Help please our dog is driving us apart

[Samantha Red]

We have two dogs, one of which is a 3 year old chocolate lab that we ''rescued'' from my brothers broken marriage when when she was a year old. She is beautiful, sweet, affectionate, happy, sociable and everything that a lovely lab should be apart from one issue. She seems to find it impossible to be clean at night. It is not every night, we can sometimes go for a couple of weeks without any problem, but then bam she will soil the kitchen, with either deposit in the night. We have tried everything to resolve it. She is only fed in the morning now, nothing at all in the evening. She is taken out before bed every night and always empties everything out. She is taken out on two good walks during the day.

Unfortunately it is driving us both, but particularly my FI mad. It is not helped by the fact that we plan to have a new solid oak floor laid in the kitchen at the end of this month and he is obsessed by the idea that she is going to ruin it. Crating helps a bit, but she still will do a ''no 2'' in there sometimes and I hate crating her all night. Strangely it doesn''t seem to happen in the morning when I am out at work and she is left for about 6 hours.

We have always argued about it, but with the added stress of our wedding in 11 weeks, work being done on the house and a poorly Grandmother on his side we are really struggling and I can feel a gulf opening up between us. I spend more time with her and feel more affection towards her as I feel for her bad start in life and she is such a lovely dog to have about; particularly after losing my old lab in October last year. I am coming to the conclusion we may have to re home her to save us and worry that I would resent him for ever for that. He is adamant that he doesn''t want to do that.

I would be grateful for any suggestions of what more we can do. We try treating like a puppy that is being house trained by going out with her and praising profusely when she does any thing outside so I am at a loss.

I would love any suggestions of dealing with this, do I need to go to a vets with her?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 1/15/2009 5:19:23 AM
Author:Samantha Red
We have two dogs, one of which is a 3 year old chocolate lab that we 'rescued' from my brothers broken marriage when when she was a year old. She is beautiful, sweet, affectionate, happy, sociable and everything that a lovely lab should be apart from one issue. She seems to find it impossible to be clean at night. It is not every night, we can sometimes go for a couple of weeks without any problem, but then bam she will soil the kitchen, with either deposit in the night. We have tried everything to resolve it. She is only fed in the morning now, nothing at all in the evening. She is taken out before bed every night and always empties everything out. She is taken out on two good walks during the day.

Unfortunately it is driving us both, but particularly my FI mad. It is not helped by the fact that we plan to have a new solid oak floor laid in the kitchen at the end of this month and he is obsessed by the idea that she is going to ruin it. Crating helps a bit, but she still will do a 'no 2' in there sometimes and I hate crating her all night. Strangely it doesn't seem to happen in the morning when I am out at work and she is left for about 6 hours.

We have always argued about it, but with the added stress of our wedding in 11 weeks, work being done on the house and a poorly Grandmother on his side we are really struggling and I can feel a gulf opening up between us. I spend more time with her and feel more affection towards her as I feel for her bad start in life and she is such a lovely dog to have about; particularly after losing my old lab in October last year. I am coming to the conclusion we may have to re home her to save us and worry that I would resent him for ever for that. He is adamant that he doesn't want to do that.

I would be grateful for any suggestions of what more we can do. We try treating like a puppy that is being house trained by going out with her and praising profusely when she does any thing outside so I am at a loss.

I would love any suggestions of dealing with this, do I need to go to a vets with her?

Hi Samantha,

I would definitely suggest a thorough exam by a vet in order to rule out any physical problems, so thats the first step. I am sure you can sort this out! How long is it that she is left at night, between her last time to go potty and being let out in the morning?

 

[Samantha Red]

Hi Lorelei

We go to bed between 10 and 10.30 and we are up at 6am. That is the longest we ever leave it and as I say we always make sure she is empty at bedtime

 

[Tuckins1]

Crate her at night.

 

[Samantha Red]

Hi Tuckins

We have done, but she has still soiled sometimes, which is pretty grim leaving her in there with it

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 1/15/2009 5:57:57 AM
Author: Samantha Red
Hi Lorelei

We go to bed between 10 and 10.30 and we are up at 6am. That is the longest we ever leave it and as I say we always make sure she is empty at bedtime

Then I would have thought she should be ok overnight, but definitely see your vet for a checkup and they could advise on various strategies which could help.

 

[Eva17]

if she gets a clear exam from the vet, she needs to be crated in a smaller crate. if she has room to poo and move over, it is too big.

good luck!

 

[Efe]

One of my dogs periodically has a similar problem, but it is always has to do with peeing. It ended up being a problem with his anal glands being full and not emptying on their own. Once these get emptied, he is fine for few weeks and then it starts all over again. The vet initially didn''t suspect this as a problem because he never scoots or gives any other indications. Might be worth a mention to your vet.

 

[Italiahaircolor]

My chihuahua used to do the same sneak attack sort of thing...

We implimented a thing where, if he goes 1 &2, he gets to sleep in the bed with us...if he doesn''t, then he''s cage bound....

I''d talk to your vet.

 

[Madam Bijoux]

Would it help to put lots of newspapers on the floor for the time being? After the vet rules out health issues, maybe a breeder or professional trainer could give you some good advice.

 

[iheartscience]

Yikes...I''m not a dog expert but I have heard crating them is the best thing for them. And maybe she''ll eventually learn to not go in her crate? I would definitely talk to your vet about this. Good luck!

 

[EricaR]

Crate.

It is her problem if she poops in there and has to live with it. I''d make sure there are plenty of blankets, etc on the bottom of the crate so that whatever she does doesn''t leak out.

 

[monarch64]

Sorry to hear you''re going through this. Pets can be hard to deal with under normal circumstances, but throw wedding-planning or baby-planning into the mix and you''ve doubled your stress levels. I''m with the others who say to crate the dog, add old towels and blankets you don''t care about getting ruined, etc. Do you think her issue has anything to do with the particular crate you''re using now? Is it a recycled crate from her old house, or from another dog? Is it enclosed or open so she can see out? I would consider those variables as well, maybe she just needs a new crate.

 

[bee*]

I''d definitely bring her to a vets first to make sure that there are no physical problems. If she gets the all clear, then treating her as if she was a new puppy is normally the best way of training them, but if it goes on for another while, then maybe get a dog behaviourist out to have a look and see can they think of something new. Otherwise crating normally is the best thing.

 

[Tuckins1]

Date: 1/15/2009 6:46:08 AM
Author: Samantha Red
Hi Tuckins


We have done, but she has still soiled sometimes, which is pretty grim leaving her in there with it

Hmmm... I agree with the others then. Check with the vet and see if there is something else going on. After that... Just crate her and if she goes in the crate, she''ll have to learn to deal with it, or learn to hold it.

 

[Allison D.]

I would ask your brother where the dog typically slept during the night when he owned her. I wouldn''t be surprised to hear that the dog slept in with your brother and his wife - either in the room or in the bed.

The dog is capable of holding it (as you note during the day) but does this from time to time during the night. I wonder if it''s because she''s upset at being separated from you both while she knows you''re in the house.

 

[AmberGretchen]

I ditto those who said 1) thorough vet check and then 2) crating and leaving her in there with it if she does soil. I know it sounds grim, but its really for the best. Make sure the crate is the right size - she should just be able to stand up, turn around, and lie back down.

Another technique you could try is sometimes referred to as the satellite technique. It will be a little more complicated at night, but is worth a shot - clip a leash to you and to the dog (like around your waist or something). That way she literally can''t "escape" and go potty out of sight. If you feel an urgent tugging in the night, get up, and take her out to potty.

Another thought - is the doing this always in the same place (the kitchen)? If so, have you cleaned super thoroughly with an enzymatic cleaner such as Nature''s Miracle to get rid of the smell? If not she may still be smelling it and therefore thinking that''s an "OK" place to potty.

 

[Maisie]

I bet if the dog was allowed to sleep in your room at night then you would find this behaviour would stop. Our labrador sleeps in our room and loves it. She has her own bed and never tries to get up on the bed unless we invite her. She is a very sociable animal and prefers being near us.

 

[swingirl]

Until this problem is solved I would not get a new wood floor put in. I personally would find it very challenging to live with an adult pet who toileted in the house. Everyone has their limits. I do hope you are able to retrain the dog because you obviously are very attached. sorry to have to deal with this so close to your wedding.

 

[disney777]

You say you feed her in the morning. What would happen if you fed her at night instead? Maybe she''s a slow digester? My dogs get a light breakfast in the morning, and their main meal around 4:30. Try experimenting with feeding times and see what happens. (And I agree, get her checked out by a vet.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I can''t imagine that if she is fed in the morning and taken out for some exercise at some point during the day or evening, that she wouldn''t go potty before bedtime. I absolutely believe in crating dogs at night. It is their bed.

One other thought. We have two dogs and I would never again have oak floors in my kitchen unless I had a basement for dogs to stay in part of the time. Too much wear and tear.