1-4 am poops, 2 weeks and counting

[Xena Dog Princess]

Xena has gotten up for a poop (nice and solid) almost every morning for the past 2 weeks. I feel like this is surely just a temporary glitch in her poo cycle, but the longer it goes on the more I'm starting to despair - it's hard to fall back asleep!

She gets dinner when we eat, which is typically around 615 pm. Some days it's earlier, some days it's later, but dinner has always been flexible in this way.

Out of desperation I've taken her for cold and wet 8 pm walks (which she poops on!) but she'll still get up in the early hours for another poo.

Any suggestions to get out of this poop cycle? Or will it naturally just...stop? Anybody else's dogs done the same?

 

[Candy]

I wonder if making her feeding times more regular might help? I have always fed my dogs at round about the same times each day ( give or take 15 minutes and depending on the intensity of The Labrador Stare) and their pooing times have been very regular and fitted in well with our lifestyle.
Having said that, it could all change tomorrow I suppose!

 

[Oberon]

I am pretty sure we had an episode of this with Obi, also lasting weeks. It stopped by itself.

Maybe it was weather related....is she getting cold at night and is therefore more likely to wake up?

 

[Cath]

Yes I always feed them at 5 pm I can't stand their stare any longer. They poo around 10.30 in the garden and then are ok until morning at around 7am.

 

[Oberon]

Obi is fed at 5pm too. He is very strict about keeping to this schedule So agree with suggestion to keep it consistent and early.

 

[Xena Dog Princess]

Maybe it was weather related....is she getting cold at night and is therefore more likely to wake up?

We've only had a couple of very cold nights, so it's not the cold.

I could try a fixed dinner time. 5 pm seems so early! I'm not even home at that time on some days, but there are two other adults in the house so I could make it work. She always gets a little sprinkle of kibble after last wees, which is anywhere between 830-10 pm depending on when I go to bed.

 

[Cath]

She always gets a little sprinkle of kibble after last wees, which is anywhere between 830-10 pm depending on when I go to bed.

Does she really need it

 

[Xena Dog Princess]

Does she really need it

It's just kibble that I keep aside from her daily ration. I started it when she was younger because otherwise I'd get the early morning hunger puke. We're talking maybe 10 pieces of kibble...that shouldn't affect her poops, should it?

 

[Natalie]

Or... You could push back dinner time to much later, say 8pm... and see if that changes things? Here, 6pm is the notional dinner time, but they are fed anytime between 5.30 and 7.30 depending on what's happening. Likewise, breakfast could be between 6.30 and 9.30 depending on the day of the week and what happened the day before..

 

[Natalie]

Has anything else changed? I wonder if she is being woken up by something outside?

 

[Xena Dog Princess]

Or... You could push back dinner time to much later, say 8pm...

My only worry with pushing out dinner is the inevitable whiny performance when we start eating. I know, I can train it out, but it'll be annoying

Has anything else changed? I wonder if she is being woken up by something outside?

Coincidentally (or not) this has started after poopmageddon i.e. the night when we didn't hear her cry and she pooped on the carpet.

 

[Ashley]

I don’t have any great ideas, because dogs form habits so darn quick. Is she going her normal amount in the day? Is her middle of the night replacing her early morning? Are you giving her anything new/different in kongs? Is there a reason she might not be going in the yard? Quinn has gone through weird phases of being spooked in the yard and refusing to pee

 

[Oberon]

My only worry with pushing out dinner is the inevitable whiny performance when we start eating. I know, I can train it out, but it'll be annoying

Yeah....Obi gets the plates after dinner and if we are late starting our dinner he harasses us

 

[Xena Dog Princess]

@Ashley I think the middle of the night is replacing the breakfast poop. Nothing different in the Kongs or her food. She's not scared of the yard, uses it happily at all hours of the day.

 

[MrChew]

@Ashley I think the middle of the night is replacing the breakfast poop. Nothing different in the Kongs or her food. She's not scared of the yard, uses it happily at all hours of the day.

If that's the case maybe a late dinner time might help as the poo will um... Be a bit behind schedule? If you can resist the state of course.

 

[Atemas]

I wonder if it is something to do with the poopmageddon and that frightened her having to in the house. Labs are sensitive souls.

Red gets her tea at 5pm every day. In fact her whole feeding/day is very very routine. She then gets her ‘toilet’ walk around 5.30/6.00 pm and she almost always has a poo (I let her do plenty of sniffing and that does the trick!). She’s ok then until the next day.

Hope it’s just a temporary thing with Xena

 

[Xena Dog Princess]

Well she had her dinner at 5, and a short walk (with poo) at 730. I can't see how she could possibly have another one in the chamber for 2 am, so she lasts until morning.

I wonder if it is something to do with the poopmageddon and that frightened her having to in the house. Labs are sensitive souls.

Yes, I have wondered if it's connected somehow. I hope it's not and that this is just a coincidence.

 

[edzbird]

Nothing to add to suggestions, just support. Meg is a random pooer. Often up in the night for a poo. A normal poo. Often not. It's annoying.

 

[M.F.]

Have you checked her for worms? I don’t agree with deworming unless there are actually worms. You could take a poo sample to the vet for a test.

Snowie once out of the blue started needing to wee in the night. I forget why he did it, but I have a vague recollection it had a medical reason. He might’ve had a UTI. (Sorry!! Poor memory!! Must’ve been from sleep deprivation!) But when that was sorted out, the nighttime weeing stopped.

I hope you get to the bottom (ha!) of this.

 

[Boogie]

How about feeding her later? We feed ours at 7pm. If pups start early morning poos we move it to 8pm.