Hello,

I am wondering how long it takes dog food (Life's Abundance) to go from being eaten to pooping.

One of our Rat Terriers is completely thrown off his schedule and I am coming home to poop which doesn't make for a happy homecoming.

We feed him about 5:00PM and more and more he is not making it until I get home 23 hours later. He goes out in the morning but I don't know if he poops and pees in the morning or just pees. The door is just open for about an hour and a half until we are ready to leave.

Since I am not here during the day I don't know if he's pooping in the house at 9:00 AM or 2:30 PM.

His poop is not runny or anything. It's just a healthy stool that he couldn't hold.

He just turned 8 and weighs about 20 pounds. We do not over feed him at all. We give him just a little less than what the package says because they go in 10 pound intervals and he's on the low side.

The other dog is fine and NEVER has accidents.

Any responses are appreciated.

Thanks

Tripper

 

Have you just changed his diet? That needs to be done gradually, or it will have bad results. Are YOU on a good schedule, by letting him out before you leave, etc.? One of mine has a body clock you wouldn't believe. 4:59 every morning she barks and wants out. It's really OK because I get up around 5 anyway. She is on a schedule, I guess. Sometimes it isn't possible, but do you have a doggie door?

 

Yes. We have a doggie door that is open from 5:30AM til about 7:30AM. After that we leave and are not back until about 4:30.

I'm just asking how long it takes a dog to digest food and then have to poop. If I can find that out we can maybe feed them in the morning and then maybe they won't have to poop until later that evening.

Trip

 

23 hours is asking a lot of any pet. Esp for #1. I'm surprised you haven't found any of those accidents. Did you mean 13 hrs? My found dog (anyone need a well mannered, well behaved blue heeler?) can do 10-12 hrs no problem apparently, but I can tell when she gets a little anxious about getting out.

I wonder if his age is an issue? Is the other dog close to the same age or younger?

I think most of us can agree that as we get older, certain things become more urgent.

Unless a food change has happened, I'd have to suggest a check-up for any digestive disorders.

How quickly something passes through is a hard question. I've known people (and have a cat) that as soon as they eat, w/in 1/2 hr they almost always have to use the restroom/litterbox. It's not the food they just ate of course...but it must stimulate the digestive tract somehow. I also just spoke with a couple today who had a dog that would not do it's business (even if left outside for 1/2 hr) unless the owner was also outside.