Middle of the night pooping

[ljbuyer]

I have a 4 year old toy poodle that pees and poops in the middle of the night. We always know as soon as we wake up because she shakes and cowers in a corner. She definately knows what she is doing and that it upsets us. We always let her out last thing before bed (usually between 10&11 pm and she always goes (at least pees). She hates the crate so putting her in there for the night is out of the question. We've tried and all she does is bark all night. We even tried to use the crate as a punishment (time out).Is there anyone who has successfully treated this issue?

[Todd]

Hi there and thanks for the post

I have a few ideas that may help.
Firstly have you got her checked out by a vet. Often there is a medical problem that can cause problems like this so i would recommend getting her checked out by your vet.

Secondly have you thought about a dog door. These are great as they let your dog choose when they want to go out and avoid messes. I would recommend getting them professionally installed to avoid draughts in the colder months.

For a while you may need to get up in the night to take her out to the toilet. I know it sounds terrible but if you can start at say 1am for a week then slowly make her last longer and longer eg half an hour every 2 days then you will eventually get to where she can hold on all night.

Another idea is to feed her a bit earlier at night. This will make things come on a bit earlier so she may toilet when you take her out before bed.

AS a last point make sure to use a good deodouriser in the area where she messes. This will help avoid her making a habit of toileting in the same area over and over.

Todd

[ljbuyer]

Thanks Todd,

We had her checked by the vet . She's healthy so we know that isn't it. She is home alone most days til around 2 pm so we know she CAN hold it. A dog door scares me. We don't have a fence, just the invisible fence and I have heard that there have been coyote and fisher cat sightings in the area.
I have also cleaned the carpet almost every other day for the past week. Before bed, I throw a bunch of low calorie treats all over the rug. She has actually been good for the past 3-4 nights. I haven't slept through the night in ages so your suggestion to let her out is something I could easily try.
Thanks for the advice.

Linda