Is my Golden Retriever embarrassed?

[Runnerupthehill]

So… we have recently moved house to the countryside. We have a patch of grass at the back of the house where we want our lovely GR (Sally) to do her business.

Since we moved, we make sure one of us goes out with her and will continue to do so until we are happy she is trained to do it there.

She will currently do it quite happily there for me . However, she will NOT do anything in that area if my husband takes her. This can go on all morning - and into the afternoon. She just won’t do anything with him but then will do it straight away if I take her! Can anyone shed any light on this? What’s going on in her head? What should we do?

She’s 7 if that makes any difference and we’ve never had any issues before. If DH takes her for a walk, she will quite happily do her business in front of him then (and yes we do pick up).

Walk her more.

Instead of wasting time on this patch of grass just go for a walk, or can she not just potter in the garden if she needs to go??

We walk her twice a day - good long walks.

Dogs don't feel embarrassment - you're projecting human emotion onto her.

You need to be practical - for some reason she's not comfortable toileting in the garden in front of DH so until you figure out why, ultimately you only have three options:

• Fence off the area of grass so she doesn't need supervising
• Let her have free reign of the garden so it doesn't matter where she goes
• DH needs to walk her around the block instead of letting her in the garden.

I suspect DH does something differently which she doesn't like - does he get a bit impatient or has she made a negative association between him and toileting out there? Or do you use a specific command or give a treat or give more praise?

Dogs are pretty basic creatures when it comes down to it - you just need to figure out their logic!

My girl is a bit like this but the other way round. I've had her longer than my husband! She's my absolute world and I think it's because she knows if she doesn't go in the garden, she'll get an extra walk with me and that makes her giddy! With my husband, she just goes quickly because she knows there's no walk alternative and he's not as much fun as me on walks anyway!

I'm not sure why you are stood all morning and in to the afternoon at a patch of grass in your garden. If she has 2 long walks a day wouldn't she just go then if she needs to?

My goldie goes during his walks primarily and only poos in the garden if he is desperate. As a pup he'd go behind some bushes in the garden to go and he prefers hedgerows / long grass while we're out. Whether it's a privacy thing or just wanting the added protection while in a more vulnerable position is anyone's guess!

Going to the loo can be vulnerable for dogs, ot might be for whatever reason your golden feels less vulnerable with you

My golden pees in garden but poos on walks it’s his preference he gets plenty walks. I don’t think he feels embarrassed though. She’s maybe not got as good a relationship with your husband and feels unsure for whatever reason who knows. I wouldn’t worry about it

Dogs sometimes even make eye contact with us when they poo to ensure we are looking out for dangers as they feel vulnerable during the act. Maybe your dog just feels a bit safer with you.

My GR is the same - disappears into a hedge, had to be out of sight, bit of a pain in the garden, but I know her favourite spots now.