Another thought on the poop thing…the 100% guaranteed way to get Ruby to poop is to give her exercise. Also, Ruby only goes once a day (in the morning) unless something really excites her (like deer running across the road in front of her or a dog chasing her when we do an evening walk).
We have a routine in the morning...first thing after I get up, I take her out...say "Potty Ru", she runs off the step and starts to sniff, I say "potty" a couple more times and she goes. (oh and while she's going, I say "good potty" a few times and follow up with a treat once finished). We have a daylight basement that extends off the porch so there is an overhang that she goes under and will potty no matter how hard it is pouring (takes longer in the rain or when it is windy because of all the noise).
After the potty, then I run her on the bike or walk her (walks happen in light to moderate rain) - usually 1 - 2 miles. If I walk her, she sometimes poops on the walk (usually in one spot by a duck pond which is just about the halfway point of the walk). If I run her on the bike, as soon as we are back to the yard, we go in her dog pen, I say "poop Ru" and she starts doing the crazy run/circle thing and poops (again, I say "good poop" while she's going and give a treat to her when finished).
I bet if you walked her first and then tried to get her to poop, you might have more success as she will have checked for messages from other dogs 😃 on her walk and gotten all the new scents from those.
I'm so sorry he's doing worse. It can't be easy. What's your vet's opinion?? Sometimes they can somewhat tell what kind of experience the dog is having to see if it's really worth keeping him alive at that expense.
