Overnight poo!

[Andthatsthat]

I’m hoping for some expert tips!

We have a gorgeous little 9month old pup, she’s perfect in every way, except the dreaded overnight poo!

We can leave her in the day with no accidents, she will ask to go out to the toilet when we are with her and will hold on until we get home if she is alone. But every bloody morning, there will be a poo to clean up. We don’t mention it, just pop her outside, clean up the mess and let her back in to feed. Sometimes her paws will need a good clean too as she covers it with her blanket and can get messy feet we never get angry or use any punishment.

She is crated overnight for safety reasons (exposed wires to chew etc) but free to roam all day whether we are home or not.

I’m just wondering if anyone has any advice? We feed in the crate, as were told they won’t soil where they eat, but it makes no difference. I can’t see that it’s an anxiety thing as she doesn’t cry or attempt to vacate the crate, in fact after she’s been out at night (around 10pm, and yes, she poos!) she will voluntarily get into the crate as routine. We get up at 6am for her.

I’m at a loss as to where to go from here, please tell me this stops!!

What time are you feeding her? Maybe feeding her later might delay her need to poo before you get up?

Also what are you feeding her? Some kibbles produce a huge amount of residue that she needs to get rid of.

Get a baby monitor or camera so you can see what time this is happening.

Do you feed at set intervals throughout the day. If so think about moving them forward or back to see if it helps.

I would also with the help of the camera set an alarm to get up before she has had a chance to poo in her crate and praise as if she is a 8 week old puppy again when she goes outside. What you want to do is to break the habit of her going overnight in the crate.

She’s fed at around 7am and again at 6pm. A mixture of grain free kibble and wet food. All her food and treats are Lily’s Kitchen, so hopefully good quality food. We could try moving her late feed time s little later, but I’m worried then if she doesn’t have time to eliminate any of it at all before 10pm, we could then have a nuclear poonami in the morning! possibly her late feed could be given a little earlier maybe?

I’d not thought of a baby monitor, but this could be a step forward, actually seeing what time it happens. With any luck it’s at the same time and we could then intercept it.

You are right Bitey, it’s a habit now which we need to break. My gut instinct is that she may not do it if we left her out of the crate at night, but DH is adamant she’s not roaming all night! I do see his point as there are hazards and she’s still a bit of a chewer.