night time potty training

[NIKKI ~Macy's Mom~]

Hi everyone. My puppy is 14 weeks old and she either wakes me up everynight b/c she has poo'd in her crate or b/c she needs me to take her out to poo. I feed her everyday at 6am and around 4pm. I'm feeding her early enough in the evening, so I don't know what else to do to change her poo schedule. Any suggestions??

[Ellen aka BeauBeau's Mom]

the breeder I got Beau from used to feed them very late at night, and I understand from other folks that this is very common. Maybe a later at night largest meal would work. However, at 14 weeks, I was trying like crazy, no matter what time it was, just to get mine used to the idea that outside is for poo and pee, and inside is NOT. So I guess I was just glad for the heads up that he was READY before it happened, and I accomodated him until he got onto a schedule, which happened pretty fast....a few weeks. I found the "Puppies for Dummies" book advice invaluable for this issue.

[Chris & Boys]

Wow, that seems really odd. If I don't take Fozzy (15 weeks) out within 40 minutes of eating, he is pooping in front of the door. As long as I take him out at 10 PM he is good to go until at least 5 AM. He has never pooped in the crate. Maybe your crate is too big. I would make sure it only gives him a big enough for him to lay down comfortably. Also, it may help her to have a b/m if you take her for a walk after dinner, or just before bed.

If it persists, you may want to call your vet.

[Adina P]

I was also thinking what Ellen said...maybe feeding him later might push the time for poop later. but it is just a guess as I have not had to do this. another thing, and this is not necessary but just what I did, is perhaps feeding a lunch meal might help push things through sooner...? I fed Rosco lunch until he was about four months.

Chris also had a good suggestion about crate size. If the crate is too big your puppy might use one corner for potty.

The only other thing I can think of is possibly making sure you have a lot of exercise in the evening to help wiggle that poop out :-)

In the end, your puppy just may need some time to get onto a schedule.

[Renee]

Taffy always without a doubt goes if I take her on a walk at night. It is usually only takes us two houses from home and she is going.

[Debra Ference-Luongo]

Edgar is 16 weeks and most nights sleeps from 9p until 6a. When he goes out, he can be very easily distracted and end up not going poop at all. What we usually do before bed is take him for an evening walk and than, at a spot with limited distractions, just stand there, pretty much ignoring him. Soon enough he will go poop and we are back on our way. Works almost every time.

[Yvonne, Riley, Murphy and Luca]

Riley is 13 weeks and I have never had this problem with him , he too goes most of the time right after eating, I would make the crate smaller with a divider or something. Also I would move the dinner time back to about 6pm. I feed Riley at 7am, and 6:30pm.

If it seems like it is not solid or that she is going to much, I would also call the vet and see if they can check her stool just to make sure there isn't some sort of bug or worm or something that could cause her to go more often, or not be able to hold it.

[Denise, Winnie, and AngelAbby]

Great advice here... Abby was in a medium size crate until she got too big for it. I pulled her food and water from her at about 7pm - she is a grazer as far as feedings go - I took her out for the last time just before I went to bed - between 10 and 11pm - and she was fine until 5:15am when DH would take her out in the morning. Now she is in a huge mesh crate. My daughter was one who didn't give Abby enough time to do her business and would bring her back in the house too soon - and then Abby would be scratching at the door again 10 minutes later. Making sure she has enough time before bed to do her business might help. When I take Abby out - we are out there for 5 - 10 minutes - telling her constantly to go potty. She pretty much goes on command now. And when she was younger, she would poo almost every time we went out. Now she poos 2 - 3 times a day instead of 6-7. We also take her out on a leash so she can't get distracted with leaves, snow, sticks, etc... otherwise all she wants to do is run around.