# Constipated ?



## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

We're having real trouble with Merlin's pooping habits since coming back from my parent's. There is snow, which is new and his bowel movements are not synched anymore. At first I thought he was regressing, which he was, but now I figure there is probably constipation from stress and change on top of that.

He ate the same thing during the holidays, and doesn't take treats, so the food is not the problem. He hasn't pooped in 36 hours now, it will be 48 hours tomorrow morning. He went outside at least 10-12 times today, but only peed, even though we repeatedly encouraged him.

Never had to deal with constipation in a dog. I'm going to the vet tomorrow to get his meds, but I would rather avoid buying stuff from them that they're going to sell me 4 times the selling price anywhere else...

Anyone has a good home remedy ? Merlin doesn't eat treats and only eats his raw meat, so it has to be something I can mix in his raw.

Thanks in advance !


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

1 or two tablespoons of pumpkin mixed in his food......(canned pumpkin not pie filling ) works for constipation as well as diarrhea! 
Milk of Magnesia is also safe....1/2 to 1 tablespoon per day (or 1 teaspoon per 10 lbs) 1xday


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

MollyMuiMa said:


> 1 or two tablespoons of pumpkin mixed in his food......(canned pumpkin not pie filling ) works for constipation as well as diarrhea!
> Milk of Magnesia is also safe....1/2 to 1 tablespoon per day (or 1 teaspoon per 10 lbs) 1xday



Ok, let me be a sceptic here... How can the same thing work for two opposite conditions ? I suppose the pumpkin tastes better than the milk of magnesia ?


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

Pumpkin adds water and fiber ..........which is helpful for both Constipation and Diarrhea.........at least that's what I have been told why it works both ways! All I know is that it has worked for us!!! And yes the pumpkin is far more tastier, but not always on hand in the panrtry! LOL!


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

I have to tell you, although pumpkin is the classic recommendation, it has never helped a one of my dogs, including a recent try for Timi to bulk up her stool. But what is working for Timi is string beans - I break up a few into her every meal and her poops are twice the size that they were without it.


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## MiniPoo (Mar 6, 2014)

My dog Phoenix takes medication that causes constipation. Her stools are enormous but it is hard for her to go. She sometimes falls trying to go. I started giving her pumpkin 3 times a day with her food. It actually made her stool less large and she went more frequently and with less strain.

I have found pumpkin better for constipation than for loose stools. Just my experience.


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

Ok, I'll see if I can get a can of pumpkin tomorrow. And maybe even make a pie, why not ? I've had pumpkin pie maybe twice in my life (not a tradition around here) and it was soooo good !


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

The other things that work for mine are liver (go easy - it can be a tad too effective!), green leafy veg, especially spinach (ditto), and encouraging them to drink more by giving them dilute unsalted broth and adding more liquid to their meals. If part of the problem is that he doesn't want to go out in the snow you may not want him to have too full a bladder, though.


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## Charmed (Aug 4, 2014)

Okay, this may sound stupid, but is it possible that since the snow is "new" that he doesn't want to poop on it? Could you try clearing him off a small patch where he usually poops?


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## glorybeecosta (Nov 11, 2014)

Charmed said:


> Okay, this may sound stupid, but is it possible that since the snow is "new" that he doesn't want to poop on it? Could you try clearing him off a small patch where he usually poops?


You are so right Bella has went 2.5 to 3 days if there is snow, even though I shovel her a space, she is used to going to the back of they yard, now she does not eat or drink as normal and she also does this if I visit someone. I called the vet and she said she will go eventually. She is 8 and has always been this way. I actually force her to say outside she will want right back in


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

fjm said:


> The other things that work for mine are liver (go easy - it can be a tad too effective!), green leafy veg, especially spinach (ditto), and encouraging them to drink more by giving them dilute unsalted broth and adding more liquid to their meals. If part of the problem is that he doesn't want to go out in the snow you may not want him to have too full a bladder, though.


I have so many problems with the poor guy ! He drinks very little, maybe once a day, sometimes not. He knows where the bowl is, it's easily accessible, but he drinks mainly on one occasion, and if his routine is perturbed, then he might not even drink. I used to bring his bowl in his face at bedtime, but 95% of the time he wouldn't drink.

This is part of the problem, not drinking enough.


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

Charmed said:


> Okay, this may sound stupid, but is it possible that since the snow is "new" that he doesn't want to poop on it? Could you try clearing him off a small patch where he usually poops?


Not stupid at all. This is something that we do already. If not, he wouldn't be able to go. He has a 10x10 shovelled area. Not to the grass, because it's impossible, but as close as possible.

He pees in there no problem.


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

glorybeecosta said:


> You are so right Bella has went 2.5 to 3 days if there is snow, even though I shovel her a space, she is used to going to the back of they yard, now she does not eat or drink as normal and she also does this if I visit someone. I called the vet and she said she will go eventually. She is 8 and has always been this way. I actually force her to say outside she will want right back in


I force him to stay outside. I tell him to " go poo ", and he goes down the stairs, sniffs and pretends to pee for a second and runs back up. I make him go down again, and again,and he does nothing. That's basically what I did all day yesterday !


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

This morning he had gone in his crate and slept on it... I am thinking I have to stop the raw for a while, because it is making him have such small and hard stools that it has almost no smell and he doesn't mind lying in it.

I will give him some canned food to increase the volume of the stools (he doesn't eat kibbles) and also to make him have to go, and make it very hard to accept lying in it.

I think it's my best shot for now. I am going nowhere right now. He's not learning anything and can stand almost 48 hours without going. This is putting an unnecessary stress on him and us.

I am going back to work soon, I hope he gets better fast, because this is going such a problem !


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## MiniPoo (Mar 6, 2014)

Instead of crating him, can you put his crate in an enclosed area with pee pads, or if he tears up pee pads, some other material outside his crate where he can go potty instead of doing it in his crate? It seems as though he will go in his crate. So he needs a bigger area so that he does not lay in it. 

Since he is a toy, having an indoor potty setup for him on a regular basis might give you and him a less stressful time of it. If you have room, I would put his crate in an x-pen with a potty area outside his crate. Or get a bigger crate where at least he does not sit in it.

I know you want him totally to go outside but that may not work for him.


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

MiniPoo said:


> Instead of crating him, can you put his crate in an enclosed area with pee pads, or if he tears up pee pads, some other material outside his crate where he can go potty instead of doing it in his crate? It seems as though he will go in his crate. So he needs a bigger area so that he does not lay in it.
> 
> Since he is a toy, having an indoor potty setup for him on a regular basis might give you and him a less stressful time of it. If you have room, I would put his crate in an x-pen with a potty area outside his crate. Or get a bigger crate where at least he does not sit in it.
> 
> I know you want him totally to go outside but that may not work for him.


That will be my very last resort. I just can't accept that for now, I haven't tried for long enough. I've had many, many small dogs and some were really hard to train, but eventually we managed.

Also, the fact that he was fine for 5 months, and also that he went at my parent's outside in very cold temperatures tell me that he can do this.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Dechi said:


> That will be my very last resort. I just can't accept that for now, I haven't tried for long enough. I've had many, many small dogs and some were really hard to train, but eventually we managed.
> 
> 
> 
> Also, the fact that he was fine for 5 months, and also that he went at my parent's outside in very cold temperatures tell me that he can do this.



My feeling is that training a dog to use a pad does not interfere with them going outside - the key is to teach them that NOWHERE else indoors is acceptable. Timi does both, and I have no doubt that if we removed the pad and took her out on a regular basis, she would be perfect because a pad is the ONLY place that she 
However, I think that if a dog is losing the mindset that their "den" should be kept clean (sleeping with poop in his bed), then that lack of caring about cleanliness is likely to be generalized to the larger "den", your home, and then you have a much greater housebreaking problem. 
If I were you, with the goal of having him outside potty only, I would teach him to use a pad, while also bringing him outside to potty as well. Strongly reinforce both, while at the same time not allowing him to make a single mistake in the rest of the house without catching him in the act, and giving the appropriate feedback necessary to let him know that he is doing something completely forbidden. Then once he was solidly trained not to eliminate anywhere but in the two approved spots (outside and the pad), I would gradually remove the pad for longer and longer periods of time until it is gone.


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

Tiny Poodles said:


> My feeling is that training a dog to use a pad does not interfere with them going outside - the key is to teach them that NOWHERE else indoors is acceptable. Timi does both, and I have no doubt that if we removed the pad and took her out on a regular basis, she would be perfect because a pad is the ONLY place that she
> However, I think that if a dog is losing the mindset that their "den" should be kept clean (sleeping with poop in his bed), then that lack of caring about cleanliness is likely to be generalized to the larger "den", your home, and then you have a much greater housebreaking problem.
> If I were you, with the goal of having him outside potty only, I would teach him to use a pad, while also bringing him outside to potty as well. Strongly reinforce both, while at the same time not allowing him to make a single mistake in the rest of the house without catching him in the act, and giving the appropriate feedback necessary to let him know that he is doing something completely forbidden. Then once he was solidly trained not to eliminate anywhere but in the two approved spots (outside and the pad), I would gradually remove the pad for longer and longer periods of time until it is gone.


I've done that in the past with puppies and it has worked. It would be an option as well that I might consider.

For now I want to try changing his poop and need to go, so I can have a chance to teach him. And then I'll see where I go. I just don't feel it yet and I go with my intuition, it usually serves me well.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Dechi said:


> I've done that in the past with puppies and it has worked. It would be an option as well that I might consider.
> 
> 
> 
> For now I want to try changing his poop and need to go, so I can have a chance to teach him. And then I'll see where I go. I just don't feel it yet and I go with my intuition, it usually serves me well.



Of course you know best - you are the one who is seeing him moment to moment assessing his behaviors and reactions - there will be subtleties that only you could know!


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## glorybeecosta (Nov 11, 2014)

Tiny Poodles said:


> My feeling is that training a dog to use a pad does not interfere with them going outside - the key is to teach them that NOWHERE else indoors is acceptable. Timi does both, and I have no doubt that if we removed the pad and took her out on a regular basis, she would be perfect because a pad is the ONLY place that she
> However, I think that if a dog is losing the mindset that their "den" should be kept clean (sleeping with poop in his bed), then that lack of caring about cleanliness is likely to be generalized to the larger "den", your home, and then you have a much greater housebreaking problem.
> If I were you, with the goal of having him outside potty only, I would teach him to use a pad, while also bringing him outside to potty as well. Strongly reinforce both, while at the same time not allowing him to make a single mistake in the rest of the house without catching him in the act, and giving the appropriate feedback necessary to let him know that he is doing something completely forbidden. Then once he was solidly trained not to eliminate anywhere but in the two approved spots (outside and the pad), I would gradually remove the pad for longer and longer periods of time until it is gone.


Cayenne goes on her potty patch, or outside either one. And she will come to me to show she went on potty patch for the cookie


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

I just received Merlin's clomicalm (anxiety meds) order through the mail and they sent me the side effects sheet. Constipation is a common side effect ! He started clomicalm about 5 weeks ago, so it's probably what's happening. Before he was on a liquid form of something similar to clomicalm.

So I'll work on relieving constipation and see if it helps.

Funny the vet never told me this.


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## Marcie (Aug 2, 2011)

Yes, pumpkin works. I keep some in my freezer in small containers and just thaw it out when I need it rather than open a whole can and throw most of it out.


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

Last night I changed his crate to his smaller one. This morning there was nothing. He didn't go poop and it was getting afternoon, so we went for a walk to activate his system. And it worked. It is not what I need, I need him to potty in the backyard, but for now he needed to go. The stools were bigger and not as hard, which is good.

My daughter will bring me back pumpkin from the grocery store, so he'll get some of that too.

I needed this to get the level of stress down. The more you fuss about something, the less it happens. When you let go, magically things find their own place.


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## Bluemoon (Dec 30, 2015)

Green beans and cooked carrots also work


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

Iris won't eat green beans or carrots but will eat baked sweet potatoes....me too! I just bake one and smash it up and put in a container in the fridge, or we share one. It works as well as the pumpkin, from my experience.

Good luck. You are so dedicated to helping this little soul with all of his issues. I admire you for that, and know it is hard hard work. Bless you.

Viking Queen


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

Viking Queen said:


> Iris won't eat green beans or carrots but will eat baked sweet potatoes....me too! I just bake one and smash it up and put in a container in the fridge, or we share one. It works as well as the pumpkin, from my experience.
> 
> Good luck. You are so dedicated to helping this little soul with all of his issues. I admire you for that, and know it is hard hard work. Bless you.
> 
> Viking Queen


Thank you. This dog needed someone with experience. Experiences gives you the knowledge that time will fix many things.

I can't imagine what his life would have been like if a first time owner or even someone who'd had only a few dogs had adopted him. I am sure he will be the best dog I've ever had, but in a few years...


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Dechi said:


> Thank you. This dog needed someone with experience. Experiences gives you the knowledge that time will fix many things.
> 
> 
> 
> I can't imagine what his life would have been like if a first time owner or even someone who'd had only a few dogs had adopted him. I am sure he will be the best dog I've ever had, but in a few years...



You know what - I can't think of a single poodle that I have had who I can't say that about - for totally different reasons, each and every one of them would have been a different kind of train wreck in the wrong hands.
Maybe Toy Poodles are just not a beginner type of dog?


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

Tiny Poodles said:


> You know what - I can't think of a single poodle that I have had who I can't say that about - for totally different reasons, each and every one of them would have been a different kind of train wreck in the wrong hands.
> Maybe Toy Poodles are just not a beginner type of dog?


In general, small dogs are a lot harder than bigger dogs. But even among the small ones, I find Merlin the hardest I've had, and by far. Lack of socialization is the worse thing.

I agree though. Starting with a toy poodle is not the best choice. You need practice before...


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Dechi said:


> In general, small dogs are a lot harder than bigger dogs. But even among the small ones, I find Merlin the hardest I've had, and by far. Lack of socialization is the worse thing.
> 
> 
> 
> I agree though. Starting with a toy poodle is not the best choice. You need practice before...



You really can't be sure about the nature vs nurture though. I have had two that I got at 12 and 16 weeks old who were innately fearful dogs. I suppose they could have been much worse if I had not gotten them early. But you know my breeder does not rush her puppies out -12 weeks is the absolute earliest, but she is really patient waiting for just the right home to come along, and I have seen her place many a puppy from 5-12 months old, and despite living in a kennel for that time, they are very well socialized, well adjusted dogs. Maybe for Merlin it is just some of both, nature and nurture...


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

I add more muscle meat to make stool softer. If Merlin is not drinking enough try some chicken stock. Toys are harder to housebreak. Persevere.


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