Sophie paces around ALOT before going #2...need advice.

My friend Heather's 2.5 year old tri-color female Sophie is a real sweetie BUT she's stubborn as a mule when it comes to going #2 and Heather has asked me to ask ya'll for some advice.

Here's the deal: Whenever Sophie goes out to go potty she's on a lead and will go #1 fairly quickly, but when it comes time to go #2 she will pace back and forth for 1-2 minutes before settling down to her business. My Chester will pace a bit too but only for a few seconds. Heather says Sophie will pace back and forth 30-50 times before selecting a spot and she wonders if Sophie is simply stalling for time because she wants to be outside longer. I have seen this pacing behavior progress over the last 2 years and I have to agree with Heather that it is getting worse over time.

Heather admits that she doesn't always take Sophie on walks everyday because she is too exhausted (she owns a very successful salon and is on her feet all day) BUT she will always take her out in the back yard for some play time.

Could Sophie be pacing because she needs more activity and wants to stay outside longer or is there something else going on? Any advice is welcome!

Here's a couple pics of Sophie from about a year ago when I babysat her for a week:

She's a cutie! Jake goes out and does his business and that's that. Shelby is a little more picky. She'll pace around, back and forth, for a good two minutes or more. Then tighten up her circle til she finds just the right spot. Sometimes she'll get distract and I'll have to remind her "Shelby go poops" to get her back on track.

its a bit hard to tell ....all i can say is i have one here that takes forever to poo poo she goes round and round in circles for a few mins before she goes .......she likes to pick her moment i think

Some simply take longer and like finding just the right spot. I'd try giving a really good reward as soon as she goes and also train to a word. That should help.

The other thing that comes to mind is -- perhaps for some medical reason, it is difficult for her to strain to defecate. If the time has been getting longer and longer I'd certainly discuss this with a vet on her next visit.

PS if she does 15 minutes of obedience when she comes home, and does this indoors, this will help use up Sophie's energy. Likewise play fetch with a soft toy inside or teach her to seek and find items. Both will keep her mind and body busy. Walsk are not the only answer for activity.

Wow is she gorgeous!! What a little lady! :luv:

Cody does this and it absolutely drives me nuts. He especially does it when it is rainy, cold and at night. I think he does it just to torture me. Also, because he has the attention span of a flea, he will get distracted half way through and forget what he was doing when he sees the cat and start all over.

I guess it is kind of like people OCD, once you are already neurotic about certain things, it just gets worse with time (speaking from experience). If her poop looks normal then it is probably nothing medical, but you could try feeding her pumpkin to help them "move along" a little faster.

Kosmo is a selective poo-er too. Even when we go on walks he'll run forward then stop and run back and then do a few circles and run up some more. I just laugh at him.. I agree with karlin though - if it's getting worse over time I would consult a vet about it.

I, for one, would love to know what is going on in Zola's mind just before she goes. The spot has to be JUST right.

Lucky takes forever too ... then circles for a couple of minutes ... and then keeps circling while he's going ... he leaves a little trail of poo behind him, not a nice clean pile.

That would not be so bad except when his colitis is really acting up and it's all runny and/or bloody :yikes

Sounds like typical Cavalier behavior as long as there's no underlying medical reason. I sometimes think that they do it to show us they are in control as it always takes longer to find the spot if it's cold or raining. :lol: Somehow if the weather is nice they get their business done a bit more quickly!
JaneB

She is gorgeous:..... Bailey also does this, sounds pretty normal to me..

The Spaniel Dance

I call it the spaniel dance. I always say SiânE is looking for the prefect blade of grass. :dgwlk:

It’s not just Cavaliers that do it, I seen cockers and springers do it as well over my local park. Some just dance back and forward, some do a figure of eight (i.e. SiânE) and some (mostly Cockers) do a cutie pirouette at the end.

I had to laugh one day seeing a lovely Ruby Cav do the pirouette. I spoke to the owner who told me the dog had been doing it since she was a pup.

I wouldn’t worry about it. Some times SiânE is quick and sometimes I left standing there, slowly sinking in the mud for up to five minutes while she looks for that prefect blade of grass. icon_nwunsure

Barney gose round until he finds the spot then he backs up as well quiet funny---Aileen

Arthur gets down to business pretty quick , but Duncan does his "poop circles" for what seems like forever.

And as he circles he speeds up...I swear one day he is going to lose his balance, fall over, and then jsut poop everywhere. :yikes

Oh yeah,

My mother in law's dog (Katy) does this for loooong periods of time too. The more irrate we get with her the longer it takes. She is such a lady afterwards though, she does a backwards kick and covers the poo with dirt. lol!!! My shih tzu watched her do this and thought it was a great idea and copies her now. :lol:

Sophie is gorgeous! Tucker seems to take quite some time picking his spot. It's funny to watch. My backyard is fenced,I let him out alone to do his business. I'm usually watching his circling ritual from the dryness of my back deck. I'd probably find his circling dance less amusing if I were standing in the dewy grass in my slippers.

What about lifting legs? Do all the males do it all the time to pee? Sometimes Tucker does sometimes he squats, the other day he peed all over his feet.

Cupcake does this as well. It's like the planets have to align before she's ready to take care of business. icon_whistling Even when it's cold outside she has to make sure everything is "just right."

yeah my cavalier girl nina does that exact same thing!

unless they look like there in pain or nothing happens when they try 2 go 2 the toilet then they might be a problem.

i think its almost like a scent marking thing 2 because iv seen nina wee mark and poo mark and she a girl!

hi

molly does it i can be standing there for 5 mins while she goes up the hill then back down then back up and so on :roll: it does drive me nuts sometimes, charlie will go straight away ....

This reminds me of when we took the laddies on a road trip. Elvis was still a young pup, but he was verrry selective when it came time to pooh. Beauregard, on the other hand, twice went on the parking lot as soon as I let him down so we could walk to the grass. :shock: By the third morning I'd learned to CARRY Beau until Elvis decided on an acceptable site. :lol:

KC

Lani said:

Lucky takes forever too ... then circles for a couple of minutes ... and then keeps circling while he's going ... he leaves a little trail of poo behind him, not a nice clean pile.

Click to expand...

zack does this too. when i go into the backyard to clean it up, it's like being on an easter egg hunt.

:lol: this thread sure did grow fast. Give a group of dog parents a chance to talk about their babies' poop habits and you can count on a lot of input. It never fails. :lol: