Dog poo- at my wits end!!!!

[Doyouavocado]

I’m really hoping for some suggestions before I lose my mind.
We have 2 smallish breed dogs, 1 is 5 and the other is 16 months. The 16 month old just cannot get through the night without having the tiniest poo. 7 hours is usually the longest she can go do on days that we have had an early night or of weekends she will most definitely have had a poo.

We have tried everything- changing to Raw (which has helped massively)/feeding last meal earlier/feeding last meal later etc.

Currently she is raw with a big meal in the morning and a small meal at around 5 ( earlier if we are home) she is walked loads. In the day she is crated so never any accidents there. We have tried crating at night but she goes mental at around 4/5am and I just can’t cope with the noise (thin walls and neighbours) god knows how she can tell the difference between nigh and day as in the day she is fine crated.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I would just love more that anything to get up after a little lie in to no poo!! Never any issues with my other dog :( sorry for the long post.

Upping the dog walking time will be really helpful when your new baby comes too.

I also hear them let the dogs out for a wee/poo in the garden at midnight and then again at 6am. I’m not a stalker neighbour noticing all these things, just a SAHM with young babies that keep me up all night!

7 hours in a crate, bloody hell. That’s cruel.

If she can be left out of a crate overnight then why not during the day? A little accident in 7 hours of being sat in your kitchen isn’t too bad for a pup under 2 but you’ll be on maternity soon so hopefully you can sort it out before baby and plan for your return to work. My dog was never crated we didn’t even have one and I don’t understand what they are for?...A safe space yes or a bed or whatever but not doggy jail?..

Also:
Does this mean only retired people or people that don’t work can only get dogs ever?

When I work longer days I send my dog to day care. He absolutely loves it. So much so that I feel bad he doesn’t get to go more often 😂

Shitty death, 7hrs in a crate as a regular thing, no matter how infrequent you think it is, is awful.

Frenchies are notorious for toileting issues.

When does she go out and toilet as the last one of the day? It needs to be the last thing you or your DH do at night, and not come in until she's pooed.

Food could be earlier to allow for transit through the gut - we do 7am breakfast, 4pm dinner in our house. Obviously it does change if I'm not home from work until 5pm.

But seriously, you need a dog walker every single day, not just intermittent. That's what people do if they work - my large dog has the run of the house, a camera on her, and a walker daily for at least an hour, plus me taking her out in the am and the pm.

I once left my dog in a crate for 6 hours. It was a major mistake and miscalculation on my behalf. That’s once in 9 years and I still feel guilty about it.

I will be going out for about 13 hours in a few days. I will get up at 05:00 to walk her round the park. I will leave at about 06:30. The dog walker will come in at 09:00 and give her a walk. She will then have a meaty bone. The dog walker will return at 16:00 for another walk followed by her tea and a gigantic chew. She is able to get out into the garden via a flap. I still feel guilty about it.

7 hours shut in a crate is awful. No wonder the dog is distressed.

Do you have dog day care near you? Ours goes to my parents on the day a week neither of us can work from home. If we didn't have this luxury we would use a dog sitter, so they have companionship and interaction all day. Twice a week for seven hours in a crate isn't good, pet ownership should be mutually enjoyable, and isn't a given right.

She is alone 4 days out of 7. 2 of them days she is walked by our dog walker half way through the day. The other 2 days she is either alone in the crate for approx 7 hours or I will leave her in the kitchen

So four days a week she's without human contact for the majority of the day, albeit two of them with a short break with the dog walker. And she's crated all through the night every night.

It's FOUR days alone not TWO. The dog walker break counts for nothing here.

Of course it's behavioural. She's craving human company and you're treating her like a doll to be put away in the box when it's not needed.

Then on top of that, you're going to introduce a baby that will then vacuum up all of your attention when it arrives.

You know those sad cases when a dog turns "out of the blue, it makes the newspapers and it's all very tragic. Do you know the common factor in all of those cases? - stir crazy dogs as a direct result of emotional neglect. It's not the fault of the dog or the breed. It's owners that deny their dogs human companionship so they go mad trying to figure out what it is they need to do in order to get your attention.

The way you treat the dog is inexcusable. That is all.

Sorry OP, seven hours for a young dog is too long. I can count on one hand the number of times my dog has been left that long alone (and she is nearly 7) and those times were when I was in hospital with DD. She's never alone more than five hours in a normal day, and certainly not in a crate for that time (although I think crates are fine generally, just not for this length of time).

Can you not have the dog walker come the other days too? Our dog walker also does dog visits, where she will come in to your home for half an hour or so just to spend time with a puppy or elderly dog. That might be an option.

7 hours in a crate? Christ Alive And now a baby in the mix.

7 hours a day, 4 days a week crated?? That's really shocking. Even with a dog walker for a couple of those day, it is just simply far too long. Really, why did you want a dog when you're not around for it?

If you need to leave your dog that long you need daycare where the dogs have socks time and company, not just a dog walker.

All that time alone is going no good at all and it is unsurprising that behavioural issues are appearing.

The whole tone of your posts comes across as you wanting a dog around on your terms and shut away otherwise. However true that may be I think you need to really look at how you can improve the environment and life for your pets.

*social time

The day cares near us offer pick up and drop off, our puppy can do 4 hours there and then sleep for hours as it exhausts her!
You could have them do that in the middle of one of her 7 hours and that would help out, then her walker two days and then maybe one day in a pen and crate instead of just a pen. It’s still not absolutely perfect but that would probably really help out if she’s being a bit needy/attention seeking and that’s the reason for the toileting.

I agree with everyone else that it is a bit too long to be crated specifically, but if she can have a bit more room, it’s obviously not ideal but I think Mumsnet is a bit of a dream world when it comes to dogs.
Our dog has walkers and daycare and everyone around me - family, friends, work think I’m crazy and treating the dog like a baby, and most had never even heard of doggy day care. I think in the real world 7 hours is not unusual (before I get flamed I’m not saying that it’s ok or what I do - but let’s be realistic, all shaming the op isn’t going to fix the situation she’s just not going to come back here for help and she’s certainly not the only owner in that situation)

Op I think people have been a bit harsh about you as well saying you are creating the dog overnight too, even though you’ve said several times that you’re not.
And some having a go at you for crating, but if you didn’t crate at all, you’d have others telling you that you need to crate.

Also op I think everyone’s disregarded that you’re going to be off anyway soon!

Obviously you’re going to be fairly busy with the baby though so perhaps keeping up walkers etc may give you a break as well as your pup a break from the house and some attention.

Hope it all goes well for you
If you get a pen remember to ‘crate train’ with the pen - make sure she sees it as her special place so she doesn’t want to soil it

• instead of just a crate

Obviously

Yeah I think people are right about the crate, I really don’t approve of crating dogs for that long or when they’re alone, if they have a bad stomach it would be extremely distressing for them to be literally sat in their own mess all day. However, I think people are being a tad harsh and unrealistic saying dogs should never ever be left alone for longer than a few hours. Most dogs are fine if given enough room to run around the house and toys and things like kongs to entertain themselves with while their owners work, crating for that long though definitely not, I do think that’s very cruel.

@Elsiebear90 no dog should be left alone for 7 hours at a stretch. Crated or not.

It depends on the dog, many dogs do just fine being left while their owners are at work for 7/8 hours and don’t exhibit any behavioural problems at all, some dogs don’t.

@Elsiebear90 just because they don’t destroy the house it doesn’t make it ok to deny them company, stimulation or even the chance to go to the toilet for that long. It’s cruel.

*some dogs aren’t

@Wolfiefan Good owners will provide stimulation in the form of puzzle toys like kongs, bones and chews etc. Dogs can go up to 8 hours without going to the toilet, some working dogs for even longer, most dogs do not need to be let out every three hours to go and pee/poo.

It's sickening to crate a dog in the day like that. Get the dog walker to come EVERY DAY. Paying for care is what good dog owners do. It's part of the cost of having a dog which no doubt you carefully budgeted for, along with vet checks, monthly wormer, vaccinations and food, BEFORE you decided to get dogs

And yes you will be grateful to continue paying the dog walker every day while on mat leave. Please be realistic.