Calling all dog lovers...

[SpecialK]

I need help! We've got a 12-week old Wheaten Terrier - cute as a button, great temperament but....he keeps pooping in his kennel at night. Any suggestions?

 

[Luv'sTink]

What size kennel are you using? If the kennel is big enough for the puppy to do it's business at one end and then go to the other end to sleep they will do that when the need calls.

 

[WDW4ever]

You might need to downsize his kennel. Also, make sure when he goes out for the last time at night he poops. It might take a while walking him around, but it would be better than pooping in the kennel

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Are you getting up at night and taking him out to potty? He may need to do that. 12 weeks is still a baby.

Also what are you feeding him and what is his schedule?

Did he come from a pet store? If he did you are going to have to have patience and train that out of him.

 

[singingpixie]

Rather than buying a smaller kennel, you can always block off part of it so he can only use an area big enough for him to sleep in. That way you're not spending money on a small kennel that he'll outgrow soon. Good luck!

 

[SpecialK]

He's using less than half of the kennel. We have to wake him up to take him out before he goes in for the night. It's rare when we can get him to poop then. Walked him like crazy last night and nothing until 4:30 this morning. Yuck.

 

[SpecialK]

Are you getting up at night and taking him out to potty? He may need to do that. 12 weeks is still a baby.

Also what are you feeding him and what is his schedule?

Did he come from a pet store? If he did you are going to have to have patience and train that out of him.

We got up at night for the first week (got him at 10 wks). He would pee but not poop until sometime later in the night when he was back in the kennel. Then he stopped pooping in the kennel and we thought all was well. The past two nights he's back at it.

Right now he's eating a cup of food in the AM before 8 and a half-cup at around 3 in the afternoon.

Unfortunately, he did come from a pet store. About two days after we got him, I saw the thread here about pet stores and puppy mills. I had no idea prior to that thread - an I'm no spring chicken.

Thanks for all your help. Having grown up with cats I'm very new to this game.

 

[WDWisTheBest]

We got up at night for the first week (got him at 10 wks). He would pee but not poop until sometime later in the night when he was back in the kennel. Then he stopped pooping in the kennel and we thought all was well. The past two nights he's back at it.

Right now he's eating a cup of food in the AM before 8 and a half-cup at around 3 in the afternoon.

Unfortunately, he did come from a pet store. About two days after we got him, I saw the thread here about pet stores and puppy mills. I had no idea prior to that thread - an I'm no spring chicken.

Thanks for all your help. Having grown up with cats I'm very new to this game.

But, you know that already. Your question is about your 12 week old that you already own. A suggestion for you. Check when he poops after the cup in the morning. That is a cup of food. That will give you an idea about how long your dog goes after a cup in quantity.

For the later feeding, you might try to feed your puppy later in the afternoon, perhaps between 5 and 7pm.
Also, keep track of his weight gain. How much you feed depends on the weight gain. You could adjust the amount that you feed. Just some thoughts to help.

And, BTW, you got him at 10 weeks. For the first period of his life, he did not have a set pattern of feeding since he came from a puppy mill and then was fed at the pet store. So, you are playing catch up trying to get him to get used to another pattern of input and output. Patience is the byword.

 

[hiwaygal]

Here is a great article on housetraining...http://www.canismajor.com/dog/hsetrain.html

But the number one piece of advice I can give is: Be patient and consistent!

 

[louey]

Good luck he will get it, they are just like little kids, its all about routine and once you learn his it will all be good. Best of luck.

 

[mckryan]

If he's gone the last 2 mornings around the same time, try setting your alarm for 30 minutes before that and take him out. Don't talk to him or pet him until he goes out and poops. Also, eating at 3PM and not again until 8AM is a pretty long time for a 12 week old puppy. They really do better with 3 small meals a day. They are growing like weeds at this point, and they need lots of nutrition.

I have 2 Kerry Blues, and terriers are a whole 'nother breed! They definitely need consistent training or they will run all over you. They are a handful, but they are loves and so worth it!

 

[daisax]

Being in the store means he's already learned to pee/poop where he sleeps, so that's an association you'll need to break (time will do it, so long as you keep it from happening and becoming more of a habit. Keep in mind that at this age, just a week is a significant period of their life, so changing a habit can be done in a few weeks)

I'd keep a little logbook (so to speak!) of when he pees and poops for a couple of weeks - you'll probably see a pattern. It seems odd for him to go so long after eating. I too would split his meals up more.

What are you feeding? My boxers get 2 cups a day and they must be 5x the size of your pup! You may find that you feed much less of a better quality food -- sometimes the same amount costs more, but lasts longer, so it ends up better to feed something better that has more available nutrition (and less output!)

The biggest thing would be to keep him from having the accidents in the first place -- the longer he can stay clean in his bed at night, the less he will feel it's acceptable to soil it. He just has to learn that clean = good. So if that means a week of setting your alarm for 3:30 to get him outside to do his business, it will be worth it in the long run.

 

[SpecialK]

Thanks for all the help. I started keeping track of his "going" this morning. I'm hoping I can get a jump on him by doing that. He does fine with peeing - even when he poops in the kennel he still pees outside.

He eating Royal Canin - vet recommended 1.5 cups and said to stay with this brand. I think I will spread out his eating times. Are we talking breakfast, lunch and dinner - similar to our schedule?

I never thought having a pup in the house would be harder than having a baby in the house. Who knew?

 

[daisax]

Which type of royal canin? I tend not to think much of them because their marketing of food for specific breeds of dogs is kind of laughable. Not in theory, but in practice. They make a big deal over some ingredients in their boxer formulation, for example, that are supposed to prevent cardiac disease, but the fact is that the percentage of dogs who get that form of cardiac disease based on a deficiency of the ingredient they add is almost statistically insignificant compared to those for whom it's a totally different disease process, so to me they're marketing to people's ignorance of science. Plus some of their other information is wrong, so they haven't done their homework in my breed, at any rate.

Here are the first 19 ingredients from the Puppy small breed food on their website:

Chicken meal, brown rice, chicken, corn gluten meal, chicken fat, brewers rice, dried egg powder, natural chicken flavor, dried beet pulp (sugar removed), anchovy oil, brewer's yeast, potassium chloride, sodium silico aluminate, flaxseed, salt, fructo-oligosaccharides, rice hulls,

Lots of grains in there.

Here are the first 19 ingredients for the food I feed (Artemis)

Chicken, Turkey, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Brown Rice, Pearled Barley, Lamb Meal, Oatmeal, Chicken Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherois), Egg Product, Salmon, Natural Chicken Flavor, Canola Oil, Flaxseed, Potatoes, Carrots, Peas, Apples, Cranberries,

I think there are far worse foods than Royal Canin, but you might be able to do better. I don't have a small breed, so their nutritional needs may be different, but >30% protein would have my dogs running off the wall (I understand terriers are different -- I just don't know if they NEED more protein or whether protein makes them worse). I'd check out breeder websites and the Wheaten Terrier club webpage and see if there's breed-specific nutrition recommendations out there. There may be good info on levels of protein, etc. that are ideal.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I have to say I have just switched my dogs to Royal Canin. They have a digestive track brand and I was willingly to try it since it is sold at PetCo.
I know the ingredients are not the "best" but so far, so good!
It has really helped Butters with his poop.

 

[Jockaroo]

It may sound gross, but if he has another accident, take the solid waste out into the yard where you want him to go. Then each time you walk him and want him to go #2, lead him to that spot. You can also use a trigger word or phrase. I have a female Scottish Terrier that is basically trained to pee and poop on command. Her commands are "pee-pee" and "potty". My neighbors trained their yellow lab to "hurry up". To do this, make sure that you praise the dog to high heavens when he does what you want. Find a treat that he loves more than anything and give him a treat when he goes potty where you want. Take the treat with you when you walk him and poke it in his mouth the second he finishes; don't wait to give the treat when he gets back in the house. Only give this treat when he does his business when and where you wish. Jump up and down and celebrate his achievement! "Rover, good boy, good potty!"

You may need to set an alarm clock and do a middle-of-the-night walk for several weeks. He is still a very young dog. I bet he is a cutie-pie!