Why won't my dog defecate in the yard while on a leash?
I have a dog that will refuse to go number two in the backyard when being walked; it will go immediately when taken out of the yard though. Why is this?
Basically, this is not specifically training; more like curiousity on this behavior and reasoning. I mean, it will urinate in the yard and will defecate if unleashed but while being walked, even for long durations and coming back from a walk outside of the yard, it will not defecate in the backyard while on a leash.
This problem is bad because my dog will always go in its cage the following day, after refusing to go while being walked around the yard.
Is my dog not comfortable going in the yard while being walked? Then why will it urinate? It will go if let loose, but it can't be let loose anymore because it escape the yard, and sometimes it have to be walked just in the backyard due to weather-related concerns or such.
So why would my dog refuse to defecate while on a leash and how could I change this behaviour?
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Your dog is waiting for the opportunity to empty his/her annal glands while defecating. She/He will only do this in strategic locations where he/she thinks most dogs or certain dogs(she/he felt) pass by. The liquid in these glands act as mail for other dogs who pass by your dog's stools.
For humans, generalization is very simple, but for dogs it is quite difficult. For example, "sit" in the kitchen is not the same thing as "sit" in the backyard or "sit" in the dog park. The same thing applies for going to the toilet.
For some reason, your dog thinks that the backyard is an OK place to do its business when she's off leash, but she's not OK when the leash is on. There are a number of things that might have triggered this behavior (e.g., she expects to go outside, she had a bad experience when having the leash on and doing #2 and so on).
What you should try to teach her the right behavior in smaller steps and set up the right environment so the dog will learn quickly what you want her to do.
I, for one, would crate the dog overnight and take some extra time in the morning before getting her out, in order to be sure that the dog needs to do her business. Then, if she doesn't normally wear a collar, put the collar on and let her roam around the backyard. After 15 minutes or so, I'd play a bit with the dog then pick her up and create her again. After an hour or so, I'd repeat until she does #2 in the backyard.
If she does wear a collar, simply attach a piece of rope to the collar and repeat the process above. When she's OK with the piece of string, start grabbing the piece of string when you initially take her out as if it's a leash. After a couple of days, swap it with the normal leash and that should make things easier for her to understand that it's OK to do #2 in the backyard when the leash is on.
Obviously, after she does #2 you should praise her lavishly, throw in a treat and then start a game of tug or something she really enjoys.
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