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Puppy schedule and Fece eating

19 9:51:43

Question

coco
Hello, I adopted a female cockapoo, Coco, a few months ago from a shelter.
She is 5 1/2 months and adjusting well. I have a couple of questions.

We are crating her at night and during the day when my wife isn't home or when Coco hasn't gone to the bathroom in a while. She is on a good schedule for house training. She goes out in the morning at about 6:30 am, then gets fed. She gets a walk most times afterwards, and then in the afternoon. She usually goes pee and poop in the afternoon, gets feed at 5pm, and then a walk around 6:30-7 to go again pee and poop.

I had been taking her out around 10-11pm to go to the bathroom again. Recently, the past week or so, she won't go right before bed. So, I just stopped taking her out.

Is there any problem with just taking her out at 7pm and then not again till 6-7am the next morning. She seems fine with it and is never in a rush to pee or poop in the morning. She's been sleeping thru the night since 3 months. It's fine with me, but I just want to make sure it's okay.

Also, I take her off-leash to a local park and she is is constantly searching out other dogs poop and will eat it if I don't get to her first. I have decided just not to let her off-leash for the winter (i live in the Boston area). I hope she will just out grow it.  Any tips to get her to stop wanting to eat poop?

Thanks in advance.

Answer
Hi,
I would move your 6:30 out to 8 PM and that would solve that problem.   As far as the eating poop. Yes keep her on a leash...Get a long retractable so you can let her go out to run, when she even goes to search for the poop, snap the leash and tell her "NO" very sharply....This is a learned behavior, so she must be taught to "unlearn" it.
nancy
PS  PUT HER ON A VITAMIN MINERAL SUPPLIMENT.  SOMETIMES THIS STOPS POOP EATING AS WELL