Why Won’t My Dog Poop Outside? (7 Clear Tips To Solve)

A situation where your dog won’t poop outside can cause you a great deal of frustration. Faced with that sort of situation, you will want to know why the dog won’t poop outside, and what you can do about it. In this article, we address those concerns.

Why won’t my dog poop outside? It may be on account of it being too cold or rainy outside. It may also be that the dog doesn‘t like the feel of the grass. You may have unwittingly trained the dog to be pooping inside. Or the smell of past uncleaned poop inside may make the dog believe that it (inside) is the right place to poop.

The dog could also be having medical issues that make it hard for it to control its bowel movements.

Taking the dog outside when it is about to poop, crating and using rewards for positive reinforcement are some of the methods you can use to get your dog into the habit of pooping outside.

Why Won‘t My Dog Poop Outside But Inside?

You may be facing a scenario where your dog doesn’t want to poop outside, but it poops with great ease while inside the house. This would lead you to posing this question: why wont my dog poop outside but will inside?

The answer is that you may have unintentionally taught the dog that pooping inside is what is expected of it.

For instance, if you take the dog outside every time he poops inside, he comes to associate pooping inside with being taken out.

Or if you give the dog a great deal of attention every time he poops inside, he comes to associate pooping inside with getting a lot of attention.

So you inadvertently end up reinforcing this behavior.

It could also be that you don’t clean the inside of the house well after the dog poops there. Therefore the smell of dog poop lingers. And because the dog – guided by smell cues – like pooping where it has pooped before, it just keeps on pooping inside.

You may also be having a scenario where the dog has previously suffered traumatic experiences while pooping outside. So it opts to be pooping inside, to avoid a repeat of the same.

Then again, if it is rainy or too cold outside, the dog may just prefer to do its business inside. Often, one can’t get dog to poop outside during such weather conditions. Indeed a situation where dog wont poop outside in rain is quite common.

Thus, if you have been at a loss on why won’t my dog poop outside but it poops inside, those are the possible reasons.

Why Won‘t My Dog Poop In The Yard?

In this case, there may be something in the yard that the dog finds scary. This may be another big dog across the fence, some other animal or even an object that the dog finds overwhelming.

Or you may have unknowingly given the dog the impression that you don’t like it pooping the yard. If, for instance, you make a sound that the dog perceives as a reprimand while it is pooping in the yard, it may assume that you don’t like it pooping there.

So it opts not to poop in the yard, to avoid displeasing you. Thus if you have been wondering why won’t my dog go poop outside in the yard lately, this may be the reason.

It could also be that you haven’t trained the dog to be pooping in the yard. So it doesn’t know that that is where it should poop.

The dog may also be finding it uncomfortable to poop in the yard. This may be on account of the texture of the grass, coldness, rain or just being under the glare of too many eyes.

Thus if you have been trying to find out why won’t my dog poop outside in the yard, those are the main possible reasons.

Why Won‘t My Dog Poop In The Grass?

Most of the people who pose the question on why won’t my dog poop outside often turn out to be individuals who prefer having their dogs poop in the grass — outside. Yet the dogs won’t do so – leading to this question on why won’t my dog poop outside in the grass?

In most cases, you tend to find that it is on account of the dog not liking the feel of the grass.

So in these cases, if you provide some other sort of surface for the dog to poop on (rather than pooping on the grass directly) it will go. But if it is about pooping directly on the grass, the dog doesn’t want to do it.

Thus, to reiterate, where a dog won’t poop in the grass, it is typically on account of it not liking the feel of the grass.

Why Won‘t My Dog Poop Outside?

If your dog won’t poop outside, there are five broad likely reasons.

Firstly, you may not have trained the dog to be pooping outside. Often, getting a dog to poop outside takes training. It doesn’t happen automatically.

Secondly, you may not be giving the dog an opportunity to be outside when it needs to poop. So it ends up having no choice but to poop inside.

Thirdly, you may have unwittingly trained your dog to be pooping inside. For instance, you may have reinforced this behavior (by, say, giving the dog more attention when it poops inside).

Or by failing to clean the dog poop thoroughly, you leave its smell to linger. And the dog, following its poop smell, keeps on pooping where it has always been pooping – which is inside.

Fourthly, there may be something that makes it uncomfortable for the dog to poop outside. This could be anything from cold, rainy or even the texture of the grass.

Even a leash can at times make a dog not poop outside. That is in fact what may be playing out in a case where dog wont poop on leash outside.

Fifthly, the dog may be having some health issues that make it impossible for it to poop outside. For instance, the dog may simply be unable to hold its poop long enough to get outside.

There are also the likely reasons in situations where a dog won’t pee outside.

Therefore in a situation where my dog won’t pee or poop outside, these would still be the areas to consider. To put it differently, if you have been trying to figure out why won’t my dog wee or poo outside, those are the key possible reasons.

Why Won‘t My Dog Poop Outside Anymore?

What we have here is a situation where a dog that was previously pooping outside won’t do so anymore. It can be very frustrating. For instance, it may be a case where an old dog refuses to poop outside, yet it had always been pooping outside all its life.

Where a dog won’t poop outside anymore, it may be on account of traumatic experiences. You may find that the dog had a traumatic experience at some point while pooping outside.

So it refuses to poop outside anymore, to avoid having a similar traumatic experience.

That is what may be playing out, say, in a case where dog wont poop outside at night. Maybe it had a very nasty experience once when pooping outside at night once, and wouldn’t want a repeat of the same.

It may also be that there have been changes in the ‘outside’ environment that make it uncomfortable for the dog to poop there. Maybe other animals or structures have come into the picture, making it uncomfortable for the dog to be pooping there.

Then again, you may be dealing with a situation where your dog is undergoing cognitive decline. This may be the cognitive decline that comes with advancing age. So you find that things the dog had learnt during its potty training have ‘evaporated’.

This is what may be at play in a case where old dog refuses to poop outside.

But it could also be a scenario where the dog is suffering from incontinence, due to health issues.

How Do You Clean Dog Poop?

Typically, alongside the question on why won’t my dog poop outside comes this one – on how to clean dog poop.

As it turns out, cleaning dog poop is a three step process.

In the first step, you scoop up the dry poop. If the dog has loose stools/diarrhea, you may need to first cover it with a bowl to dry. Then scoop it up, once it dries.

In the second step, you need to apply a water and vinegar solution to the area where there was dog poop. Thereafter you need to vacuum the area.

Finally, in the third step, you need to apply disinfectant spray to the area where there was dog poop.

Can You Train A Dog To Poop On Command?

It is possible to train a dog to poop on command. You first need to select the cue word you will be using, to get the dog to poo. Then when you happen to find the dog starting to poo, say the cue word. Repeat the cue word, whenever you find the dog just starting to poo.

The dog will eventually come to associate that word with pooping.

In future, when you want the dog to poop, you can just say the cue word, and the dog will proceed to poop (if it has anything to poop).

It takes patience initially, but it is doable.

Can You Train A Dog To Poop In One Area?

This (on whether you can train a dog to be pooping in one area) is a common question that typically comes after the one on why won’t my dog poop outside.

So, can you train a dog to poop in one area? The answer is ‘yes’. You need to start by identifying the area where you want the dog to be pooping.

Then you can scoop some of the dog’s poop, and drop it in that area. The dog, following its poop smell, will then figure out that that is where it should be pooping. It may then start pooping there.

Another approach you can use is that of watching the dog carefully, to observe how it behaves when it wants to poop.

Then once you take note of this, you can be directing it to the area you want it to be pooping whenever it starts behaving in a manner likely to suggest that it wants to poop.

With time, it will come to figure out that that is where you want it to be pooping. Then it will start going there, on its own accord, whenever it needs to poop.

If you have been wondering what to do when your dog won’t go potty outside, this is one of the approaches you can use. So you select a spot outside where you want the dog to be pooping. Then you train the dog (using the methods above) to be pooping at that particular spot.

How Do You Train A Dog To Poop Outside?

After exploring the possible reasons for why won’t my dog poop outside, we can now proceed to briefly look at how to encourage dog to poop outside.

One simply strategy you can use is that of simply taking the dog outside when it is about to poop. Dogs poop a short while after eating (because their digestive tracts are quite short).

So if you take the dog outside at the times when it is likely to be about to poop, the dog will come to learn to be pooping outside.

Crating can also be effective at training a dog to poop outside. A dog is the sort of animal that won’t poop in its den. So once the dog starts viewing its crate as its ‘den’, you can use it for potty training purposes.

The idea is to ensure that when the dog is indoors (during the training period) it remains inside the crate. Since it can’t stand pooping in its den (crate), it will be inclined to be pooping outside when it is taken outdoors.

Positive reinforcement can also work well. So you just reward the dog when it poops outside. This approach can be particularly good if you are trying to figure out how to get your dog to poop outside faster.

Indeed, going through most of the dog wont poop outside Reddit threads, this idea of using positive reinforcement keeps on coming up. So it is clearly something that works.

Final Verdict – Why Won‘t My Dog Poop Outside?

If your dog won’t poop outside, it may be on account of you not having trained it to be doing so. Or it may be on account of you having unwittingly trained it to be pooping inside.

It could also be on account of there being something that makes it uncomfortable for the dog to poop outside. That could be the feel of the grass, cold, rain or the presence of other animals/structures that make it uncomfortable.

It could also be due to health conditions that make it impossible for the dog to control its bowel motions.

With patience, you can train your dog to be pooping outside. But in cases where a dog that was previously pooping outside is now pooping inside, and where the problem seems to be incontinence, veterinary attention may be necessary.

As a pet lover, make sure to learn about pet more and give your pet dog a good and comfortable life!

Rajkumar Ravichandran

Welcome to Learn About Pet. My name is Rajkumar Ravichandran and I love all pets, travel, and amazing food. I write about my passion and personal experience caring for multiple pets in this blog! ❤️