Dog Pooping on Floor at Night

[Evadig]

Like the title says, and the reason why I’m up at 4:30 AM writing this (long) post.

It’s not all the time - maybe a month or two in between. She’s almost 2 years old and has been doing this since a puppy.

I’ve tried different types of food. The most successful was a mix of Authourity Low Calorie and Sensitive Stomach - she didn’t have any problems for two+ months. As of Tuesday she’s only had the Low Calorie and here we are.

She sleeps in my bedroom where the door is closed and the floor is carpeted, which makes my life so much worse. Thankfully this time it wasn’t runny.

She didn’t get a walk yesterday, but we played frisbee in the evening. And she’s done this before whether she had a walk or not.

End of rant - any ideas on why and how to stop this?

 

[FrostRanger]

I would do a few things

1. Take her to the vet for a health check just to make sure there's nothing going on healthwise

2. Set an alarm to take her out in the middle of the night

3. Use an enzyme remover on the spot where she goes

4. Have her crated at night

 

[Finchbreeder]

A crate with an easier to clean floor for sleeping is a good suggestion.
One of the 1st things kid sis made her kids do when they got their latest dog was crate train him.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I can tell you what we did as guide dog puppy raisers as the program was keen to make sure guides were faithful in this department. Typically if these steps are missed bad habits form which are hard to break

Feeding time is number one. When do you feed her. That has a lot to do with timing of defecation. Typically in the morning is a good time and the chosen one for the program. We worked to get them once a day as their little tummies grew.. Nothing at evening or night past 5pm. Good walk to help loosen things up in evening. Tell them to do their business. Praise and food treat when they accomplish. Keep a regular schedule.

Secondly, crate at night. Dogs almost never defecate in their crates. I mean the kind of crate that is just big enough to stand and turn around in then lie back down. That went a long way to help housebreak. We never removed them from sleeping in crates at night until they were old enough to hold it all night then proved faithful when tested out. Yes...we had nights of letting young pups out to do their business, but almost never after about 4mos to 6 mos old. Open sleeping was a big deal and a big step. First out of crate was sleeping on tie down. Again a dog that can't wander generally will not defecate in its area. If a mistake happened, back in crate at night. Eventually we worked so they could sleep faithfully on a blanket in the corner of our bedroom without incident.

If its runny or excessive, I recommend a visit to the vet. Typically a dog with digestive issues though has that during the day as well, so if this is a timed thing at night, see feeding schedule step.

Sorry this is happening. It can be very frustrating. Almost always following good training protocol rectifies it. If not, then vet check up is in order to rule that out. Then choice of sleeping area with crate number one choice as solution then a room like a bathroom with linoleum or a dog kennel that can be easily hosed down.

Sleep is important. Regular habits as well for dog.

Good luck.

LofMc

 

[EggzactlyRight]

I am no expert but I know what it's like to deal with dog/cat poop in unwanted places at unwanted times. Our younger dog's stomach cannot handle most human foods even though he absolutely prefers them to regular dog food. Now that he doesn't get scraps anymore he's doing much better but it took us a while to eliminate all the things his sensitive stomach cannot handle.

What is the poop like? Is it different in color, consistency, amount, or anything else compared to her other poops? How much time passes between her having dinner and pooping on the floor? How much time passes between you taking her out to poop before turning in for the night? Would it be possible to shift these schedules so that she may be able to hold it until morning when you can let her out?

Regardless of the answer, since it's not a one-time thing and it has been an issue before I'd take her to the vet and talk about a food allergy panel or possibly testing for things like IBD. Other than that, I think getting her a crate to sleep in could help.

Good luck!
​

 

[Evadig]

Thank you all for the advice! I can't afford the vet right now, but will keep that in mind.

Use an enzyme remover on the spot where she goes

I have, and also a carpet cleaner.

Feeding time is number one. When do you feed her. That has a lot to do with timing of defecation.

Generally 8 am and 6 pm - we often don't eat till 6, so I feed them at the same time.

What is the poop like? Is it different in color, consistency, amount, or anything else compared to her other poops?

Same as others

How much time passes between her having dinner and pooping on the floor?

About ten hours

How much time passes between you taking her out to poop before turning in for the night?

She eats at 6pm and I take her out around 10 pm.

Good walk to help loosen things up in evening.

We try to do this, but with winter coming on - some days I don't get home until after dark.

I'm thinking then that maybe the problem is she's eating too late? Should I give her most of her food at breakfast and then just a little snack in the evening?

I don't want to pull the crate out if possible; there's really no place to put it.

The worst thing is, we go a few weeks to a couple months without any problems...and then one night I wake up to a horrible smell, and the culprit sound asleep on her pillow like nothing happened.

 

[TwoCrows]

I agree with the others above on a couple of things. Definitely have a vet check up to make sure all is well. Pooping usually follows eating so move up the feeding hour by a couple few in the evening and most of all, crate her at night. Dogs try their hardest not to poop in their crates and if she has been walked before bedtime and hopefully pooped, this should be something you can train out of her. Hopefully one day she won't need the crate at night. Best wishes with her!

 

[WingItRanch]

When you talk to your vet, look at the feed again. Many of the low calorie and sensitive stomach food have higher percentage of fiber. When my dog had pancreatitis and had to be placed on a low fat diet, he would poop like 5 times a day because of the extra fiber. Thankfully, I've always had a dog door with access to a fenced yard so he would let himself out to use the restroom in the middle of the night.

 

[Evadig]

Many of the low calorie and sensitive stomach food have higher percentage of fiber. When my dog had pancreatitis and had to be placed on a low fat diet, he would poop like 5 times a day because of the extra fiber.

This is good to know. She does poop five or six times a day sometimes.

Interestingly, enough, though, my other dog (in my profile) had pancreatitis, eats low fat food, and still only goes once or twice a day. But maybe that’s because she’s smaller.