My lovely Cocker has just turned 2 and has always had housetraining problems - specifically, going through the night. It took her until about 6mths old to go all the way through, and since about a year old she's become more and more unreliable. Now to the point where she won't toilet at all at 10pm (last toileting before being locked in for the night). Every day when I wake up there's a lovely present waiting for me...

I know it's her and not my other dog because the other one always toilets at 10 & again when I let them out first thing in the morning.

My question is - how long after feeding does a dog need to toilet? They are fed at 6pm and then brought in for the evening. I don't let her out to toilet until 10 so she should need to go by then, surely??

I have the same breed boy. Not had any issues with his toileting phew. All my other dogs all from 5 month's went through night without incident save if ill...
Could it be a habit? Is there a reason why its 10 pm each night last toilet? My boy has dinner 6pm to 6.30pm.Could you try possibly taking her out later say 11 then waking earlier to let out! Slowly me times and see if it makes a difference?

> They are fed at 6pm and then brought in for the evening.

When you say they are brought in for the evening do you mean they are normally outside during the day? If so I was wondering if she was toiletting indoors because she views indoors as outdoors - if that makes sense.

I remember when my very reliably housetrained pup was several months old and he casually got up from the kitchen where we were all sitting and walked into the living room and weed on the floor. I realised it was because he only ever went into that room - because it was carpeted and not so easy to clear up - for a short time in the evening and then only when we were present - as far as he was concerned he had taken himself out of the kitchen and not weed somewhere where he had learnt he shouldn't wee. His "outside" was exactly where he had gone  - it wasn't the area where he mainly lived at that time. Once he was a little older and had free range of the house he learnt that "outside" was the garden and the whole of the house was a no wee area.

> <br />When you say they are brought in for the evening do you mean they are normally outside during the day? If so I was wondering if she was toiletting indoors because she views indoors as outdoors - if that makes sense.

This may indeed be what's going on.    However, much as digestion in the dog normally takes 4 hours I have to believe that mine, who usually have a bowel movement when they are first let out in the morning, before they have breakfast so that's not breakfast! and one of them has a BM during their last outing at around 10.30 pm before bed, not the other ever,  I think you might try two things - feeding the last meal of the day earlier than 6 pm.   Ours have their second meal at around 4.30 pm.   And perhaps taking her for an actual walk might stimulate her bowels.   Other than that, perhaps for now you need to get up during the night to take her out.   Something needs to happen to break this habit, which I think it is.

Does she have issues with going out at night?  I wondered if it could be a fear issue.  Health: Were her parents DNA tested for PRA which starts with night blindness.

Assuming no health problems - Brainless has a good suggestion - it can usually be sorted with some work.  I went through this with my lab.  I had to do two things: stay outside until she went, and keep sending her to go, every night until she got into the habit, and restrict her access overnight to the surface she wanted to go on (vinyl in her case).  I also got up in the night to let her out, then gradually pushed back what time I got up until she was lasting all night.

Using a clicker to mark her for going outside - whether at homes or on walks - also helped considerably.

Hi everyone, all good suggestions thanks!

She is walked in the evenings and sometimes toilets on walks. Its winter over here in Oz so the dogs come in for the morning and evening when it's coldest, go out for the afternoon to enjoy the sun, and are locked on the deck (a bit like a laundry room) for the night. She never toilets inside the actual house, only on the deck, even though the flooring is the same.

This evening I fed her at 5 and she toileted pretty much immediately afterwards - but I'm assuming that's leftover from her breakfast... Her dinner wouldn't digest that quickly

Still no good - fed an hour earlier than usual yesterday but still left a surprise for me in the night...

> Still no good - fed an hour earlier than usual yesterday but still left a surprise for me in the night... <img title="mad" class="fsm fsm_mad" alt="" src="/images/epx.png" />

Crate her at night, she vies your deck as an 'outdoor' area.

Is there anything outside that might cause her to be uneasy and prevent her 'relaxing' for the poo so that she comes in and does it where she feels more secure? Is it the dark putting her off?

But if she won't go when I let her out, she'll only do it in the crate in the night...

Has she done it in the crate before?  A lot of dogs won't because it's their sleeping area.  There are always exceptions, of course.

Good point Brainless, are parents checked for PRA?

Its unlikely she would go in the crate.....even very young puppies won't "go" where they sleep and eat.  Give it a try xx

CRATE at night - and for now, get up mid-way through the night to take her out!   This is, I suggest, a habit and one that needs to be broken.   Is she showing signs of 'night blindness' at all - uneasy going out there, bumping into things perhaps?    Can you use an outside light?

Adult dogs don't normally mess where they sleep (crate) so I'd try this - or perhaps bringing her in with you, in your room overnight, again in a crate.   A big part of this could be she's simply unhappy being left alone at night (even if presumably, she's with your other dog).    And if you do bring her in with you, again get up around 3 am and take her out.

I completely agree with everyone who has said "crate overnight".  My now 10 year old cocker started waking and peeing in the kitchen at around 5 am, and after checking with the vet for uti or other physical cause, he has been crated every night and, although eager to go into the garden when I let him out at 6, his bed has been dry every night.

Just a thought, I'm assuming you're talking about pees not poos.  If it's poos, it could be worth getting a vet examination.  My same cocker, one weekend, did an early morning poo in the kitchen 3 days running.  Since he had been completely clean in the house until then, I took him to the vet, and he was diagnosed with mild spondylosis which the vet said was causing pressure on a nerve causing the urge to empty the bowels.  Since he started treatment he has had no further inappropriate bowel movements.

She used to just do it in her crate as a puppy, even if I got up to let her out in the middle of the night. She's been a lot better the last few nights as I've been feeding all the dogs an hour earlier, so she actually goes at 10 before bed. Seem to have cracked it just by feeding her earlier.