Is your Dog a Picky Pooper?

Well, apparently this can be a problem for some pet owners and this topic made the news at the Wired Website. I actually found the article quite interesting and amazed at the research completed on this subject. One thing that did not surprise me, is that sometimes dogs are only taken outside to do their business. They take their sweet time to extend their outdoor time, but there are so many other factors involved that I would have never thought about. Researchers even suggest, our earth's magnetic forces have an impact on dogs habits in this area.

My mother in law's dogs are picky where they poop. We only take them out twice a day to do their "business" since they are aggressive towards other dogs. As long as there are no other dogs out we try to take out time so they can enjoy being out. But yes they are choosy when it comes down to going poop. I feel the pit bull is more so than the min pin. I don't know about it having anything to do with the Earth's magnetic pull. I feel that they are looking for an area where another dog has gone, so they could put their smell there instead. Like when they mark their territory with urine. I don't know that is my theory at least.

I would often take my dog out for a walk in hopes that he conducts his "business" but he NEVER does. Reason being is because he was completely picky and needed to make sure that he was marking comfortable places as his territory. I noticed after a few walks that he ONLY likes to poop when there's no grass. He loves dirt because that's exactly how our backyard is (because we're currently in a drought - California) and it's what he knows. So instead of walking him around the neighborhood, we would go to the cliffs near the beach where it's all dirt and he'd do his "business" everywhere! It's more than where other dogs have gone-- it's about what they know to be "right" because of how they live at home.

Luckily the dog I walk on an almost daily basis (I also dog sit for him) is not a 'picky pooper' and will go anywhere except on the footpath. He has to have a verge to go on which is lucky for us that we live rurally and a verge is not a problem. He is rescue dog and I think he must have always go on grass in the rescue home (or his previous home) because he will only ever do his no 2 off the footpath (in this case a proper countryside footpath) which is nice really.

My boy can be a little bit of a 'picky pooper', but in general he's very good. He goes both outside during walks and in the litter box indoors (yes, a little trained dog!) when he needs to go but can't get out on a walk for whatever reason. The only time we really have issues is when there are unfamiliar people looking after him for any period of time. If we go away for a few days and leave him with a pet sitter, we've been told by multiple sitters that he has refused to do his business. Same when we have left him at kennels; he just doesn't like pooping when people he doesn't know are around for some reason. As long as myself, one of my parents, or another person he recognizes as family is around him though, he is generally fine.

When he uses the litter box, though, sometimes he makes the cat not want to use it. She wants her own place, but the dog will only use the litter box if it is the same one that the cat uses! We tried setting up a different one for him but he always switches back to the cat's, even if the cat gets fed up and uses the clean one. It is a little frustrating, but the cat seems to be putting up with it now.