My boyfriend's 8-year-old Beagle just moved in with us 3 months ago. She was an outside dog for all 8 years, being tethered outside during the day and in a kennel in the garage at night. She has had no training until I came here.
When my bf moved into his apartment, and I moved in soon after, we went and got her. Our landlord made it very clear that the house cannot smell like dog/dog excrement. There was a brief moment where her anxiety spiked for 2 weeks; she was put on meds (she hasn't been on them for about 2 months), and everything was fine. She would go outside fine, eat fine, everything was fine. FOR A MONTH IT WAS FINE.
For whatever reason, she has stopped pooping outside. She will do everything but poop. She'll pee and pull on the leash like she's trying to choke herself out; she'll freak out at rabbits, squirrels, other dogs, and kids on bikes. Worst of all, since she's a Beagle, she'll find a track she likes, and she will actively choose to keep sniffing over pooping. She'll go 24+ hours without going, and then wind up pooping in the house while we sleep.
I wish I were kidding. Not to put too fine a point on it, but she will start pushing, just go to squat, and then decide that the scent is more important, and keep walking, meanwhile its 10 pm, below zero with 25 mph wind, I've been outside for 30 minutes, and I'm about to lose my mind.
No, anti-potty spray in the house does not work.
No, she is not sick
No, it's not anxiety. It's the same walk on the same route at the same time 3x a day every day.
No, it's not her food. She gets fed 2x a day, once in the morning, once at night, a cup of Healthy Weight dog food. She's had no adverse reaction to it, and she was on it the month that she was acting fine.
No, she's not stopped up. She has no issue going when she finally decides to go.
No, my bf can't really help, he works 12-hr shifts and doesn't get home until late, so it's really up to me to actually train her.
Yes, I have tried treats, but she has no interest in me or the treats while we're outside. This dog goes nuts for chicken in the kitchen, but once we're on a walk, she ignores me like I'm a creep following her on the street.
Yes, I do drag my feet when we're outside to the point where I'm out there 45 minutes per trip, and she still doesn't go. She'll pee, but that's it. Other than that, I'm fighting to keep my shoulder in its socket and hoping I don't chip a tooth tripping over her.
It's to the point where I'm in bed, hearing her wander around the living room, and I'm making myself upset because I'm worried I'm going to wake up and there's going to be dried dog poop all over my living room again. If I'm doing something wrong, someone please tell me, but I'm just so frustrated and overwhelmed.
TLDR: My 8 y/o Beagle wants to sniff everything and scream at squirrels instead of pooping, and I don't know how to fix it.
Edit: changed one word because reddit says this post was hidden but won't tell me why. Idk how this website works
submitted by /u/East_Honeydew_3336
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