Dog pooing inside at night. Ever night apparently

[Tequilaitmakesmestupid]

Hi,

So I've already posted about this, but we thought we had it. We don't have it

She never has accidents in the day. Never. It's only at night and I know she can hold it, because she always could before and was never desperate to go out in the morning or anything. I think she's just decided that it's ok.

She was ill and on antibiotics, so that would explain the initial set back. She got better and stopped doing it, then started, then stopped and has just started again!

We thought we'd cracked it. Fed her a bit later, made sure she'd done a poo after that and if she hadn't in the garden, we'd take her for a walk. I scrubbed and scrubbed the carpet and febreezed it to get rid of as much scent of hers as possible.

We had 3 mornings in a row where we came down to nothing and then the last two, enormous poos everywhere!

Any tips? Desperate for advice. I don't want this to be a permanent thing... obviously. She's being spayed next week, so no doubt that will throw her too. Fun times!

TIA

The problem is each dog is different, after all don't we all have different toilet habits. Maybe the dog can't wait? To be honest if my dog had a poo late evening and then didn't have one at his 11:00 break he wouldn't necessarily be able to hold it till 7am. Do you know for sure she isn't signalling down stairs that she needs to go out? Mine won't bark, he will just scratch at the doors and as he is in our bedroom I can hear him. When he was in the kitchen in his crate I had a baby monitor on him so it woke me if he was awake and looking distressed. If she is awake and moving about she is going to need to go especially as she can't obviously tell you easily if she isn't a barker and your upstairs sleeping.

Just because she can sometimes hold it in sometimes doesn't mean she can always do that. You need to break the habit before it becomes engrained which may mean you need to just get up earlier. It's sucks and my sleep has never been the same since getting a dog but mine isn't one that can go a long time overnight.

The one big meal might work but be aware that with dogs and sensitive stomachs they say little and often with meals so watch out for any side effects of giving a large meal.

Hi OP. If you could answer any questions we might be able to help you a bit better.

9:30 is much too late to be feeding. Dogs thrive on routine right down to when they go to the toilet. It took us a while to figure ours out but now we have no accidents.

I’d suggest food change to a dry food that is entirely natural no nasties or additives. Try something like beco or Lily’s kitchen. Mix with a bit of warm water. We feed at 6:30am and 4:30pm to avoid any huge spikes of energy and to keep ours stimulated.

After breakfast we’re out for a quick walk to go the toilet. Then 9:30am is long walk where ours will go again. After dinner they will go for another walk and go again.

Wild is right dogs will not mess there own beds so better if you can to not have free roam of the house at night though I know this is hard.

What questions haven't I answered?

Let me think.... She usually has one long walk a day, around 2pm and then sometimes a quick one after dinner in the evening. I am a SAHM, so I'm usually around. She is crated when I'm out, but not at night. Used to be, but as she got older, we thought we'd give it a try. Up until now, it's not been a problem. We have a decent size garden too, which she runs around like a loon in, throughout the day.

She has no recall, so we've recently made the decision to keep her on her lead during walks, which obviously isn't ideal. We're seeing a dog behaviourist next week to help. That said, she's very good with other training, such as sit, paw, beg, roll over etc. She's very clever. She's quite dominant though. I suspect the two are linked.

I'm not sure about locking her in her crate at night, as there's not really enough room for her to stretch out. She does comfortably sleep in there in the day though. If I keep her in the kitchen at night (risking the furniture ) then should I get another bed too? Given she won't have the comfort of a sofa.

Personally I would look at getting her on a better diet (use allaboutdogfood.co.uk to give you some ideas). Then establish a feeding routine which will then give you a toileting routine but be prepared to have to let her out later at night and much earlier in the morning.

OK, if you're at home Id really concentrate on routine, down to the minute of when you feed and take her out. It could well be she's going in the night because she doesn't know when her next walk is. Does she poo more often in the garden or on walks? Are you letting her out last thing at night before bed?

No need to crate at night if you don't want to but make her a safe space in the kitchen with her own bed. Different dogs like different types of bed, the ones that come up at the sides are generally quite good.

Please don’t use words like dominant OP , dogs do not try to dominate people . I don’t think feeding once a day is the answer and you could easily find tonight that the dog is whiny and unsettled because she expects to be fed . You do need a better diet and more routine to feeding times . Have you room for a pen as opposed to a crate , that’s what we started with as I’m not happy with locking dogs in cages .

I've had success on a food called Vitalin, chicken and potato I bought a massive bag online. Pet store or something I do one feed at 7am, another at 4pm.
Have also mixed in James Well beloved food, all dry kibble turkey and rice.
They firm up the poo. They later you feed the more likely she will go in the night.
Just bite the bullet and change the times.

" dogs do not try to dominate people " Is this true? I googled dominant dogs and she ticks a lot of boxes. Sitting in high places (she sits on the arm of the sofa) putting her paw on me, without asking- I've always said she does this quite aggressively, rather than to be good. It's more in a "claiming" way. She whines in a high pitched tone if I tell her no etc.

We have a kitchen/diner, which is quite compact. I'm not sure it's big enough to be penned, although this would be my preference.

I mean she puts her paw on me without me asking. Not her asking me

Dominance is an outdated notion.
Putting her paw on you is wanting attention. Not trying to be "top dog"
The arm of the chair could be it is close to you or she can see better or it is comfortable.
Telling her no could be upsetting. Hence the whining. Far better to tell her what you do want than issue a pretty meaningless "no".

" They later you feed the more likely she will go in the night "

Yes, I would have said this, but then she's not actually having a poo before we go to bed. Sometimes straight after she's eaten, so that will be from her breakfast/snacks. Pressumably her digestive system isn't that fast So if she goes later, surely that's better. She 9/10 times, will go straight after her dinner.

Wolfie, telling her no could be upsetting? Huh? She stops doing something if I tell her no, so I think I'll continue with that. She's not whining because she's upset or scared. She whines because she wanted to carry on chewing the sofa, or running off with the remote etc. I don't think using the word "no" is damaging

I think her body will adjust if you do both times I've suggested.
Id crate her at night again. Away from the poo areas she now associates with going to the loo.

Mine does get upset if she's told off. I don't.
I tell her what I do want her to do. (No isn't a clear instruction. No to sitting on the sofa, chewing the shoe or looking at you? They don't know.
The behaviour you describe isn't a dominant dog. It sounds like a bored dog that wants your attention.

How is no not a clear instruction? I'm very confused. What should I be telling her? She stops doing it, so it works.

Dogs don't know what you consider "bad.
Telling a teething puppy "no" doesn't convey to the pup that they mustn't eat the furniture or use you as a chew toy.
It's much more effective to give them what you do want them chewing instead.
So switch the remote for a toy.
Take what the dog is chewing and switch it for a chew toy.

My middle aged rescue dog started pooing at night. I wondered if she was finding it harder to wait, socswitched her to one meal a day and she is fed in the morning.
Vet suggested recently that the indoor pooing was probably 'inappropriate elimination' I.e stress rather than incontinence but I've kept feeding her that way as she's used to it now. I give a treat or chew in the afternoon or early evening to keep her going!
She's had a bout of doing it again recently (changed her diet to Burns) which I think bunged her up, so when she had to go, she had to go!
Feeding a good food once a day works well generally for her gut though.

Ignoring is better than telling them no , as an example , my dog will bark when I’m dishing up his dinner so each time he barks I stop until he is quiet , I dont tell him to be quiet I leave him to work out what needs to happen for me to continue . The same as when I’m eating something that he wants I just stop what I’m doing until he sits and then he gets something for sitting quietly IYSWIM . The next time they do it quicker because they are learning something . Any trainer who mentions dominance is to be avoided at all costs .

Floral I ignore my girl if she jumps up. I engage when she brings me a toy. It works.

I've done this and yes, it's effective. I think a combination of the two is fine. She needs to know that, for example, that jumping up and running off with my DDs sandwich, is wrong? Do I just take the sandwich out of her mouth and give her a treat? Because she's showing me she's hungry? I don't. I say "no" and "drop it" and she drops it (usually).

The food you're feeding her is high in fillers (and a myriad of other crap) and low in meat which results in frequent, bulky poos. If you feed a higher quality dry food with a much higher meat content you'll find that her poos are small and firm and she'll be able to hold on to them for longer.

On the whole, the food you buy in supermarkets is nasty junk food for dogs. Do some reading or go into a specialist pet shop and you'll get better advice.

The ignoring when barking I agree with.

The dog shouldn't be being given an opportunity to steal a sandwich. You need to find a decent trainer. Preferably a APDT one.

I would definitely change the food.

We have labs and feed them twice a day - first thing which is when we get up. Usually 7am in the week but it was 9.15 this morning. They get too many treats through the day to be honest but get fed again at 5. Like clockwork that one - I think they watch the clock!

They have never stolen food from us since they were puppies. They always got a firm no. Never fed them from the table.

I'm not too sure when they poo as they have the run of the garden and go out with a dog walker also. But only ever poo inside if ill.

I think if I were you I would crate again at night. Can you get a bigger crate so she can stretch out? Or limit to one room. Ours used to be crated at night as we were in an open plan house. They were fine - used to take themselves off into their crates themselves. Now they sleep in the utility room with the door shut. It's their space with beds in and they will both happily head in there at various times of the day.

I think it might take a bit of time to get yours sorted again. But if the poo is soft it could well be food related.

I agree with changing the diet & give her the larger portion in the morning so she has all day to digest & hopefully poo on your walk.

Give her a small snack no layer than 6pm so she has time to have a poo before bed. If possible a short round the block walk to help that.

Sounds like you've tried lots of things in a short space of time so decide on on & try just that for a month to allow her to get used to the routine. Lots of praise when she does go outside & ignore when an accident happens.

Good luck!