# Crate training - poo disaster



## Tillypops (Aug 28, 2015)

We've had Penny for 4 weeks now. We started crate training her straight away, but she had diarrhea & loose stools from when we got her, and we gave up on it after a week, due to her messing in the crate every night.

She has still been sleeping in her crate every night, but we have been leaving her door open and she's been weeing and pooing in the kitchen. There's never been a morning without a poo waiting for us.

After having some medication and now being settled on her new food (normal poos), we decided to start training again last night.

This morning, her blanket had poo smeared on it and it was also smeared on all of her toys & kong, however, no actual poo found. I'm a bit worried this means that she ate it!! She is a smelly pup anyway and is particularly smelly this morning (going in bath shortly!). I'm hoping the fact that she went straight into the garden and had a poo after her breakfast means she didn't. She doesn't usually poo until I come home and take her out at lunchtime.

Not sure what I'm asking here, but any advice will be greatly appreciated.


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

If she has always poo's overnight it sounds like she needs to go and she may well have eaten it. If you want to crate her it sounds like you will need to get up in the night and take her to the loo so she can be clean.

Pups do not want to be dirty where they are sleeping but (much like anyone else) if they have to go they have to go and they need to learn to hold on.

If you get up with her in the night she can be clean and you can gradually lengthen how long she is without a break until she is going right through the night.


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## Elliehop (Sep 14, 2015)

What a pain for you! I woke up yesterday morning to find our pup's crate covered in vomit and diarrhea yesterday (a few hours before I had a massive job interview!) so can appreciate how difficult that is. 

A few tips for you - 
What time do you last feed her? We always gave our pup dinner 3 hours before bedtime so she can get that last 'oh I feel full, I need to poo' poo out of the way at night, but not so early that she would need to poo again before the morning. She only poos morning, noon and early evening now, so it's not as vital.
I'm a bit confused about how old your pup is as it says 8 weeks on your profile, but I assume you didn't get her at 4 weeks? We definitely had to get up during the night until Ellie was about 10 weeks old, though she's been very good about that sort of thing. I had to scold my OH though as he wasn't willing to stay out with her for her last bathroom break so she was weeing and not having a poo if needed, so you might think about making that last bathroom break before you go to bed last longer, as it took Ellie AGES to have a poo when she was little. 

I would continue the crate training as leaving the door open probably encourages her to have nighttime potty breaks, and she'll be a lot less likely to go in her own crate. Hopefully you're little cockaPOO will start having a bit of an easier time!


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## Cat 53 (Aug 26, 2012)

Maybe your little girl finds being caged very stressful. Try a dog bed and put paper down or pads, and see how that goes. It's always worked for me. If the kitchen is a big room, have you a smaller space you could use. Mine go to sleep in the utility room which is half the size of the kitchen.


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