Use Treats… But Not The Good Stuff
Can you believe I haven’t been taking treats out on walks until recently?
Even now, I only do it once in a while, but that’s enough to help Matilda and Cow focus on me when needed, for example, when there’s a guy walking past us having a loud argument on the phone – skeeving ALL of us out.
And yes, if your dog gets a treat after she goes pee and poop, she’ll get her business done faster, even if you don’t always give her a treat.
But if I were to bring fresh chicken or bacon on walks, my dogs would stare at me the whole time, and nothing would get done at all.
This is where low value treats come in handy.
You don’t want to bring treats that your dog is crazy excited over.
Kibble is fine, or small, bland biscuits. Something she’ll be happy to receive, but won’t sniff out through your pockets.
Teach Your Dog A Secret Potty Word
You can teach your dog to go potty on cue. It’s hard to tell if this works, but I do notice that if Matilda is getting distracted, I can use the potty word and she’ll refocus and get her business done. If she wants to, of course.
If you hesitate to use a potty word because you feel embarrassed to say, “go potties!” or “go pee!” then just use a secret potty word.
I tell my dogs to “hurry!” or “find a spot!”
To actually teach this potty word, though, first wait until she’s starting to do her poopy spin, or looks like she’s about to get into her pee squat.
Say the word just once, and praise her heavily when she finishes.
Just like any other cue, you can teach your dog to do her business. It may not be an exciting trick like painting or rolling up in a burrito blanket, but you’ll still want to show the same enthusiasm so your dog knows that getting her business done is a very, very good thing to do.
Dogs Have Their Own Internal Poop Compass
First things first, you’re probably wondering what in the world dog poop has to do with magnetic fields. Well, as it turns out dogs use their own poop compass when going to the bathroom. Research suggests that dogs poop according to the Earth’s magnetic field.
When researchers looked into how & where dogs defecate they found that they have a desire to line up on a north-south axis. Scientists reason that dogs use a magnetic sense when it comes to deciding when, where & how they poop. And that spinning around some dogs do before they squat? Researchers also believe that’s an attempt to help align themselves with the Earth’s magnetic field.
And while this phenomenon may seem really weird it isn’t unique to dogs; it’s been suggested that cattle & foxes also line up preferentially on Earth’s magnetic field lines when defecating.
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Dogs have some seemingly strange behaviors when it comes to pooping. At times it can seem like they are just being stubborn or spiteful. Why can’t they just poop?