6 month old potty-trained puppy newly adopted will not poop/pee

by Jenn B
(Seattle)

We adopted our labradoodle pup, Deke, yesterday afternoon. He pooped in the morning and he peed before we headed home (a 3 hour drive). We stopped twice on the way home to let him out for a walk and a pee and fed and watered him on our last stop before home.

We took him out 3 times before bed into the yard, once in the night and twice this morning before and after feeding (its 9:30am) and he has not peed.

From what we can tell, he has not peed in the car or in his crate. What can we do to encourage him to pee and poop?





Hi Jenn
This is a big change for your puppy, at 6 months old it's more stressful for a pup to go to his new home than it is when he's 8 weeks old. This stress often leads new puppies to 'hold it' for longer than normal.

Generally they will pee, it's just that they won't poop for a day or so. However, your pup is 6 months old and has MUCH more control than an 8 week old puppy so he may be able to contain himself for longer.

If he doesn't pee (and you're absolutely certain that he hasn't peed somewhere in your home that you haven't noticed) within 24 hours then I'd take him to your veterinarian for a check up, but as he managed to urinate quite okay at first, I really doubt there's a problem.

The best thing to do is just to give him time and space to settle into his new home and give him plenty of potty breaks. He will go when he absolutely needs to.

Although your pup is a little older than average, I'd recommend that you take a look at my Bringing Home A New Puppy page as it has lots of info. on what to expect during this very normal adjustment period.

Hope this helps, best of luck with your new puppy.