Hi. We have a very healthy, happy 14 week old puppy. She is clean during the day and dry day and night, but since her arrival she has rarely made it past four hours before needing to eliminate. We have her on good quality puppy kibble recommended by our vet, because it is easily digested. She was on a different kibble to begin with, but because of the amount of times she needed to poo our first thoughts were it must be the food...now we have moved her gradually onto this new (very expensive) kibble and she has been on it 100% now for almost a week, but nothing has really improved. She doesn't have diarrhoea, but I have never had a dog that needs to eliminate so regularly. Has anyone got any suggestions? I'm staying up until midnight and then getting up at 3ish and 6.30 to catch her before she goes. I've tried closing her crate and coming down at 3 1/2 hourly intervals, but if she gets desperate before I come down, she goes on her bed, so I've had to leave it open again the last few days, so that she can go on the newspaper. It is very tiring and I thought after six weeks we would start to see an improvement!
Hello, and a very warm welcome to the forum. At 14 weeks, she is still a very small baby. They are all different, and progress through toilet training in different ways. If the broken nights are getting to you, just go with the open crate door and newspapers so you get enough sleep. I didn't get up in the night with my pup, and his toilet training was fine. You do the right thing never leaving her in a crate longer than she can hold on, for sure. It's not fair otherwise.
If you didnt get up at 3 would she mess in the house? or bark? Is she being taken out too much maybe? I often find that if I take Murphy out late at night he'll "squeeze one out" which if we dont go out he wouldnt do!
Hi...they are formed, but certainly not kickable and sometimes a little sloppy, although not too often.
If they are formed I def wouldnt worry about it - he probably just has a fast metabolism and puppies do go a lot! I guess as he grows, his bowel will too and become less frequent. Puppies are like kids, my eldest is once every 2 days and my youngest up to 3 times a day! Dog wise Murphy is 16 weeks and goes prob 3 times a day, more when he was younger.
I forgot to say welcome! Twiglet (13 weeks on Tuesday) is having at least 3 a day, often four. Hers are kickable, but she has none in the night. She does have a wee in the night and I do as JulieT suggested as I need my sleep and istm that they are all toilet trained by 4 months ish, whatever we d I give her six pellets of pro-fibre with each meal which firms up her poos. Her daytime toilet training is fine - with the occasional wee accident, which is normal. So I don't think me sleeping through her night time wees is an issue at all.
Unfortunately, yes she would mess, she is like clockwork. If she is making any kind of noise, we aren't hearing her either. I am really trying to extend the time during the day, by distraction, hoping it will eventually have a knock on effect at night!
Hi and welcome, I wonder if she is simply getting too much food, and therefore needing to poo more often than would be normal?
Mine, when he was a little puppy, used to go 4 to 5 times a day and I made sure to measure his food. And he has been on the same food since I got him....a 4 star one. I think when they are little they eat and poop, eat and poop. And also when they are little the "consistency" is a bit sloppy....sort of like babies. Make sure you are not feeding her too much and 4 times a day. Good luck.
So up to 7 in 24 hours. Mine has been on two meals a day from 9 weeks (now 18 weeks). 3/4 poos from 9 weeks and sleeps all night from day 2 of having her. Size and weight is very good.
Thanks for all the responses...she's on 3 meals at the moment, last one between 5.30 and 6pm. We did try making it earlier, but then she woke very early in the morning, hungry. We have decided to cut her last meal down (although I 'm giving well within the recommended guidelines for her age/weight) and i'm just going to carry on with the open crate and newspaper, although I think it will take much longer for her to be clean now because she is in the habit of going several times a night, whenever she gets the urge.
