Litter box training a puppy

Question

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Followup To

Question -
Hi Kristen.
We have a 16-week-old female papillon that we are training to use a litter box (using Second Nature dog litter).  It really is going well except at night.  Rather than crating her at night, we have her in an X-pen which is collapsed down pretty small.  She has her bed, her litter box, and a small floor space in between.  She does great with poop making it in the box, but she is still only 50/50 for pee at night.

Every morning, when I get up at 5:30 a.m. and go in to see Bella, there is always a puddle on the vinyl floor.  I've thought about crating at night, but Bella seems to poop a lot at night, sometimes 3 or 4 times (only once or twice during the day).  I'm happy she can manage on her own and not need to be taken out of the crate in the middle of the night so the pen is great for us.  She never whines or wakes us in the night, and this to me is wonderful.

My question is, will she eventually mature and just not pee on the floor anymore?  She is great during the day.  I work from home and keep my eye one her during her limited house freedom.  She has not had a pee accident in the house in well over a week.  If she does not go to the litter box on her own every so often, I walk her there, say "go potty," and she does.  She KNOWS where the pee goes, but it would be nice if she would not use the floor at night.

I'm amazed that there are so few people with knowledge about litter box training dogs.  Even my vet is clueless on the subject.

Answer -
Nadine, I'm wondering what the reason for her pooping so many times at night might be. That's a little bit unusual. What kind of food are you feeding her, how often, and how much? When is her last feeding of the day?

I don't know why she would poop in the box, but not pee in the box. I would recommend crating her at night for a while to fix this problem, but first we need to figure out why she's pooping so much.

Kristen


Thank you for your response, Kristen.  

Okay, first, Bella eats Eukanuba small breed puppy food which is what the breeder used so we stuck with it.  She eats approximately 3/4 cup per day divided between 3 to 4 meals (no table foor or treats).  She has access to water as much as she would like until about 7:00 p.m. when we no longer offer it.  She goes to bed about 8:00 or 8:30 p.m., and I am up by 5:30 a.m.

My hesitation for crating at night is that we'll have 2 problems:

1.  She will soil her crate.  She already does pee in the crate if left in there for more than 2 hours (it's the smallest cat crate available).  We have worked up to 2 hours in the crate, and I hope in time she can hold it longer.


2.  At night, she is now able to manage on her own.  At 8:00 when she goes to bed, she never cries or whines, and she never whines in the middle of the night.  If she is crated, she will most definitely need to be let out, possibly multiple times.  

Do you think there is a medical reason why she poops more during the night than the day?

I think of Bella as having the mentality of a 3-year-old, and I'm hoping that as she matures in the next months she will just stop using the floor since she obviously knows to use the box during the day.  Wishful thinking?  

Of note, there were 2 poops in the litter box this morning and the floor was dry (Horray!), but who know what tonight will bring.

Thanks again, Kristen, for taking the time to help me (and listen to my rambling).  I know there are more ways than one to apporach any problem, and I'm hoping the path we're on will work for us.


Answer
Thanks for getting back to me so quickly, Nadine. The first thing I would recommand doing would be to feed her NO LATER THAN 6:00pm, and take her water up at that time as well, in order to give her enough time before bedtime to empty her bladder and bowels. Running around, or even brisk walks will help to stimulate her bowels to move, and generally puppies will poo within 20 minutes of eating. Generally. Are you able to take her for a short walk (on leash) between her last meal and bedtime? If so, that would be a great thing to do. She would be able to poo and pee before going to bed, and hopefully not have to go so much throughout the night. You're right, that at just 16 weeks of age, she would need to be let out of her crate at least once during the night to potty. Do continue crating her for short periods of time during the day when you can, and see if you can get her to where she can hold it for a little longer. You want to let her out before she potties in it, as you've been doing, but puppies can usually hold it for at least as many hours as they are old in months. Your pup is 4 months old, so she should be able to go up to 4 hours without needing to potty.

I don't know for sure why she would be pooping so much during the night, Nadine, unless it's because she's eating too close to bedtime. I don't know of any medical condition that would cause a dog to poop more at night than during the day. *smile*  There ARE dog foods that will cause a dog to poop more, and Eukanuba is one of those foods, but for right now, I wouldn't change her food, because a food change can often cause short-term bowel issues as the dog's body gets used to the new food. Wait until she's litterbox trained 100% before worrying about a food change, and then you can get back with me and I'll help you pick the right one.


One last thing you might consider doing would be making her X-pen smaller, or getting a larger litter box, so that she doesn't have access to the floor to potty on. If you only give her the choice of her bed or the litterbox, she should surely choose the litterbox to do all her business in. Make sense? As she matures, you can gradually increase the amount of floor space she has access to. You're definitely on the right track! Just keep up the good work! Oh, and remember to praise praise praise whenever you see her pottying in the litterbox!

Kristen