We rescued a 10-year-old Irish Setter. It is believed that she was left outside with other dogs. The issue we have is getting her to “do her business” in our yard. She is holding it and only lets go when we are at the dog park. Have you got any helpful hints for getting her to go?
Julia
Hi Julia,
Toiletry habits are just that habits. Dogs (and peoples) develop what they believe are acceptable practices and environments and it’s hard but not always impossible to convince them otherwise. My ex-wife wouldn’t go camping with me as she said the sort of bathrooms that she might encounter on one of my trips never had any porcelain and therefore were not bathrooms to her way of thinking. 😄
For your dog, if you want to break this cycle it will likely be faster if you close the dog park door as an option for a while and put her on a strict feeding and incremental elimination schedule. I’m forwarding my house training cheat sheet for guidance.
If you are braver and more desperate than I have ever been you can try this: https://www.askthedogguy.com/match-to-produce-dog-poop/
