[florencetam]

I havea one year old sheltie boy
According to my breeder instruction I feed him once a day with "HILLS"
I wonder if I'ts' his dog food or what
Because he poo 7 times a day at different times (hard to find his fixed time) therefore making training very
Hard. The dog I had before only poo twice a day and at somewat fixed times,
I asked my other friends about their dogs they dun seem to have such
Problems. We potty trained him when he's young and we thought he knew
, but suddenly this two months he started to poo inside his house and
In his sleeping area too even using odor remover he still poo there
And the problem is we don't know when he wants to poo because he
Doesn't bark. We took him out many times and he does his business. But
He just goes again and again inside the house at times where he never
Used to go . Say at 2am, then sometimes at 4am and sometimes right
After he poo outside . Seems like he poo A lot, is this normal?

[charlotte234s]

I think that maybe him going to the bathroom 7 times a day is a little much, but I don't thinks it's so much a problem for him as it is for you. Have you considered getting him a doggy door so he can go outside as he pleases? Granted, the outside area is fenced, traditional or electric, or he just gets let out into a kennel or something..

Good luck with the pooping puppy.

[labman]

You are right, 7 times a day is excessive. My first question has to be how firm are the stools? The Hills should produce a fairly small well formed, firm stool. If it is soft or poorly formed, he has a digestive problem. Whether the stools are a problem, you should have him examined by a vet and discuss the problem. It is possible the Hills is not the right chow for him. Despite what you may read in some places, most dogs will thrive on most diets, but there isn't any one diet best for all. The solution might be a special grade of Hills, or since it is lamb based, a chicken or beef formula.

This could also be a behavior problem. He may showing you that you can't control his bowel movements. If so, you need to give him better leadership. The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at Raising Your Dog with the Monks of New Skete For more on being top dog, see Establishing and Keeping Alpha Position, Letting your dog know you are the boss

[RubyPitbull]

One other thought I would like to add to labman's post that you need to consider is, even though you are only feeding him once a day, how much are you giving him at one time? You may be overfeeding him. Also, is it at all possible someone else is giving him treats or feeding him people food during the day/evening? If you are feeding him the portion that is correct for his size and no one is sneaking him treats, then you do need have a very thorough discussion with your vet, as labman stated, along with following the rest of labman's advice in his post.

[labman]

Good thing I have RubyPitbull to remind me of the over feeding issue, see LongLiveYourDog.com - Life Span Study - Rate Your Dog

[saccary]

All I can say is watch out what you feed her