Dogs have many strange behaviors, many appearing whilst out walking. Pooping on a walk is a very common action for your dog, but you still might ask yourself why does my dog walk and poop at the same time. Let’s take a look at this strange behavior.
The most common reason why dogs walk while pooping is simply to help with the passing of stool. The movement caused by walking gives a better response to the muscles, helping to alleviate the majority of stool more easily.
Although your dog may find pooping easier when walking, there could be reasons why they feel the need to do this. Often this behavior is repeated as a learned habit but could be caused by a few other reasons, which we will explore in this article.
Contents
Reasons Why Dogs Walk And Poop
Movement Helps To Pass Stool
One of the main reasons why your dog poops while walking is because they are trying to create movement in and around the anus. This movement allows the anus muscles to move stool more easily.
The movement of the muscles around the anus can allow the anal glands to create more of the scented chemical that dogs produce when they poop. This allows them to leave more of their scent on the ground and so can be a common reason why dogs move while pooping.
Exercise is a great way to help your dog poop at the right time. The movement of all these muscles can encourage stool to pass through and give your dog the urge to go to the toilet. Check out our article on “Does Walking Your Dog Help Them Poop” for more information on this.
Your Dogs Poop Is Hanging Out
Another very common reason why your dog starts to walk along while pooping is because their poop is not all the way out. The reason for this is usually due to them eat hair or long grass that will then get caught on the way out, causing them to have poop hanging out their bottom.
Dogs will eat anything and everything so what comes out of your dog’s bum won’t always be digested properly. If your dog licks themselves a lot they will often have hair come out in the stool and if they eat grass this will often struggle through the digestive system.
If you are finding material like grass and hair in your dog’s poop you may want to discourage them from eating things they should. Of course, you can’t do much about the hair but if your dog is eating grass they may also be eating sticks, which is ok in small quantities. However large amounts of wood in your dog’s digestive system can cause blockages and we all know how much dogs lock sticks. Have a look at our article on “Why Do Dogs Carry Sticks On Walks”.
Scent Spreading
One very interesting reason could be the urge for your dog to spread their scent. Dogs spread their scent in order to communicate with other dogs and due to their incredible sense of smell they can identify what scent belongs to what dog. Take a look at our article on “Why Does My Dog Smell Everything On A Walk” for more information on how dogs communicate through scent.
Dog’s anal glands secrete a very distinctive smell every time they poop and so when your dog goes to the toilet they are also spreading their scent. At any particular time, they may want to ensure enough of their scent gets spread, either to overpower another scent or because that area is important to them.
Excitement
Excitement is one reason why your dog decides to move while pooping. If your dog decides to go to the toilet at the start of the walk you may find they are over-anxious about getting on with their walk.
Dogs love to sniff and play and if there are other distractions they will sometimes forget about what they are doing. Of course, it’s unlikely your dog is going to be able to full-on sprint across a field whilst pooping and so a similar circumstance as previously described will happen.
Excitement can come in many forms and the zoomies are often a manifestation of an over-excited dog, check out our article on “Why Does My Dog Go Crazy After A Walk”.
Diet
It’s true that diet is something that influences your dog’s toilet habits the most and so it’s important to understand what your feeding them and how it’s acting with their digestive system. Most owners will endeavor to purchase the best food they can and pet food companies will be quick to tell you that their food is best for every dog. Although some brands may be more reputable than others it’s more important to understand your dog and how the food acts with them. Just because something is high brand doesn’t guarantee that your dog or their digestive system will enjoy it.
If your dog is pooping while walking most people will jump to the conclusion that it is their diet that is the problem. However this is not true, more often than not it is a behavioral habit, saying that you should always check with your vet to get their opinion on your dog’s digestive health. I would even suggest getting some advice from them even if you think you have it figured.
Some of the most common causes of constipation are because your dog is not drinking enough water, fiber, or exercise. If you find that your dog is not eating undigestible items like grass, wood, and other things that could cause blockages I would suggest seeing your vet rule out any other problems your dog might have.
How To Stop Your Dog Walking While Pooping
I would like to start by saying that this behavior is a common behavior amongst dogs, it’s not something that you should usually be concerned about.
Of course, if you are finding it difficult to chase after your dog’s poop then talking to a vet about the reasons why your dog walks and poops is an important starting point. You may find that changing their diet to a more fibrous one helps encourage them to go in one sitting.
If changing their diet or preventing them from eating things they shouldn’t don’t help then you can attempt to train the behavior out of them. This however is an extremely difficult thing to train out of your dog as you will often just confuse them. Remember they are doing something that is natural to them and you are then going to attempt to detail to them how you want them to poop. I would suggest speaking to some local training center to see if they have any experience in this area. Be careful when training them outside as this may encourage them to poop inside if they think they are not allowed to do it outside.
Conclusion
Walking while pooping is something many dogs do and it is a natural thing to happen. You may discover that the reason behind it is something other than natural instinct but most of the time it is. If you enjoyed this article and want to read more about getting outside with your pooch, then check out our homepage for more great articles.
