My Puppys Infrequent Bowl Movements

Question
I have a 5 month old Yorkie Terrier.  She has a good appetite.  I feed her twice a day Royal Canin Puppy Food; about 1 oz twice per day usually at 5am and 5pm.  She has lots of water.  I have NEVER seen her poop.  Its like she doesn't want to poop in front of me or my husband.  She seems to do it in the afternoon when we are at work and usually 10-12 hours after she has eaten.  I am trying to train her to go on potty pads and she does fairly well with urinating on them.  She occasionally poops on them but most of the time she does not.  I leave a piece of poop on the pad to help mark the area.

Any suggestions.

Geri

Answer
You're doing the right thing by feeding her twice a day at certain times. Be sure to take her out to potty 15-20 min after she eats and only for 5 minutes. Keep her in a kennel when you are away, the kennel should only be large enough for her to stand up, turn around and lay down comfortably, if it is any bigger than that she will likely potty in it and make potty training harder. If she does not relieve herself fully in the 5 minutes she is out there she comes back in and goes in her kennel. It is difficult for me to say why she is doing this without more information on what home life is like for her and what her feeding/pottying schedules are like. But If your goal is to stop pottying inside all together I would keep the pads by the door so she at least has to go to the door to potty.
Until she starts pottying outside regularly and not inside,keep her in the same room as you at all times, gradually increasing that freedom one room at a time. If she starts having accidents in the new room start over from the beginning.
If you take her outside and she does all her business in the 5 minutes she gets to come in for up to 30 minutes of playtime and then she goes out again to pee and comes back in to either relax next to you while on a leash or in her kennel.
Never scold her or rub her nose in her poo or let her see you cleaning it up. If you scold her or rub her nose in it this will create more problems, she will be afraid to potty in front of you. When you bring her outside, keep an eye on her, but make it look like you're not watching, she may be hesitant to 'go' in front of you. Always clean up her accidents with an odor neutralizing cleanser. If you see her going in the house,clap your hands or holler her name to interrupt her so you can bring her outside to finish and always praise her and give her treats for going outside.