Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 9:25 am Post subject: Anxiety pooing?
I’ve had Millie for just over 2 months now and she’s coming up to 2 years old. She was a kennel dog before I had her, but has been quickly house trained except for night times which have become a bit of a problem.
For the first 3 weeks she was perfectly clean and dry at night, but she then started to poo in her crate overnight (oh God – that was a mess to clean up first thing in the morning! ). I moved her into the kitchen (off the carpets!) and left the crate open and she continued to poo overnight. Not every night, but perhaps 3 or 4 a week. I tried smaller, earlier evening meals, with late evening walks. One evening she had her dinner at 4pm, a poo at 8pm then still did a poo overnight.
For the last couple of weeks she’s been sleeping in my bedroom with me after being spayed and not once has she asked to go out in the night or done a poo in the room. Last night she really wanted to stay downstairs with Moss when I tucked him up into his bed, so I left her down there – and there was a poo on the rug this morning.
So I’m thinking it’s more behavioural then biological?
I can leave her during the day with no problems, she’s happy to be in other parts of the house away from me, so I wouldn’t have said that she has separation anxiety – but is that what this pooing is about? If so – what do I do? If not – what else could it be?
I shall be watching this thread with interest as we have had the same problem with Buddy since he was 3 months old. He is crate trained and house trained but still occasionally poos in his crate... mostly overnight, but very occasionally during the day. we have been through more bedding than I care to remember and I have followed all the advice and suggestions given but to no avail.
So I will say this... as she was a kennel dog, does she know how to ask to go out as I assume that before she would have just pooed in her kennel? The reason I ask this, is because I think this is Buddy's problem. He is a very passive and quiet dog and he really only seldomly barks at our cat. If we are downstairs he paws and scratches at the garden door to go out, but obviously can't do this in or out of his crate if we are upstairs overnight and can't hear him scratch. Hence, we don't know that he wants to poo.
I have also heard that it takes some labs up to 2 years before they are completely poo free at night. Buddy is 18 months old now.
Well Pickle is 2 and a half and we still get the odd overnight poo. There is rarely a rhymn nor reason to it and she can go several months without doing one, then all of a sudden you'll get one every night for a few nights.
She doesn't ask to go out as in bark, scratch the door or whine, she just stands at the door and stares at it until someone opens it and of course when I'm asleep, I don't see her doing this. If she does poo indoors, it's never an upset tum poo, always nice and solid, so I know it's not that. Chances are she's been disturbed by a fox or something and in pacing up and down, she had made herself want to go.
All I tend to do now is tell her to "Busy" before I go to bed and 99% of the time she will poo as well as pee then. If she doesn't though, then I'm ready for what may await me in the morning....but thankfully I have hard flooring, so it's easy enough to clear up with the minimum of fuss and I can't say it really bothers me. Bowel Movement timing isn't an exact science, is it and accidents happen.
I don't think this problem is unusual, as I've heard many people talk about their dogs doing the odd poo indoors. I guess a bit like us humans, some you could set the clock by their bowels and others are more irregular.
Evie who is my PIL's lab came from kennels when she was 2 and this was a problem they had with her too.
At first she constantly pooed overnight regardless of when she was fed when she was let out etc etc.
This gradually changed to going maybe 2 or 3 nights without pooing and then for no reason they could see a poo again overnight.
It gradually got to the stage where she would go for best part of three weeks with no poos overnight but then out of the blue she would poo again.
I know my PIL tried everything you have mentioned and more but it really was just a question of Evie understanding that she couldn't just poo at night any more when she felt like it which if course was what she was used to doing in the kennels.
It has taken time and lots and lots of praise whenever she did go in the garden and she has now cracked it bless her but I would say it probably took her at least 8 months.
I have hard flooring, so it's easy enough to clear up with the minimum of fuss and I can't say it really bothers me.
Unfortunately with Bud, it is almost as if he is ashamed of having done it so he rolls it up in his bedding and squashes it in so that it is matted into everything and his bedding is unwashable.
Our poor Bosch washing maching has seen so many of his pooey blankets that some of them have become quite threadbear. I just bin them now .
The "odd" poo I dont mind! I always get up when I hear the dogs say that they need to go outside in the night because I know that these things happen (but you're right, she doesn't announce it during the night) - but Millie has been doing it 3 or 4 nights each week.
And I really dont think that she actually *needed* to go as some evenings she had already had a poo not too long before bedtime and she's been clean for the past 2 weeks then suddenly when she's not in my room with me she did a poo again.
Her poos are nice and firm, I clean up with biological washing powder, she manages to hold on for however long I leave her in the day, I just dont know why she's doing it at night
Angela
Last edited by Indy_Pendence on Wed Sep 28, 2011 12:46 pm; edited 1 time in total
Unfortunately with Bud, it is almost as if he is ashamed of having done it so he rolls it up in his bedding and squashes it in so that it is matted into everything and his bedding is unwashable.
Have you thought about decrating him? Just wonder if he is getting stressed by his need to go on his bedding, so is then desperately trying to cover up the evidence. The trouble with stress is it sometimes form a cycle. He could be worrying about going, before he even needs to go, then of course this stress makes him need to go, which he then worries about the next time he's in there.....and so on.
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she's been clean for the past 2 weeks then suddenly when she's not in my room with me she did a poo again.
Could it be she can hear something outside....a fox, a cat or something and this is making her fidgetty, perhaps even a little worried, as you're not there to protect her?
I know we get the occasional foxy visitor and he seems to come back night after night for a few days, then disappears to bother someone else for a while. I'm pretty sure this is what disturbs and worries Pickle into pooing, but as the fox is long since gone by the time I've got up, I shall never know for certain.
Have you thought about decrating him? Just wonder if he is getting stressed by his need to go on his bedding, so is then desperately trying to cover up the evidence. The trouble with stress is it sometimes form a cycle. He could be worrying about going, before he even needs to go, then of course this stress makes him need to go, which he then worries about the next time he's in there.....and so on.
We did resort to leaving the crate door open at night, whereupon he just pooped on the floor instead.
We did resort to leaving the crate door open at night, whereupon he just pooped on the floor instead.
Well at least you didn't have to throw his bed away .
Sorry...sensible head back on.
How many nights did you try it for and have you ever tried it without the crate being there at all? I'm just wondering if the crate still being there is still stressing him, even though he isn't shut in it.
Have you ever thought of sleeping with him, either downstairs or having him in your bedroom, just so you can see what he's actually doing just before he poos. Maybe even a CCTV type set up, to record his overnight activities might reveal why he is pooing.
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). I moved her into the kitchen (off the carpets!) and left the crate open and she continued to poo overnight. Not every night, but perhaps 3 or 4 a week. I tried smaller, earlier evening meals, with late evening walks. One evening she had her dinner at 4pm, a poo at 8pm then still did a poo overnight. 
and his bedding is unwashable.
.
