Pooping in kennel nearly every night!!

Okay my almost 6 month old black lab is crate trained and in the last month now she has been pooping in her kennel around 2am nearly every night. Like 4-5 times a week. It's soft, not diarrhea, but not super formed either. She has very formed poops during the day. So every night whoever smells her first, that person (it's funny becuase it really does switch between my husband and I equally, depending on who's sleeping heavier that night!) gets up goes and ties her up outside (she's usually stepped in teh poop a few times and we have a 10' lead out side attached to the fence so she can't get into trouble.) and washed out her kennel. Then goes back to bed and then the other person gives her a bath in the morning. It's a huge nightly chore!! We don't know what to do anymore, we're so tired of this. What is the deal, any suggestions? Hubby says she needs the kennel smaller again, but she can barely stretch out in it as it is, which is why she steps in her poop when she does it, she has no where else to go in her kennel. What do you think we shoudl do?

[Findemonium]

Maybe you are feeding to much and to late? Most dogs hate to soil their kennel. Does she have a back corne in the crate to go in? Maybe she has too much room and shouldn't have a corner.

Do you think she is house trained to the point where she knows to go outside and just can't get out? If not, start the housebreaking over from square one. Take her out on a leash and when she goes, praise her.

Good luck, this must be frustrating.

[DarwinsMom]

What time does she eat dinner? What time does she go out for "last call"? Does she poop at that time? Where is the crate?

To answer my own questions (lol), assuming she's going to bed at 10pm or later, I wouldn't feed her anything past 6pm. Make sure she goes poop the last time she goes out, match her if you have to. If it's not, put the crate in your room so you can hear her stir. Getting up, if she still has to go, is a lot better than hosing out a crate in the middle of the night. Don't ever tie your dog up to anything if you're not there to supervise.

[nmaho]

my thoughts would be eating to much to late, and is the crate to big right now maybe section it off for now

[Lab Mom]

You also may want to set your alarm at 1:30 and get up and take her out until you can find out what is causing this. For the first year or so I got up in the middle of the night to let Cheyenne out, but she would cry and I would hear her and get up before she messed her crate.

[DarwinsMom]

Originally Posted by Lab Mom

You also may want to set your alarm at 1:30 and get up and take her out until you can find out what is causing this. For the first year or so I got up in the middle of the night to let Cheyenne out, but she would cry and I would hear her and get up before she messed her crate.

I would NOT do that as you'll be creating a habit that would be hard to break (a year?? yeesh). Thats the reason for having the crate near where youre sleeping...if she stirs and won't settle down, you get up and go out...if not, you get a good night's sleep.

[Lab Mom]

Originally Posted by DarwinsMom

I would NOT do that as you'll be creating a habit that would be hard to break (a year?? yeesh). Thats the reason for having the crate near where youre sleeping...if she stirs and won't settle down, you get up and go out...if not, you get a good night's sleep.

I get up every night in the middle of the night now for my 13 year old, so what's the big deal? I haven't had a good night's sleep in years.

But until they get a handle on what is making the dog mess in the crate every night, it's better than having to clean it up, don't you think???

[Parapara]

She may have too much room in her crate And too much food!

I went through the same thing, puppy poops in the crate- she would literally bark for hours if no one went to investigate + clean it out.That's when I decided to feed her less and give her a more size-appropriate crate, and she's done wonderfully ever since.

(I did for a week take her out at midnight, just so I wouldn't have to clean up poop in the morning. But once the less food and giving her dinner earlier in the day kicked in, and she wasn't pooping at night, I stopped Haven't had a problem since.)

good luck! Do what your instincts tell ya

[Patty/Breeder]

Could be over feeding or feeding too late at night.

Have you taken a stool sample to the vet. Dogs with a parasite don't always have loose stools with every BM.

I agree with puting the crate next to your bed so you can take her out if she stirs or whines. If she is quiet don't take her out.

When crate training a pup - going out every night in the middle of the night (when they don't have to go) can create a life long habit.

And please don't tie her outside all night unsupervised.

[3colors]

Have you ruled out parasites or any other medical reason for why this is happening? Once you have a clean bill of health ...

No food after 4:00 p.m.
Keep her close at night so you can hear her stir.

.... and, please do not leave her tied out alone at night until morning.

Alright, thank you everyone for the advice however I'm not sure any of it will work. First off, we started chaining her up ANY time she is in the backyard because we thought maybe she was eating the tomato plants from our garden, which are poisonious for dogs, so that's why she's chained up: we wanted to do an expirement to see if she still pooped in her kennel when there was NO CHANCE she had eaten the tomatoes. It's not a permanent thing, it's just that we needed to eliminate the possibility of it being a tomato problem. Then, we used to feed her twice a day 9am and 5pm, but just two weeks ago I decided to cut it back and just feed her once a day to see if that helped. No luck. Then her kennel is in the laundry room, right off the kitchen and she never yelps to let us no she has pooped, we have to dicover it ourselves. She DOES back into a corner, but she always covered in poop too, she doesn't have enough room to stay away from it completely. But you still think i should shrink the kennel? It's not spacious as it is, but if it will help, then I'll do whatever. And lastly, we take her out at midnight because that's when insomniac me goes to bed. Then hubby is up at 5am and lets her out, but she always poops around 2-3am regardless of when she last went out or when she last ate. I'm going to take her to the vet this afternoon but after that I don't know what to do. She is such a sweet good dog, but this HAS GOT TO STOP!! I have two little children (2 and 3) and am starting back college sull time this fall, I can not be cleaning up dog poop kennel and dog poop covered dog every night. I will go insane! Thanks for the advice everyone!!

Oh yeah her kennel will not even fit in our room if we wanted it to. But we could bring her dog bed up and tie her leash to the bed and she can sleep on her bed..... if you think it'd help. But she's never slept in the house out of her kennel...

[LadyBuckeye]

Couple things...

Tomatos are not poisonous for dogs. Please do not tie your 6 month old puppy up outside.

Do you have her on heartworm preventative? Mosquitos are so horrible in Texas that, even on HW preventative a dog can sometimes, although rare, contract the disease.

In addition, I personally think feeding a 6 mos old only 1 time a day very risky. Feeding enough in one feeding for a growing puppy could easily lead to bloat at some time. Many are still just cutting from 3 to 2 feedings about age 6 mos. I'd like to inquire as to what you are feeding and how much??? Adding a healthy tablespoon of pumpkin may add fiber as well to help make her regular.

Consider allowing your puppy to sleep in your room - even if it means she's tethered. If she gets up and starts moving around then get up and take her outside to potty.

In addition, exercise will generally bring a poo on for a dog. Consider - an hour plus after an evening meal a game of fetch or another activity.

That's all my random thoughts/suggestions that I can think of at the moment.

[Patty/Breeder]

Tomatoes are not poisonous to dogs. But the green fruit, stem and leaves are.

http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:...&ct=clnk&gl=us

If you can't keep her away from the plants than pull them up and don't plant them again. This way she will not have to be tied.

[3colors]

Originally Posted by LadyBuckeye

In addition, exercise will generally bring a poo on for a dog. Consider - an hour plus after an evening meal a game of fetch or another activity.

I agree, exercise is key to get things moving.

You can put a hot wire around your tomatoes to keep her out of them.

There has to be a solution to her nightime movements. Maybe the vet visit will shed some light on it for you.