Dog Pooping on Floor at Night

[StinkyAcres]

I have always taught my puppies to ask, verbally, simply by not letting them out of the crate in the morning until they DO ask, with a whine or some kind of little noise. I always respond IMMEDIATELY, with a verbal response of my own, like "Good boy! Want OUT? Ready to go OUT? Let's go OUT," emphasizing the key word OUT and repeating it several times all the way out the door. Over time I will respond a little slower, which encourages the dog to make a bigger noise, up to, eventually, a little yelp or a bark. I'm teaching the dog to talk to me, to ask. To communicate verbally. Then when he's reliable in his crate, I leave the crate door open but the bedroom door closed. Now he's learning to keep the room clean as if it is an extension of his crate. And he should still bark to be let out.

When he's older and has learned to keep the whole house clean (one room at a time), he will ask at the door when he wants out. You have to teach him to ask.

I generally don't allow my dogs to verbally ask for things as it can turn into annoying whining for attention. My dogs do not bark or whine to ask to go outside unless they REALLY have to go and I somehow wasn't paying attention to their body language. They paw at the door or guide me to the door and look at it.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I generally don't allow my dogs to verbally ask for things as it can turn into annoying whining for attention. My dogs do not bark or whine to ask to go outside unless they REALLY have to go and I somehow wasn't paying attention to their body language. They paw at the door or guide me to the door and look at it.

I've never had that happen. They ask, I respond. The only way they can learn to continually whine for attention is the same way children learn it, they get ignored.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I've never had that happen. They ask, I respond. The only way they can learn to continually whine for attention is the same way children learn it, they get ignored.

I mean why would ignore if they ask to go out? That is the only response to a bark. I don't feed or give treats for barking or whining, why would I teach them that?

 

[StinkyAcres]

I've never had that happen. They ask, I respond. The only way they can learn to continually whine for attention is the same way children learn it, they get ignored.

I mean why would ignore if they ask to go out? That is the only response to a bark. I don't feed or give treats for barking or whining, why would I teach them that?

Well, I like quiet, so I don't encourage any barking and certainly no whining. My Boston will pretend she needs to go outside just to get my attention. I'll open the door but she switches to asking for something else. If I hear barking at the door I know it's an emergency.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

We have dog doors here so it's all moot anyway. In the past I had a Golden I had to teach to ask to go in or out. Later he decided that to go out he should make eye contact and shake, so his tags rattled. He was real pleased when he taught me to open the door and let him out when he did that! Took him three days. He still had to bark to come in, though. Sigh. I miss my Rigby.

 

[RubelliteRose]

This poop was very soft. It squished on my carpet. She’s eating Blue Buffalo again because “it’s healthier”.

I am so sorry you are going through this. I am going to recommend a change of food. While this was years ago and may not be related, we had digestive issues with our dogs when they were on Blue Buffalo. We mentioned it to our vet and he said that several other clients were also having problems with Blue Buffalo. After we switched, the digestive problems cleared up.
As others have mentioned, your dog may have an intolerance to one of the ingredients in the food. You could try switching to a food with a different protein source to see it that helps. When you talk to your vet tomorrow, mention that not only is she pooping during the night, but also that her poop is very soft. See if they think changing food brands will help. Prescription food like Science Diet z/d is another option. It is expensive(our cat can only eat z/d), so ask the vet about trying other options as well. Hope you find answers soon!

 

[Evadig]

OK…thank you all. I did read through all your posts.

This is what she’s currently eating.

I got her a bag of this yesterday and she did not poop on the carpet last night.

Does she usually sleep on the pillow, but poop away from it? She may be a little bit aware of trying to keep her own space clean, even if she can't hold it until you take her out in the morning.

She poops on the other side of the room. I guess she’s progressed that much.

I'm going to recommend switching her to Taste of the Wild, bison/venison formula and see if that helps. I've been amazed at how well my dogs do on z remarkably small amount of this. Jenny, my Golden, gets 1/2 cup of this twice a day and holds her weight beautifully. And has small, firm poops. I feed at 7 am and noon but you could certainly feed once a day.

Is this more of a “natural” brand? Because my mom doesn’t want to buy most brands on the market because they’re not “healthy”.

Also, how much does Jenny weigh? Annie is around 63 lbs.

I am so sorry you are going through this. I am going to recommend a change of food. While this was years ago and may not be related, we had digestive issues with our dogs when they were on Blue Buffalo. We mentioned it to our vet and he said that several other clients were also having problems with Blue Buffalo. After we switched, the digestive problems cleared up.

This is good to know. I did notice that when I had her on a different brand, we did not have any accidents (except once I fed her too much at night).

 

[BigBlueHen53]

this more of a “natural” brand? Because my mom doesn’t want to buy most brands on the market because they’re not “healthy”.

Also, how much does Jenny weigh? Annie is around 63 lbs.

YES. I no longer have my Sheltie Gracie, but most of her life she struggled with seizures and I tried her on so many different brands of dog food! It was Taste of the Wild that finally solved the problem and now it's the only thing I feed any of my dogs. I have another Sheltie, my Golden Jenny (I think she weighs about 60 lbs but I can weigh her tomorrow or check her vacc records), and an Aussie. They all do really well on it. Here's what I found about it:

Yes, Taste of the Wild markets itself as a natural pet food brand, citing its use of ingredients inspired by the ancestral diets of dogs and cats. The brand emphasizes high-quality proteins like real meat, fish, and fowl as the first ingredient, and its formulas include fruits, vegetables, probiotics, and omega fatty acids.

By all means google it and read the label.

 

[Evadig]

YES. I no longer have my Sheltie Gracie, but most of her life she struggled with seizures and I tried her on so many different brands of dog food! It was Taste of the Wild that finally solved the problem and now it's the only thing I feed any of my dogs. I have another Sheltie, my Golden Jenny (I think she weighs about 60 lbs but I can weigh her tomorrow or check her vacc records), and an Aussie. They all do really well on it. Here's what I found about it:

Yes, Taste of the Wild markets itself as a natural pet food brand, citing its use of ingredients inspired by the ancestral diets of dogs and cats. The brand emphasizes high-quality proteins like real meat, fish, and fowl as the first ingredient, and its formulas include fruits, vegetables, probiotics, and omega fatty acids.

By all means google it and read the label.

Thank you so much. I'll look into that.

I just wanted to ask about Jenny's weight because you said you only feed her 1 cup a day...and I feed Annie 2 cups. So I was wondering if I'm feeding her too much? The dog food bag says to feed a 60lb dog between 2.5 - 3 cups a day!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Thank you so much. I'll look into that.

I just wanted to ask about Jenny's weight because you said you only feed her 1 cup a day...and I feed Annie 2 cups. So I was wondering if I'm feeding her too much? The dog food bag says to feed a 60lb dog between 2.5 - 3 cups a day!

Depends on the dog's activity level and the quality of the dog food. Some food has lots of "fillers," and you have to feed more for the dog to get adequate and complete nutrition. Then you get big sloppy poops. TOTW is very efficient. If I feed Jenny more than that I can see she starts putting on weight, but she's pretty sedentary. I look at her from above. I don't want her to be the same width between the end of her ribs and her hip bones. I want her to be a little narrower there, in her loin. Not too narrow, but a little slimmer. If she's built like a barrel in that area, she's too fat. Ryder, the Aussie, is always on the go, he's still a puppy. We feed him half a cup in the morning and a whole cup at noon and that seems to keep him fit.

There may be some sticker shock when you price TOTW. But a big bag feeds all three of our dogs for over a month. It's actually cheaper than store brands because we feed way less.