How can one little dog poop so much?

[Davy Crockett]

Little Rosie Red is an almost 6 month old Border Collie and she's a tough nut.

She goes in the house immediately after going outside.

Just this morning after a 10-15 minute walk, 3 piles and 2 puddles within an hour.

She has a crate, and if she doesn't go outside, she's put in.
We take her out almost every hour on the hour.
She gets lavish praise when she does the deed.

Usually, too far away to give her a treat reward.

I bet she poops 10 times a day.
That seems like a lot!


We've tried the enzyme cleaners, water and vinegar on the spots but it doesn't help.
She goes right back there.

Yesterday we did a massive cleaning of the areas she goes.
Scrubbing, steaming and re-sealing the wood floor where she goes.

Her poop is normal and not runny.
I've never seen a dog poop as much as this.

We think we're feeding her a quality food.

Initially, we used 4Health Puppy Chow but she had a lot of loose stool.
We switched a while back to Diamond Natural.

Vet Tech says she's not absorbing the food which is why she poops so much.
They recommend Science Diet (which they sell) or Purina.
Neither of those have very good reviews.

I'm open to suggestions.
Doggy diapers?

[LittleFish]

Hi, Davy.

I have two doxies. The boy lifts his leg practically as soon as we're out the door, and has a good sit down within a 5 minute walk most days.

The girl? She can hold a go for hours in a crate only to emerge and go at the first step into the room. I always leave the harness on when she's in her 'room' and get the leash on before she steps out, then try to pull her along quickly so she doesn't have a chance to squat in the house, but nothing works. She's 9 years old so I've had time to read books, search online, and watch Cesar without finding a helpful result.

Well, about 6 months ago, our vet suggested a grain-free diet to help with weight loss, mostly for the boy but she could lose a little, too. Said it gives a more full feeling with fewer calories. It's brought a lot of good changes our way. One is that the stool is consistently solid and less smelly, plus they go less. I've read that's because they aborb more of it, so less to poop out, and that's why I'm posting. Very happy for you that your baby girl is going outside most of the time!

Yes, it costs more than regular dog food, but I found a store brand that meets the Dog Food Advisor standard at about half the cost of other brands, and the brand of dry they've eaten for years now (Purina Beneful) offers a grain free. I really don't care that Dog Food Advisor doesn't like Beneful. It's the only brand of dry the girl can eat without digestive disruptions that are 100X worse when a dog insists on going inside 99% of the time. I've tried exclusive brands, even those made for doxies, but Beneful is the only dry she can eat without leaving me feeling defeated all over again a couple hours later .

I don't know if grain-free would be helpful with your baby, but thought I'd share my experience with it.

Hope you find something that works for the two of you soon!

- LF

ETA: On the doggy diapers, they always slipped off my girl. But that could be at least in part due to a dachshund's peculiar shape.

[Davy Crockett]

Thanks for those tips, LittleFish.

This one's a challenge.

I think the 4Health is grain free but it didn't agree with her.

Beneful has a really bad rep, though.
But, willing to look at all oprions

[Davy Crockett]

While posting the one just above here, my daughter has Rosie out.
They came in and I was told she did both.


Within 5 minutes of coming back in she had pooped.
I know it was fresh because it was in a room she was gated out of all afternoon.

This girl will make me pull my hair out

[jimmyb]

We have a border collie who had issues growing up also..
The vets like science diet but we found this to be much better and cheaper.Plus the dog has always ate it well..
Either the lamb and rice or chicken and rice is what we use,,We bought a smal bag a couple times to try it.A little pricey that way but the larger bags save some money....
https://www.google.com/shopping/prod...iABEgLcrvD_BwE

[Davy Crockett]

Thanks, jimmyb.

Purina's been around for a long time.
There's a fair amount of grain in that food and I want to try going off of grains for a while to see if that helps

[Oscar Wilde]

.... Vet Tech says she's not absorbing the food which is why she poops so much.

I used to make my own "natural" but I lost my helper and for 8 pups ... phew.

I would buy leg quarters @ Kroger / Wal mart, boxes of 5 doz. count eggs, canned pumpkin, green beans ... and cabbage when it was available.

Each cook would provide three days worth of meals and I'd add the cooked to about a cup each of dry "Sports mix" 12/ 21.

Until you discover her natural "rhythm" and you won't until you get her set on a particular diet, she needs you to take her out every half hour or so.

When in the house, don't let her out of your sight. Keep a spray bottle filled with water close at hand and if she even looks as though she's thinking about "it", squirt her and then take her out ... I know, a big PIA but then so is the clean up. Toss of the coin eh?

O.W.

[Davy Crockett]

Thanks, Oscar.

What I started last night was to put her on a leash when she was out of her crate.
I held her so that she was restricted.

I am concerned that she get a balanced diet if I made my own.

[Oscar Wilde]

A little secret, when I'd cook their chicken and add the boiled scrambled eggs ...oh, carrots too, things started to smell pretty good and I'd "sample" a medium size bowl (prior to adding the pumpkin) just to confirm my recipe. Pretty good stuff and for your use you can add salt as necessary ....

O.W.

[HouseWolf]

Borders are high energy 'working' dogs. They need a job, and plenty of room.

I honestly can't imagine keeping one in a 'crate', but then I can't imagine doing that with any animal.

Yes, I have one.