4 Month old Puppy up at 3am to poop!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no need to change feeding time. I foster puppies. They can all hold it in, poo-wise, through the night, from 8 weeks on. Reliably. Yours just decided to mess with you because you let her. Your puppy needs to be crated, in a crate small enough that she'll be dissuaded from pooping in a corner. Crate her until she remembers that nightime is for sleeping, not pooping. It should not take long. She'll whine a bit the first night, and then she'll probably get it.

Op here - she doesn’t poop in her crate. She poops outside.

That's my point.
Do not let her out at 3am. She needs to stay in her crate so she doesn't poo at 3am anywhere, inside or outside. The crate needs to be small enough that she doesn't get any ideas about pooping in her crate (which some dogs will do when they're desperate, especially if the crate is large and they do in a corner, then sleep in the other).

Op - yes I agree she has got conditioned to pooping at 3am. What I don’t know what to do is either a) change when I feed her, b) change how much I feed her or c) how to get her to poop at night before bed instead of needing to go in the middle of the night. Do I take her for a walk?

I wouldn't change anything except for a longer walk at night. Do NOT let her out of her crate. She doesn't need to poop at 3am. She wants to poop at 3am. Big difference. She's the kid, you're the parent. Enforce the rules. She will get it. At 3 months, there is really no excuse.

I don't think it works that way, especially if it is a small breed. You'll wake up to a poop covered dog. I'd consider doing more to get her to poop before bed.

It does work that way. It's not a small breed, and the dog isn't 4 weeks, it's 4 months. If OP is really worried, she can skip or move the last meal for a few days, but the reality is that the dog just has to switch BM schedules on her own. If the crate is small enough, the dog is developmentally capable of holding it in.

The one time we ignored it, it was a hot mess. You sound pretty neglectful. Most people and dogs cannot poop on schedule.

I work with dogs. A 4 month old can very definitely hold it in overnight. This is obvious and any vet will tell you the same. We're not talking about a schedule. We're talking about "nights are for sleeping".

Stop distorting people's words and don't weigh in when you clearly know nothing about the subject.

Not all dogs can hold it. Many can but not all.