Why is dog pooing in garage?

[rainbowsandsausages]

How can we stop dog from pooing in
the garage? Dog sleeps in utility area with the cats of a night time. Utility area is attached to garage, so there is a pet flap from utility to the garage and then another flap from garage into the garden. Every morning we get up and the dog has shit in the garage?! How do we stop this? The dog goes out in the day time and poos in the garden.....

Anyone? I know it's not very exciting and not as exciting as the thread about the dog party?!!

He obviously needs to go out during the night. Maybe you should be looking at his food and his feeding schedule and see if tweaking that helps. What do you feed him and when?

Alternatively, have him in the room with you at night and he can tell you if he needs to go out. Dogs are pack animals and feel much safer when they're sleeping amongst their pack (you).

Thanks for your reply. If he wants to go out he can get out through the pet flap into the garden which he does in the day time. We don't want to have the dog in with us, he really smells.

What do you feed him?

I ask as some foods cause lots of bulky poops as they're padded out with fillers rather than meat. A food which is high in meat or fish produces much less poop and dogs go less often as their body uses the food more efficiently.

It's colder on a night and you aren't there to physically shovel Ddog out the door. Is dog older? Mine is having the odd accident now as too bone idle/joints stiffer after being asleep curled up to go outside every time.

How old is he?
Is it possible something has frightened him outside when he's on his own?

He's fed biscuits but often has some of our food when suitable (meat and veg, nothing processed). We are moving house soon and he won't have the utility / garage / flap set up so we are concerned about him pooing in the kitchen in the night.

He's only 2.5 years so not old.

Is it always in the same spot? Once the trigger scent is established the dog can associate it as the right place to go. If it's an untreated concrete floor they are porous so may have absorbed the smell.

No it's not always the same spot. He goes out to the toilet in the day time just not at night.

Why does he smell so bad?
What exactly do you feed him
I would say he doesn’t want to go out when it’s cold, dark and scary outside at night, alone....

Smells of what? Dogs shouldn't smell. If their coat smells it's usually down to food packed with additives and fillers. If he's very farty then it might be his food isn't agreeing with him and he might be suffering from some urgency overnight. Does he use the pet flap through the day?

He has wainwright's biscuits and meat : veg (homemade). He's a cocker and apparently they are well known to smell, something to do with them having oily coats. It's not wind that's causing the smell.

Yes he uses the flap during the day.

Hmm I have a cocker and her coat doesn't smell. Except when she's been rolling in (literal) crap. Her coat is shiny and glossy. An oily or smelly coat is usually food-related. I'd try another grain-free food and see if that makes any difference.

Our last dog did this. He didn't like the rain (neither does current dog but we have a different home and set up now). If he (thought he) could get away with it, he would poop in the lean to.

And it was only when we weren't present/ observing, so it wasn't a problem when we were present

My dog smells when has food that is wrong for him

He doesn’t smell on Lily’s kitchen dry food

He clearly doesn’t want to go outside at night in the dark by himself
How well lit is the area? Are you expecting him to go poo in the dark? Is any of his area lit up at night or are you closing them all in the (cold) garage in the dark all night?

Do you take him outside - either a walk or wander round the garden - before bed?
At his age there's no reason why he would be up at night unless something is waking him, or he's distressed or sick.

Cockers shouldn’t stink! Does he need to see a groomer?
How often a day do you feed? At what times? When does he get walked each day?

We have a cocker and he doesn't stink at all, he is groomed very short and he is fed raw diet.

Most dog biscuits are full of grains / fillers that are of no use to dogs so they just crap them out.

As for the pooing in the garage I have no idea, ours sleeps in the garage and will only poo if he is absolutely desperate due to being ill.

I highly recommend a raw diet!

Poor dog - he's probably cold/lonely and too scared to go outside.

Why isn't he allowed in the house?

Wow people do love to make things up!! Cold and lonely? Ehh? He sleeps in the utility area in the house with our cats!! They all have access from the utility area through a pet flap into the garage and then out of the garage through another pet flap into the garden.

I've got 2 spaniels OP. They're fed twice a day, at 7am and around 5pm and they have 2 walks a day plus open access to the garden. They never mess at night.

What time are you feeding them?

Check his ears, is the smell coming from them?