So dog poop is not the most exciting subject to talk about. But have you ever wondered whether walking your dog will help them poop. Going for a number 2 is a common thing for a dog and important is so many ways.
Walking is a great way to help a dog poop. Walking has so many additional benefits and is extremely good for a dogs digestive system. If your dog is having trouble going to the toilet, then walking can certainly help towards this.
Its important to keep your dog fit and healthy and walking has so many benefits when it comes to a dogs digestive system. In this article we explore some of the ways walking helps a dog to poop.
Contents
Why Does Walking Help a Dog Poop
Walking your dog has many benefits including the promotion of healthy blood flow. This flow of blood encourages movement in the digestive tract that allows for food to move more easily through a dogs digestive system. This process along with the general movement of walking will have your dog pooping in no time. However, if you find your dog is not pooping at all even after their walks, then you should visit your local veterinarian to check everything is OK.
In some cases if you have a dog that doesn’t want to poop or is having trouble with the process, taking them for a longer walk than usual is the best option. This will give them plenty of time to run around and stimulate their digestive system. For some dogs it may take slightly longer for them to realise they need to go for a poop, so longer walks give them plenty of time to decide the things that encourage a dog to poop.
Its also worth noting that walking can help a dog to poop through simply making them happy. Every dog loves to run, its what they were made to do and going for a walk is the best feeling for them. Stress can be a major factor when it comes to constipation and walking a dog can help take away that stress and relax their muscles. If you really want to help take away your dogs stress then allowing them off lead is a great way to do this. Even taking them for regular walks that are shorter can help. Ensure that you keep your own stresses to a minimum, you may be stressing about them not pooping and they are stressing about your being stressed. Wow that’s a strange sentence.
Check out this article on “Walking Your Dog Off Lead”
Natural Ways To Make Your Dog Poop
As mentioned, walking your dog and giving them plenty of exercise can help make them poop. however, there are some other natural ways you can help your dog to poop.
- Hydration – You may think your dog is well hydrated but some fussy dogs will stop drinking their water because it gets old. Making sure your dogs water bowl is topped up with fresh clean water can help encourage them to drink. Dehydration is a very common cause of constipation, not just in dogs but humans too.
- Wet Food – If you feed your dog a dry food then perhaps switching to a high quality wet food for a short amount of time might get them pooping again. Dry food can cause constipation, so a wet food alternative is a good choice for a quick fix. Switching your dogs food instantly can cause them to have diarrhoea so a slow transition is recommended.
- Add Fibre – Fibre is something know to help the digestive system work in an efficient manner. Humans and dogs alike can benefit from fibre and so increasing the fibre content in their food can be a good way to promote healthy bowel movements. You should consult your vet on how to add fibre to your dogs diet, as they can advise you on your specific needs. This guide by Brian Bourquin of WikiHow shows you how to add fibre to your dogs diet. “How to Add Fiber to a Dog’s Diet”
These 3 along with plenty of exercise are the best natural options. However, if you are still having trouble you can purchase natural supplements to help your dog to poop. Its best to consult your vet if you plan to use supplements in your dogs diet.
Why Do Dogs Enjoy Pooping On Walks
It goes without saying that if you take your dog out walking they will most likely decide to poop somewhere along the way. Apart from exercise encouraging them to poop, there are some other reasons why walking a dog helps them poop.
Territory
As with ,most animals, one of the most important aspects of life is their territory. Dogs will find many ways to mark their scent including, urinating, rolling around and pooping. Have you ever noticed you dog takes an important stance when it comes to finding the right place to poop on a walk. This decision making is partly down to territory marking. I always find me and my dog walking along, when suddenly he will get a scent and decide that’s where to poop, as if he suddenly needed the toilet there and then.
The technical part of this involves a dogs anal glands that excrete a strong smelly odour, which are used to enhance the smell and make the poop unique to that dog. When other dogs come walking by they will know that your dog has been around and that area is claimed. Although most of the time the next dog will simply mark their territory on that same spot.
Habit
I am always amazed at how effectively my dog can tell the time. Their time keeping is even better than mine, although mine is terrible. When it comes to loosing track of the time, my dog will instantly get up and ask for his dinner, simply by staring at me. Ill look at the time and it will be bang on the time he usually has his dinner. The same is to be said for pooping. Unless my dog has been for a particularly long walk in the day and generally has no more poop left in him, he will wait until his evening walk to go to the toilet.
Dogs are creatures of habit and they love it, take that structure away and they can become quite stressed. This is probably why most dogs will go for a poop on their walk as they are certain that a walk will happen.
Natural Instinct
Despite dogs being mankind’s most favoured domestic pet, they still have that natural instinct within them. The above two reasons are probably most likely the bets explanations for why dogs poop during their walks. However, nothing beats the natural scent of nature. Your domesticated pal might be fairly pampered but at the end of the day you cant fight nature.
Conclusion
Walking your dog is one of the best things you can do to help them poop and creating a regular walking schedule can make the process much quicker. Even short walks will help towards healthy bowel movements, although there is nothing quite like letting your dog off the leash. Hopefully this article has answered some of your questions on helping your dog to poop. Check out are other articles if you are interested in walking your dog and getting out and about with them.
