dog poo at night

Question
QUESTION: I have a 3 1/2 year old black lab, she has no problem with going outside, but in the middle of the night she leaves little nuggets in her bed. I take her out just before bedtime every night. I was wondering if it is diet, or as my father in law says exercise. I feed her Iams weight control. and take her for a walk everyday(short ones lately, i live in North Dakota).

ANSWER: Hi Blake,

Does she poop outside before bed time? What does her poop look like at other times (I ask b/c you specifically describe them as nuggets during the night which makes me think they are small and hard then but am not sure if that is how they are normally.) What does your father in law mean by exercise? Too much? Too little?  Of course short walks aren't really exercise for dogs -neither are long walks unless you are talking 5 miles or so. I do understand about the cold.  I am not a fan of IAMs and especially lite food - there is usually more grain in them than dogs need or can tolerate. There are easier ways to get dogs to lose weight with real food and a good quality kibble.


I need more information.
Jaz

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: We try to get her to go before bedtime, but she doesn't always go. Her poop looks like normal dog poop. He thinks she needs more exercise, so I've started playing fetch at night before bedtime. What brand(s) of kibble would you recommend

Answer
Hi Blake,

Well tell your father-in-law that the dog trainer wants to hug him for his insight into your dog needing more exercise! :)  Most people get Labs because of their wonderful disposition without realizing that they are field dogs, meant for lots of physical and mental stimulation on a daily basis. Providing a lot of exercise will easily help your Lab to shed extra pounds and guess what? Running stimulates dogs to relieve themselves!

I always say "any dog food you can buy at a pet store chain, the grocery store, or the big box stores isn't really worth feeding to your dog."  It's hard to recommend an exact dog food for your dog since I don't know her and believe it or not, there isn't one right food for every dog. What I can tell you is that you should steer clear of foods that have a lot of grain in them and ingredients that you don't know what they are.  I'd much rather feed rice or potatoes than wheat gluten or beet pulp. EW! I'll only feed my dogs foods that have the first 2 or 3 ingredients listed as meat. Real meat, not meat by products. I'm not exactly sure this is what you feed but the list of ingredients for IAMS Weight Control is:
Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Meal, Corn Grits, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Dried Egg Product, Chicken, Natural Chicken Flavor, Dried Beet Pulp (Sugar Removed), Chicken Fat (Preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Sodium Bisulfate, Potassium Chloride, DL-Methionine, Fish Oil (Preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Brewers Dried Yeast, Choline Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Salt, Minerals (Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate), Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate (Source of Vitamin B1), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Source of Vitamin B6), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement (Source of Vitamin B2), Inositol, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), L-Carnitine, Rosemary Extract

So the main protein source is chicken by product meal (beaks, feet, ligaments, tendons) not muscle meat.  And then the next 3 ingredients are grain. Really, is there any nutritional value to corn meal? Not really. Do you know what Grain Sorghum is? Again, EW. Also the reason the company throws in so many vitamins and minerals is because there either aren't any in the ingredients listed or they've cooked them all out. Do you see where I'm going?  

Wouldn't you rather feed something like this:
Lamb | Lamb Meal | Brown Rice | Cracked Pearled Barley | Millet | Rice Bran | Oatmeal | Ocean Fish Meal | Canola Oil | Tomato Pomace | Flaxseed | Natural Flavor | Salmon Oil (source of DHA) | Choline Chloride | Taurine | Dried Chicory Root | Parsley Flakes | Pumpkin Meal | Almond Oil | Sesame Oil | Yucca Schidigera Extract | Thyme | Blueberries | Cranberries | Carrots | Broccoli | Vitamin E Supplement | Iron Proteinate

Here are a few feeding secrets:
1) Don't feed the recommended amount on the bag of food. Dog food companies are in the business of selling you dog food. Most dogs do not need the amount of food they recommend. The breed, amount of exercise and age of your dog determines the amount of food they need.  How do "I" tell how much to feed my dogs? I feel their ribs. I actually like to see ribs on my dogs (and yes I have Labs and thin Labs are a thing of absolute beauty.)
2) Instead of buying a 'weight loss' food, cut back on the amount of food you serve your dog but give her some filler such as canned pumpkin (NOT pie mix) or frozen green beans, chopped carrots. These are much more nutritious and filling.

Jaz