Pup eating poo/ Pooing at night

skippyonz

We got a 4 month old labrador/whippit pup a few weeks ago. She house trained really well within 4/5 days and now goes to the door when she needs to go and waits for her treat coming back in. We were crate training her, the first few nights she peed and pooped in her crate (and whined for the first 15 min) but after that just peed for a week or so, we had progress when she went 1 or 2 nights dry but then we took her for for a test run in the car.. We had her in the crate in the boot but both back seats were down so she could see us, within the 20min return drive she pooed all over the crate. Since then she has been back to peeing and pooing in the crate at night. She sleeps in it in the back hall at night and then goes outside when we are at work in an outdoor secure area with a kennel. My mother inlaw also brings her for a walk when we are gone from 9-4pm. Once we're home she comes in for the evening.

She has also started eating her poo since around the time of the car incident about 7 days ago. Even in her crate at night there are remnants of poo left. When we're home and she is out we try to stop her and use lemon juice but to no avail..

I would like her to settle in the crate at night without pooing. We don't have a room we can let her room free at night. The other option is put her in the garage for night time only (insulated and has her own space to roam about and poo/pee).

We try feed her no later that 6.30pm/no water after 9 and she always has bowel movements before bed. Also she has been seen by vet, had worm medication etc. Any advice?

tk123

You need to take her out at night. Crate training is supposed to take advantage of the fact that they won't go in the crate unless they can't hold it any longer. If you can't hear her crying to be brought out or she'a no longer asking you're going to have to set an alarm and get her out before she goes. If you don't want to take her out you could maybe give an area outside the crate that she can go to the loo eg put a puppy pen around it but you're just slowing down the process. Remember she's just a baby - no scolding her for going to the loo because you missed a cue etc etc - this can sometimes be the reason why they eat it.

I personally don't agree with withholding water over night - I'd rather take them out and get them trained.

sillysmiles

Personally I would never restrict water especially to a pup. What's with the lemon juice? Surely if you have time to squeeze lemon juice on it, you have time to clean it out of the crate. Basic rule of thumb as far as I can tell - esp with pups - if they are dirtying inside it is your fault not the dog! You might need to give the crate a good clean - no ammonia - and wash all the bedding to remove any traces of scent of the pee/poo and start again with shorter times in the crate and out more often.

mp3guy

Starting setting your alarm for 4am and get used to getting up every night to let her out. She's too young to hold it all night. A general rule of thumb is 15 minutes per week of age, but bigger dogs can go a bit longer.

We have a 15 week old GSD/Lab and she can just about hold it for 6 hours. We take turns getting up at 4:45am to take her out to wee and poop (after last going at 11:30pm). She pooped once or twice in her crate before when she was 8 weeks old and did pee once or twice but hasn't gone in there since. Like the other poster said they ought to learn never to go toilet when in the crate.

Don't mess with her water or food times. She should have water and food all night (if she hasn't finished her properly measured out allowance for the day given her weight/age).

Graces7

maybe that she was terrified in the car and now associates the crate with that experience? Just a thought...

My cats HATE the cat boxes for that reason... I used them when we moved house. I have to hide them in the shed now..

skippyonz

sillysmiles wrote: »

Personally I would never restrict water especially to a pup. What's with the lemon juice? Surely if you have time to squeeze lemon juice on it, you have time to clean it out of the crate. Basic rule of thumb as far as I can tell - esp with pups - if they are dirtying inside it is your fault not the dog! You might need to give the crate a good clean - no ammonia - and wash all the bedding to remove any traces of scent of the pee/poo and start again with shorter times in the crate and out more often.

Lemon juice is supposed make the poo unattractive to them. It's a teaching method that worked for a friend. It's only the poo that is outside in the area she plays that i spray it on when we come home before we get to collect them up. The crate is cleaned out every morning, washed outside with a hose and ammonia free cleaner, bedding in washing machine, toys cleaned and floor mopped. I'm not blaming the pup, she's a baby! Hence me asking for advice.

Had progress last night, no poo in crate even though her eating schedule etc stayed the same. Vet advised the water restriction, she has a constant supply from 6am to 12am when she is out of the crate! She may be forgetting the car experience which might have spooked her from the crate.

skippyonz

Graces7 wrote: »

maybe that she was terrified in the car and now associates the crate with that experience? Just a thought...

My cats HATE the cat boxes for that reason... I used them when we moved house. I have to hide them in the shed now..

Thanks, I was thinking that. Had progress last night, no poo in crate even though her eating, schedule etc stayed the same. She might be forgetting the car experience. Fingers crossed!

skippyonz

mp3guy wrote: »

Starting setting your alarm for 4am and get used to getting up every night to let her out. She's too young to hold it all night. A general rule of thumb is 15 minutes per week of age, but bigger dogs can go a bit longer.

We have a 15 week old GSD/Lab and she can just about hold it for 6 hours. We take turns getting up at 4:45am to take her out to wee and poop (after last going at 11:30pm). She pooped once or twice in her crate before when she was 8 weeks old and did pee once or twice but hasn't gone in there since. Like the other poster said they ought to learn never to go toilet when in the crate.

Don't mess with her water or food times. She should have water and food all night (if she hasn't finished her properly measured out allowance for the day given her weight/age).

Thanks. Had progress last night, no poo in crate even though her eating schedule etc stayed the same. Vet advised the water restriction, she has a constant supply from 6am to 12am when she is out of the crate! She may be forgetting the car experience which might have spooked her from the crate. She is in the crate max 6 hours as my husband stays up a bit later and i get up early to exercise.