Hello All, We brought Coco home in mid January at 10 weeks and for the first few nights we had her crate next to our bed and she slept straight through with no accidents (11-6). Then during the days I followed a programme of getting her used to being alone in her crate and in her pen (3m x 1.5m) and we have never had any anxiety problems (from her). Within a week we moved the crate into the kitchen and there were no night time issues, with Coco regularly pooing at 6.30-7. She never messed in her crate and only had occasional accidents in the house, invariable when we had left it a bit long or got side tracked. She has always loved her crate. Now, since nearly 2 weeks she has started pooing in the night in her crate. She doesn't seem to give any warning but makes a lot of noise straight after as she doesn't want to be inside with a poo. Each time I clean the crate thoroughly and change her Vetbed. I keep a poo diary and have been trying to preempt them but things seem to be getting worse. She still loves her crate and never messes it during the day, even on a couple of occasions when I have had to leave her for a couple of hours. On another note, I have been walking her outside for a week now and she will hold her wee and poo until she gets home and then does it in the garden. Any ideas, tips, guidance or solutions will be much appreciated. Thanks
Well, this is not unusual for a young puppy so don't worry! . How old is she now? Am I guessing around 14 weeks old? Can you describe your daily feeding regime, including treats? What do her poos look like? Do they change from early in the day to later for example? Oh and of course welcome to the forum from the Beanwood Gang
Coco is now 14.5 weeks and when we picked her up she was on a raw food product which the vet recommended we change. We gradually, over a couple of weeks changed to Virbac dry food (kibble?). She was being fed 4 times daily until 10 days ago and now she is fed 3 times, at 06:30, 12:30 and 18:00. I normally take her water away no later than 20:00. She does have a lot of very small training treats as I am trying to reinforce behaviour but each treat is cut up much smaller than they come in the packet. As of yesterday Coco weighs 10 Kg but definitely does not look overweight. She definitely pooed less on the raw food (up to 3 times) and it was darker and harder. She now poos 4 or 5 times but her timings are not that regular. Her poo is now softer but still has form. It does sometimes change but I cannot say for sure that it is softer later in the day and often when she poos in the night it is fairly solid. Thank you for getting back to me.
Here is lots of good advice - https://www.thelabradorsite.com/how-to-cope-with-a-crying-labrador-puppy/ Sometimes moving their last meal to later, about 8pm, can help as they then need to poo next in the morning.
Well for sure there have been some changes to your puppies diet, and that can have an impact on habits and toilet training. Two things are going on here, firstly young puppies still working on their bowel control, softer more frequent stools are a sign that things are moving quite quickly through the GI tract, and that can be a bit of a task for a young puppy to hold onto! . Secondly moving from 4 meals to 3 means that the actual volume transitioning through the gut is higher also. Finally, it might be worth noting at this point, that the amounts recommended on the packet for feeding your puppy are a guide, and more often than not are overestimated. My advice would be up her feeds to x4 daily, (spread your current 3 meals to 4 meals..) reduce the amounts slightly vs packet guidelines, by around 10%. Try as per @boogies advice to move the last meal to later to 8 pm. Good luck and hopefully poo -less nights are on the horizon!
Thanks. I had been feeding earlier in the hope that that way she would poo before bed and then she could wait until morning.
