Dog keeps on pooing overnight

[LittleMilla]

Our 16mo lab boy has got in to the habit of pooing on the floor overnight.

It first happened when he had a bad tum but now just normal poo. so frustrated! Any tips?

OK, couple of questions:

How long has it been happening?
Do you know what caused the upset stomach?
What are you feeding him?
When is he walked?
Can you describe his sleeping arrangements?

There could be lots of reasons but if you can answer these questions it'll give a clearer picture of what's going on.

first happened a few months ago now? Quickly deciphered it was gravy bones so stopped him having them.

fed iams twice a day (7&7). good for his poos generally and much better than other ones we've tried before.

walks - at least an hour mid-morning (we'd been out for 2.5 hours with a rest in the middle on Tuesday, which made this am a shock). He will also have a short walk (usually on lead, am is off lead) late pm. Can always access the garden and has even done it when he's pooed just before bed

I'm sure it'll be something obvious but I'm at a slight loss. we always delay breakfast on the days he does it - it isn't every day but maybe 3/4 times a week?

Thanks

I would change the food. IAMs contains on average 23% protein - dogs should have no more than 20% (absolutely max). It's also full of wheat / cereals, which very few dogs can digest. I would recomend something like Burns or James Wellbeloved (although I will double-check JWB as I've heard it's been taken over recently).

It sounds like he's not able to process the gluten and it's building up in his system, hence the 3-4 day pooing cycle. Switch him to a new food gradually (begin with 25% new food to 75% old food). It takes a few weeks to get a food out of the system so don't expect results straight away. In the meantime stock up on cleaner!

I used clicker training to capture pooing, then added a command word. Between dinner time and bedtime I go in the garden, DDog poos and we have a clean rug in the morning.

Tropical that's great, but OP has already said her DDog poos overnight even when he's been outside and pooed just before bed, which implies there is a cause more complicated than the dog just needs training.

Thank you for suggestions - he certainly has quite a sensitive tum and so the build up theory sounds logical. He's always very guilty which makes me think it's prob less being naughty iykwim.

We did have him on JW before and his poo was soooo loose we switched. He was also on a really posh one from the pet shop (nature's way) also had him going loads and v loose.

Any other food suggestions? Would've thought that as a greedy lab, he'd have the constitution of an ox

Have you tried pooch and mutt, they have one for dogs with sensitive stomachs.

Our dog only needs a sniff of something out of the ordinary and her digestion goes haywire but this has been brilliant. You can buy it in waitrose but it is cheaper to buy in bulk from them direct.

he's always very guilty

It's widely believed that dogs don't understand guilt - they DO understand consequences though, which is often perceived by people as guilt. Which makes me wonder if something's stressing him out on those days? Any thing different that you can think of?

Food wise try Burns Pork & Potato, from their sensitive range.

Is he crated overnight? Do you know if he makes any attempt to get your attention to let you out?

He's quite expressive - smiles, sneezes, generally pretty good at letting us know his mood. His 'guilty' behaviour is he'll be very low down to the ground, smile (nervously), hesitant to come up to us. We obviously don't ever hit him or anything, we'll just delay giving him his breakfast and shut him in utility room. So I guess he will know that there are consequences to doing it.

He's a good boy and very obedient, which is why I'm now feeling bad as he probably DOESN'T have any control.

He used to sleep in utility room until he started jumping gate. So he now has run of the downstairs. Doesn't give any indication that he wants to go outside.

I'm not an expert as some seem to be here so my two cents worth is just that. I haven't heard the % of meat thing before. We feed millies wolfheart. Its 70% god grade salmon, rabbit, 30% fruit and veg. Nothing else.

I've been told their digestive tracts are much shorter than ours so they will need to poo shortly after eating. We don't give big treats anymore. Just a few strands of sheeded cheese.

Can you make the time of the evening meal earlier?

Another option. My friend feeds hers once a day and then biscuits later, so a smaller meal.

Either of these sorts of options would get your pooch's digestive system working at different times. Also a simpler food might help?

I just thought of another idea OP but you might well not want to do it! One of my girls lost her house training skills for a short while. It wasn't as regular as yours sounds, she just became unreliable - but only when we were home, never when we were away, no signalling that she wanted to go out! After much googling I decided to keep her on a lead with me 24/7 so long as she was in the house. She literally had to come with me where ever I went and was never allowed to stray more than a foot or two away from me, unless outside of course, and she had free reign to be outside. Although it was not what she (nor I!) would have wanted I never treated it as a punishment and gave her lots of cuddles and positive attention during that time. I can't remember how long I did it for. My OH hated it and I felt like a control freak but after that she was right as rain again.

I had overnight pooing with my puppy at one year which started suddenly. We now feed her once a day between four and five and then make sure a poo happens between nine pm and midnight. This definitely stopped it dead.