Edith is getting along fabulously, since we adopted her 2 weeks ago tomorrow. However, there’s one thing that seems a bit… off… and I wanted to ask doggydopers for suggestions.
Edith poops in her kennel almost every night. We try to keep her on a schedule - breakfast at around 9am, lunch at around 12-1pm, dinner at around 6pm. 30 minutes after she eats, we take her outside. She’s a vewy vewy good doggywoggy, and just about always poops and pees when we take her out. She also gets potty breaks throughout the day - we work at home, and me or Mr. Athena can usually be talked into a break every 2 to 3 hours.
We also let her out at least twice between her after-dinner break at 6:30 or so and when we go to bed between 11 and midnight. Her last potty break is right before we go to bed.
Invariably, we wake up in the morning and she’s pooped in her cage.
We’ve come up with the following theories. We’re not sure which one is correct. Can anyone give us some guidance?
Theory 1: She’s just a lil doggy woggy and asking her to go 8 to 9 hours overnight without relieving herself is too much, at least until she gets a little older.
Theory 2: We’re feeding her too late. Feed her dinner at 4pm and don’t let her eat again until the next morning. Mr. Athena likes this theory; I’m too softhearted and think “Ooooh, the lil’ puppy girl will STARVE if she has to go from 4pm to 9 the next morning without eating!”
Theory 3: Her kennel is too big for potty training. She’s a little doggy, and I think I’ve read that potty training kennels should let the doggy sit up, lay down, and turn around, but not much more than that. This kennel is maybe twice her body length long - she can definitely poop in one corner and go sit in another no problem.
How old is little Edith? Depending on her age, it may indeed be unreasonable to expect her to go that long without a break, especially if she’s not used to holding it more than a couple of hours during the day.
A good rule of thumb is that a dog can be expected to hold it for as many hours as they are months old, up to one year of age–thus if Edith is 4 months old, she needs to be taken out at least every four hours. She should be taken out once at night and her kennel probably is too big. Do you keep it nearby so you can hear her ask to go out at night?
She’s right outside our bedroom door (bedroom itself is too small for the kennel) and we usually keep the door open. She doesn’t make a peep in the middle of the night unfortunately.
Although she goes outside as long we get her out there, I’m not sure she’s figured out how to “ask” yet. I generally keep an eye on her in her kennel, and if she starts to get restless I take her out. I’ve learned that restless = “I’m gonna squat soon!”
She’s never actively cried or scratched or anything before squatting. Really, though, either she or we have done pretty well - in 2 weeks she’s had maybe 3 out-of-kennel accidents. IN kennel accidents happen on a nightly basis, however.
When my puppy was about your age I took him out at 10 or 10:30 at night, and then again between 5:30 and 6am. Also, I had to adjust the size of the crate with a barrier - otherwise he’d poop in the corner. And if I left a towel in there, he’d pee on it and shove it into the corner.
She’s right outside our bedroom door (bedroom itself is too small for the kennel) and we usually keep the door open. She doesn’t make a peep in the middle of the night unfortunately.
Although she goes outside as long we get her out there, I’m not sure she’s figured out how to “ask” yet. I generally keep an eye on her in her kennel, and if she starts to get restless I take her out. I’ve learned that restless = “I’m gonna squat soon!”
She’s never actively cried or scratched or anything before squatting. Really, though, either she or we have done pretty well - in 2 weeks she’s had maybe 3 out-of-kennel accidents. IN kennel accidents happen on a nightly basis, however.
I agree with Calliope. Four months is still a little too young for a puppy to wait all night. It’s usually not that hard to block off a part of the crate, also.
That is great, though, that she is so good outside of the crate!
Your idea to feed Edith earlier is a good one. Also restrict water after dinner so she doesn’t drink too much.
Puppies CAN be in crates a while at her age - not more than 4 hours or so. Overnight, this means you’ll take puppy out around midnight before bed, and then again around 5am… or so. Yep, it’s like having a baby.
My guess is: Her crate is WAY too big.
The Rule of thumb is that a puppy will NEVER poop in its crate because that’s where he or she sleeps. If the crate is too big, it’s easy for the pup to go to one corner, do its stuff, and not have to lie in it. Most puppies (and the reason why crate training makes such an effective housebreaking tool) would rather cry and raise up a STORM to be let out of their crate (their den) to do their business than pee or poop in it! This usually helps cement the “gotta be outside to do my stuff!” housebreaking behavior. Once puppy raises a storm (after a few hours, not just because you’ve just crated her - some are manipulative little dogs… ::: looks at Zap ::: yeah… they can be…) it may need out. Open the crate, pick up puppy, take it outside RIGHT AWAY. When it does its business, praise the heck out of it (you’ll look like a moron at 4am, in your boxers, crying out “Good puppy! Good puppy!”) back in you go, and if it’s still “bedtime”, then back into the crate puppy goes.
So. if you’re using a metal crate, get a divider for it. If you’re using a plastic crate, get one that is small enough for her OR make a divider yourself. Some people have used cardboard for this (though it’s easy for a puppy to chew through… but probably not one Edith’s size!). She should be able to stand, turn around, and lie down in it. Nothing more, nothing less. Be sure she has comfy bedding and some mindtertainment (!) toys like a Kong. When she is older, she can graduate to a larger crate with more space.
For my pup, I got a thick piece of plywood, cut it to fit just inside the crate, and then screwed in some screws on the sides. That way I could make the crate bigger a little bit at a time. Worked wonders.
When I got Bandit he was about 12 weeks, and I had to take him out in the middle of the night (@ 3 am) for the first two weeks. It sucked, but cleaning poop out of the crate and bathing the puppy every morning was even more of a hassle, so up at 3 it was. After that, he was fine.
Yet another vote for “she’s a bit young to go all night.” I am not a puppy expert, but she is just a baby. I’d say you guys are fine since she’s doing well with the potty business otherwise.
Another concern with the training is that the little one needs to learn to indicate directly that it’s potty time.
You said that you just take her out when she looks like she needs to go, that’s a great start. It sounds like you’ve got that down quite well.
The next step that I have followed in potty training is teaching the indication directly. To do this, when you notice that Edith needs to get out soon, direct her to do something to indicate. Typical is to have the dog sit at a particular door. Some people have even set-up a bell to be rung at the door.
In my experience, dogs catch on to this fairly quickly because the training is repeating multiple times a day.
Once you’ve trained Edith that she needs to tell you when she has to go out, it will be easier for the little one to tell you at night-time also.
One big note, what-ever you want Edith to do to indicate it’s potty time will need to be taught to her first. Such as, if you want her to sit, teach her to sit without the need to potty first.
I have a new puppy too, mine is about 12 weeks old. He’s really good about not pooping in his kennel, but will occasionally pee in it, and it’s pretty small.
I’ve noticed he only does it when he has to be left in there when I go somewhere, not when he’s sleeping in it near the bed and he knows I’m home.
At any rate, I have to get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, and that’s when I take the puppy out.
Do you sleep the night through? (lucky you if you do :D), otherwise, maybe this will work for you. Taking the puppy out when you get up to go that is.
Otherwise, another vote for “kennel too big, and feed her ealier/and restrict water later in the day”.
