeding schedule to get her "can't hold it anymore" point to a normal time of the evening, then she won't have a choice but to do it then. And that should lessen her doing it later because you've been making a very positive thing out of her going outside.

Little dogs don't usually like going on grass. Their legs are so short that when they squat, their bums touch the wet grass. If she'll go on the cement that's great and the best solution. If she won't take to the cement, you can also get a cheap rubber door mat. When you go outside, put it on top of the grass for her to use. Just make sure it's nothing like what you have in the house so she doesn't start using that.

toedtoes, you are a wealth of information! Thank you so much!! And Dr. Doug, not really knowing her background, nor did the rescue group (they got her out of an animal shelter) this could be one of her problems.

I do know she holds her pee and poop, even though she is taken out many times. She also doesn't like wet grass and with the rain we have had plus very high humidity and high dew points, sometimes the grass is wet till late in the day. However there is also pavement which she will use.

I am going to try working with her and hopefully will get the right combination!!

One other thought, sometimes you need to teach a dog to tell you they have to go. Some have been trained to avoid humans because they associate punishment with BMs and they tend to hide or avoid their humans when they have to go.

Overplay the "do you have to go" questioning and really praise the telling you as well as the actual going. Some dogs will really get animated when they have to go, others not so much.

I had a cliet that taught their dog to ring a bell when they had to go. That had it's down side, as you could imagine.

I wouldn't do the scolding - even gently at this point. My intuition says either she's doing this because she can't help it (feeding time, change of foods) and in that case the scolding is really unfair; or she's doing this because she's confused about her new world and in that case the scolding can aggravate the issue.

Taking the first potential problem (can't help it):
does she poop at all when you take her outside in the evenings after dinner? Or does her pooping (outside of the problem poop) happen pretty much in the mornings?

Make note of how long after mealtime she has first first poop and then how long between each poop after that (how many times) and when she seems to be done for the day. It's not just the first poop after eating that can be a problem - even if you get that happening at a more convenient time, her next poops could happen in the middle of the night. Knowing when and how often she poops in connection to mealtime will help you work out a feeding schedule that will fit her needs and be convenient for you.

To provide an example of this, I'll use my shepherd rescue. I tried feeding her around 6 p.m. and she would have to poop around 2-4 in the morning. The rest of the day, she would do another poop or two during the day between 8 a.m. and noon. I changed her mealtime to 1 p.m., that would give her the first poop between 9-11 p.m. which was good. However, she would have additional poops between 3 am and 7 a.m. which wasn't good.

So I fed her at 7 a.m. and her first poop was between 3-5 p.m. and her additional poops were between 9 pm and midnight which was much better for my schedule (I'd rather stay up til midnight then get up at 6 a.m.).`

With the second potential problem (confusion):
Where did she sleep at the foster home? My guess is that she didn't sleep on a person's bed, but in a crate or dog bed on the floor - and she probably didn't have any accidents then. She had a place and it was very well defined.

Now, she's in a new home. She has a canine sibling and I'm guessing they both sleep on the bed with you. Now, she doesn't quite know where she fits and she's trying to define it using dog language (pooping). In this situation, you want to help define her fit. A crate can work.

You can also use dog cushions. If both dogs are sleeping on the bed, I would get two small soft dog cushions and put them in specific places on the bed. Each dog sleeps on their cushion in their specific location every night. This tells her that "this is MY space". You might even try rubbing each cushion all over the dog who it will belong to - this will transfer their scent to that cushion before they use it. Be consistent and don't let them wander off their cushions during the night and don't let them sleep on the other dog's cushion. This can quickly stop her need to poop in the bed because YOU will have defined their spaces - and she doesn't need to try to do so herself.

doxiemom11, we do praise her and another rescue that we got in June for going outside. However, I really haven't been gently scolding her. At that time in the morning, it is just getting out of bed, getting the dogs off the bed, and getting sheet off the bed. But I will start. Both came from the same rescue group. We do enjoy rescuing the senior girls. But she definitely is a challenge!!

I am going to try going back to the turkey and sweet potatoes (of course with a little lamb) and crate.

Thanks for replying!!

Are you giving praise and treats when they go outside? Have to make a big deal of it so they know that is what pleases you. Gentle scolding when they go inside, huge praise and treats outside. We also took ours outside often at first just to catch her going outside so that we could do the praise and treats.

One of my Cockers who was a rescue and breeder, Had IBS, she would pretty much explode and couldn't help it.

I know thats not your issue but I used to cook her ground Turkey and sweet potatoes and oatmeal plus a few other ingredients and that really helped to control her bowels. Course with her when she had to go she went, lol.

So maybe try staying on the Turkey and sweet potatoes for a while.
Along with the other suggestions will help.

Right now she is confused.