7 yr old pooping close to doors outside

by kim
(michigan)

six months old she is a rotten/lab

My 7 year old rottweiler is starting to poop near the doors why would she start doing this?

Hi Kim
If your dog has suddenly changed her behavior, then she has a reason.. but it can certainly be difficult to figure out how a dog’s mind works sometimes!

If she’s pooping close to the door because she is squatting the minute she gets outside it could be that her bowel control is not as good as it once was.

Maybe she is desperate to ‘go’ by the time you let her out. If you think this might be the problem perhaps adding a couple of extra potty breaks each day would help.

Or is she showing any signs of lameness, limping or pain in her joints? Older Rotties may develop arthritis, hip problems and so on. If this is the case maybe it hurts her to walk very far and so she just stops and squats as soon as she can.

Rottweilers have a high tolerance for pain, so it’s possible that she’s suffering somewhat without actually showing any symptoms or distress.

If neither of these possibilities seem to ‘fit’, then it could just be one of those odd little habits dogs can suddenly develop. Perhaps putting her on a leash to take her outside would help, that way you could walk her further away from the door and once she’s done that for a few weeks it could break this odd habit.

Hope some of this helps, if it doesn’t or you’re concerned that this problem could be health-related or it gets worse then please do take your dog to your veterinarian for a check up.

Best of luck!