Night time poop habit

[marviepants]

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Hi. Dennis is now 4.5 months old and has been reliably using the garden or out on walks for his poos and wees - this is because since having him, my son has finished school and been home most of the time & then I've been on school hols (a teacher) and so we have basically left the garden door open 24/7 while it's been hot so he just gets up & goes out as & when he needs. He is adorable, very lively, bright and mastering training commands really well.

He is a horribly fussy eater and refuses to eat almost all day - occasionally eats a bit in the morning but mainly leaves it till late at night - this means he needs a poo in the night. Once the weather turns cold I'll obviously want to keep the door shut and in fact, he has started going out in the night & howling in the garden at about 3am to the annoyance of the neighbours. ( I suspect he comes back in, is spooked by the silence of the house and thinks we've all gone out and left him alone) so goes out and howls about it. So I have had to start shutting the door & now he just poos in the house in the early hours because he can't get out.

There are 3 main issues:

1) his eating habits and teaching to eat at a convenient time that doesn't mean he needs a poop overnight.

2) his separation anxiety - as he will need to be left alone for some periods - though my parents adore him & will collect him in the day so he isn't left alone all day.

3) how to get him to not poop in the house.

1) As far as food goes, he absolutely refused to eat the kibble he had been reared on & I ended up changing him to Nature Diet (pate sort of consistency) which is now his main food source. I now follow all the guidance and leave his food out for 10-15 mins max, 4 times a day, removing it if he doesn't eat it. He usually eats it in the evening sitting but this is quite late, after he has been out for his evening walk. Up until recently, I used to put it out overnight because it was the only time the flies weren't a problem & it would always get eaten then. However, trying to feed him earlier has no result. Tonight, if he turns his nose up, I will make him wait until morning. He is perfectly well & growing, he is simply a fusspot.

Also, he seems afraid of food served in bowls, so I have to put it on the floor which I don't like doing as it's messy having to keep picking it up if he doesn't eat it. He is driving me insane with his fussiness as I cannot afford to waste food and have expended a lot of dosh so far on expensive brands of dry food that he's turned his nose up at, and the wet food is quite expensive. He eats nowhere neat his recommended daily intake and never has, even when on puppy kibble when I first got him. I avoid feeding him my food and have now cut out even training treats.

2) He was initially crate trained but although he wasn't too bad at night, he got extremely distressed in daytime and in the end, I dismantled the crate as he was pooping in it all the time and cleaning a sloppy tray out at 5a.m. was killing me. Since then, he's had the run of the house. He

has been left without incident for a couple of hours at a time but never more with nobody in the house - however a note from my neighbour enlightened me that he barks and howls a lot on those occasions - even though i leave TV or radio on and a light if it's likely to get dark. What can I do to make him more comfortable with being left?

3) He clearly knows he should go in garden and obviously tries to hold on but has accidents when the door is shut. I'm hoping that as he matures and once he gets more stable with his feeding routine, he will learn to hold it and also his poos/wees will fall in line with his exercise routine and when I'm home.

Thanks for any assistance.

Nicky & Dennis

 

[JenC]

Hello!

I struggled with a fussy eater and it was onyl when Cassie turned about 12 months old that she became more reliable with eating. Theres a few things I'd say about the various issues:

1. fussy eater - when you say 'absolutely refused' do you mean he turned his nose up at it? I think putting down 4 times a day is too much. I'd try once in morning and one in evening. If pup doesnt eat, remove and dont offer again. He will cope perfectly well for 24-26 hours without food and by 48 hours should be hungry enough to eat whatever goes in front of him and in whatever container! I imagine this will be harder for you than him! In terms of getting him to eat from a bowl, you could start by holding a bowl on your lap while sitting next to him, with a few favourite treats in it. just start by getting him to approach the bowl, then reward. build up to him niffing the bowl, reward, then touch the bowl with his nose, reward, then take a treat from your hand while your hand is in the bowl, and so on until he will take treats from the bowl. then start adding his food in increasing amount and removing treats. You'll need to do this over a period of time, at least a week or more to de-sensitize him.

2. home alone issues - again this may require lots of build up. You must avoid any big fuss as you are leaving and you need to start with small amounts of time, 2 minutes, return and reward, 5 minutes, return and reward. But dont reward if he makes a howl, just enter the room but ignore hm, no eye contact no interaction. Also, do you leave him with anything to occupy him? A stuffed kong works wonders to keep pups busy and occupied (and is also a novel way of getting them to eat!)

3. where to poop - leaving the door open for constant in/out access may cause confusion becuase there is no definite bounday between where pup is allowed/not allowed to toilet. I'd start closing the door and only open when you want pup to go toilet, accompany him and use command words, stay with him as long as necessary until he does anything and them praise like hes just given you a million pounds. Do this for a week. And dont feed within 4 hours of bedtime, see no 1 above. Dont let the guilt of his lack of eating trip you up. You need to be firm on feeding on your schedule not his to crack this.

Good luck!