Suggestions/Help

[Steve]

We have a 9 month old goldendoodle which for the most part she is house broken. However, at night while we are sleeping she poops on the floor almost every night. During the day and when we are with her she doesn't do anything on the floor only after we go to bed. We tried putting her in her kennel at night but all she does is cry and bark and wakes up the kids. We don't know why she is doing this?????

[Joani, Skadi & Elli]

How long has she been pooping on the floor at night?  Did it just start?

[Steve]

We were having some trouble with her diet for a while where she had a lot of diarrhea which is why we thought she was pooping on the floor at night, having stomach problems. Now we have her on a grain free food and the diarrhea has stopped which is good. However after is still pooping on the floor at night which has been going on for a few weeks now. Again we can leave her during the day and she's fine and when we are home with her she's fine. It's just when we go to bed at night.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

What's her evening schedule like? i.e. dinner at 6 , walk at 7, etc.? Have there been any changes in her meals, walk or exercise routine? Does she get treats or chews in the evening? If so, how long before bed does she get them? Do you free feed? (If you do, stop.) Does she poop outdoors at some point in the evening before bed? 

[Steve]

We been really strict on her diet, pretty much her dog food only. Everything else seems to give her diarrhea. We were feeding her in the morning at like 6 am and then again at 4 or 5 pm. We don't normally go for walks but she is in and outside all night long. We try to make sure she poops before bed which she does most of the time but still poops on the floor when we go to bed.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Exercise usually helps them eliminate, and a good long walk or game of fetch in the yard in the evening might help a lot. You want her to "empty out" before bedtime, and just going in and out isn't enough for many dogs, mine included. He almost never just walks out into the yard and poops; it's usually while on a walk or during a good hard running game of fetch. (And every doodle puppy needs a lot of daily exercise, it will help her sleep better too!) 

[Steve]

Thank you for your help and advice we will have to try that and see if it helps. Thanks again