adopted dog refuses to eliminate

Question
We just adopted a four-year-old shepherd mix, Mona. She is more mix than shepherd. She won't poop until she is physically incapable of holding it anymore and it leaks out her butt. Not in the house, not out of the house. She held it for 36 hours (!) until she pooped this morning. She was just running along, it leaked out her butt, and then she pulled over off the path and pooped. We have only had her for four days but the rescue group said this was a problem with her. We had no idea it was this strong, as she didn't poop that morning after a one hour walk first thing and then three hours on leash at a park with lots of bushes later that morning. We've even taken her to the dog park and let her run around off leash for up to an hour and no pee, no poop then either. We have her scheduled for a vet appointment to find out if there is a physical cause for this, but assuming there isn't what do we do? She has the same problem with peeing; she holds it until she can't. She has had two accidents inside the house this way, but she did give us signals to take her outside first and we weren't attentive enough to figure it out quickly enough. When she pees, she pees a huge amount, but then she won't pee again or as long as possible. What do we do?  

Answer
Do you have an enclosed area where she can go - or do you walk her on leash for potty time? Some dogs are rather private in their habits and are too polite to "go" on leash, or in the house. And some dogs, in the process of housetraining have been unintentionally taught that it's dangerous to go when a human is present in the housebreaking process. Checking with the vet to make sure it's not physical is definitely a good idea. I did have one rescue who only peed once every 24 hours. When my vet spayed her, he said she had a very large bladder (probably from being in a situation where she didn't want to have to pee where she had to stay. She would also go as far from the house (and me) as possible - all the way to the back fence. Make sure she gets enough water, and talk to your vet about adding fiber to her diet. Be sure you are feeding a good quality food. Make note of when she does go so you can figure out what is "normal" for her. And be sure to attend to her requests to go out, now that you are aware of what they are. Chances are she'll get more "regular" as she realizes she is staying. Good luck. Sandy Case MEd CPDT www.positivelycanine.com