47. Follow-up on Kopi - poops everywhere and ate poop.

January 5, 2007

Kopi is the 6-month-old male chihuahua now in a new home since around December 16, 2007. A working couple, a senior citizen grandmother and a maid. The dog has been rehomed but his toilet training has been disrupted by the family's lack of toilet training routine and distractions from the 7-year-old Rachel, an only child.

I went to see the owner at her office as it is much easier to know what's happening than over the phone.

Her mum said, "Rachel spent so much time with her dog that she is neglecting her homework. Previously, Rachel wanted the parent's company whenever possible. Now, she spends time with this chihuahua."

But her main grouse was that Kopi pooped everywhere on the tiled floors. The dog was fenced in a bigger area by blocking a part of the corridor behind the main door. The dog was no longer crated. "He shits everywhere on the floor if let out from the crate. As much as 5 times a day! He does not eliminate on the newspapers inside the pee pan." Although the maid cleaned up, this is not a good habit and usually cause a lot of unhappiness.

Kopi has a "disgusting" habit. He ate his own poop.

SOLUTIONS?

1. POOPS ON TILED FLOORS, NOT NEWSPAPERS.

1.1 As he is a grown up chihuahua, there is less worry about low blood sugar level. I advised that feed be given to him twice per day. Within 15 minutes, take the feed away if he does not eat or has not eaten much." Now, the feed is left for 45 minutes.

1.2 No playing with him till he poops inside the crate. Just leave him alone after breakfast and dinner.



1.3 No food treats at all. I don't know if the grandmother gives any treats.

1.4 Most likely, Kopi was used to pooping outside the newspapers before being re-homed. The feel of the tiled floor stimulates her to poop on it. But the only solution is to give him a routine of feeding, exercise and elimination.

1.5 Know the elimination times. There was a record but it may be difficult for the maid to do this consistently, I guess. I asked for the record.

1.6 Pooping more than 5 times a day is not normal for a 6-month-old. I can attribute this to feeding being given for longer periods than the 15 minutes, outside food and most important, distractions from the 7-year-old daughter. The maid and grandmother may distract him too but I cannot confirm this.

1.7 If crated, Kopi poops on the newspapers on the left 50% of the crate. However, yesterday, poop remants were seen on his bed. Did he pick up the stools and ate them on his bed? This was a new development. He had chew toys but must be bored with them.

1.8 Covering the tiled floors of the corridor with newspapers? This may be an obvious solution but needs a lot of newspapers. Reduce the area by 50%. The crate area plus another similar area behind the main door.

1.9 Confinement to the crate when NOT supervised for at least 2 weeks may be the best solution.

1.10 Toilet training takes a long time if the dog is not confined and gets distracted by children or other family members. It takes as long as 3 months.




EATING POOP

2. My research shows that this is a very difficult problem to solve.

2.1 I advised using slices of pineapple inside his food. Some success reported.

2.2 Anti-poop powder sold by pet food manufacturers. Success varied. Some owners told me that this powder must be given daily. The bad habit returns. I don't see much information on this method.

2.3 I think the best method is to remove the stools promptly. That means, a routine of feeding and exercise. Record the elimination times. Restrict feeding times to around 15 minutes twice a day for this chihuahua.

2.4 Negative reinforcement training --- spanking. The owner gripped Kopi's muzzle as he started to eat his poop, gave a slight spanking and said "No." This worked sometimes but she is working and does not consistently and persistently trains.

2.5 Negative reinforcement training --- loud noise. Throw a can of coins, squirt water onto him from water pistol and drop a can of stones. These methods had been suggested by various dog owners.

2.6 Positive reinforcement training --- food treats. When he eats poop, distract and give him a food treat. Then lavish praise. Or get him out to play (a form of reward).

2.7 Start young. If the puppy had been monitored at a young age for 24 hours a day for the first 7 days, it is possible to get rid of this habit. But then, not many owners have the time or patience to do it. This includes waking up at least once past midnight to clear the newspapers of stools --- the puppy may bark or make noises to ask for newspapers to be removed and the owner just does not have the energy to get up to do it.

2.8 Hiding the evidence to prevent being punished? During my research, one write said that the dog ate the stools to prevent by spanked by the owner. No evidence of eliminating in the wrong places! I believe we should not anthropomorphise --- thinking that the dog's poop eating behaviour is due to his guilt or ability to hide the evidence. On the other hand, this may be possible if the owner just spanks the dog after he had misbehaved.

Correction of bad behaviour like stool eating has to be done during the act. Doing much later makes the dog frightened of the owner. The owner assumes the dog feels "guilty" and runs away to hide as he had done something wrong. The dog sees a fierce big person about to cause him pain. He runs to hide. And eliminates in hidden areas or behind the sofa, reinforcing the owner's belief in anthopromorphism!