# Dog smearing and eating poop.



## tadevil (Feb 21, 2013)

Hello,

My puppy is 14 weeks old, he's a Sher pei cross Staffy.

I was hoping I could get some advice as this is becoming quite an issue now, as the title says my dog is smearing and eating his poop and he does it when he's alone; we put him in the bathroom with toys, a bed and a puppy training pad for 5 - 8 hours and we currently can't take him for a walk as he has only just had his second vaccination. (Just one more week.)

What I presume is happening is he is either getting bored or lonely then being naughty, he will pee and poo on his pad then play with the pad and the poo. When I get home of course I tell him off, I tell him no and show him what he has done wrong while telling him so and pat him lightly on the bum he then puts his tail between his legs and won't look at me when he goes back to his bed and I sense he knows he has done wrong but he persists.

So he smears it everywhere and gets it all in his nails and today he ate some I think because he felt bad and wanted to clean it up, he then was sick and all that came up was poop.

Has anyone had a similar issue and have any suggestions? I have a cage but I don't want to put him in there. I'd appreciate any help a lot, it makes me sad that this is happening because when I get in from work or wake up I don't want to scald him I want to pet him and cuddle him because I miss him too.


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## JulieNoob (Oct 22, 2008)

Don't 'show him what he has done wrong' he won't understand and will just think you have an odd interest in poo, smacking is wrong too.

He will have no clue why you are angry, just think that you have come home I a mood.

He didn't eat it to hide the evidence - pups do this, add a ring of tinned pineapple to each meal.

Can you not have someone come in to take him out and give him a toilet break and play part way through the day - sounds a long time for a pup, and won't help toilet train him 

Dog walkers will offer this service and its not shockingly expensive.

Please don't keep telling him off - he's a baby with a small bladder, pups poop a lot and he will be bored and lonely. Not his fault, and he won't be a baby forever.


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## Sarah1983 (Nov 2, 2011)

5-8 hours is way too long for such a young puppy to be left on his own  I would have thought that at his age he'd still be on 3 meals a day too and would need feeding within that time.

He doesn't know he's done wrong. All he knows is that you come home, you're angry and you hit him and frighten him. Crating him won't solve the issue, there's no way he could hold it that long so you'd likely just come home to a dog and a crate covered in poo.

Ideally he wouldn't be left more than an hour or so but I assume you're leaving him to go to work. Getting someone in a couple of times through the day might help solve the problem.


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## tadevil (Feb 21, 2013)

Thanks for the advice, this is my first dog so I don't know a great deal.

As for not telling him off I don't want to tell him off, I hate it so if I shouldn't I won't.

I only work for 5 hours at a time usually, I put 8 for possible overtime and sleeping.

I do give him 3 meals but they are at peculiar times.

What will the ring of pineapple do and are there any ideas on the smearing?

Thanks.


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## ClaireandDaisy (Jul 4, 2010)

What do you expect a puppy - or any animal for that matter - to do in your bathroom for 8 hours? 
No company, no stimulation - not even a window to look out of. 
Please get a dog sitter or find daycare for him.


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## simplysardonic (Sep 1, 2009)

Agree with what others have said- he's far too young to be left that long all on his own

If he's in a bathroom I'm assuming it's not very big, so he probably can't help smearing his poo just by walking around & playing with his toys.


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## tadevil (Feb 21, 2013)

ClaireandDaisy said:


> What do you expect a puppy - or any animal for that matter - to do in your bathroom for 8 hours?
> No company, no stimulation - not even a window to look out of.
> Please get a dog sitter or find daycare for him.


If that's the only option then what am I supposed to do while I'm sleeping? I leave him for 5 hours while I'm at work, 8 hours while I'm sleeping. Sleeping is the longest time I leave him, do I cut it out or get a sitter for 4am?

Also the bathroom is plenty big enough, it's actually the biggest room in the house after taking furniture in other rooms into account.


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## Redice (Dec 4, 2011)

Puppies that age haven't got control of their bladder and bowel and will need many opportunities to toilet during the day (and night), including every time they wake up, play eat and drink or get excited. Control of the frequency of needing to toilet and the ability to be able to hold on comes gradually.


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## tadevil (Feb 21, 2013)

Redice said:


> Puppies that age haven't got control of their bladder and bowel and will need many opportunities to toilet during the day (and night), including every time they wake up, play eat and drink or get excited. Control of the frequency of needing to toilet and the ability to be able to hold on comes gradually.


That's understandable, he does go a lot and when I'm at home i put him on the pad if he's not already on it or praise him if he already is.

He's learning but all of a sudden since I've started using the pads he has been doing this when he's alone, he didn't do it when we didn't have them for a few days when we first got him. I'm wondering if it's something to do with the training pads.

I don't mind cleaning it if he has an accident and doesn't go on the pad, but him smearing and eating it concerns me. He didn't do it before we started using puppy pads and we left him alone while at work and sleeping.


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## Dogless (Feb 26, 2010)

tadevil said:


> If that's the only option then what am I supposed to do while I'm sleeping? I leave him for 5 hours while I'm at work, 8 hours while I'm sleeping. Sleeping is the longest time I leave him, do I cut it out or get a sitter for 4am?


You could set your alarm to get up a few times during the night to let him go to the toilet. You could also look at his feeding times so that he shouldn't need a poo during the night. Also if he is pooing a lot it may well be worth looking at his food and changing it for a different one - perhaps his has lots of fillers in it?


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