I HAVE AN ELEVEN WEEK OLD WESTIE, SHE IS FINE IN MOST WAYS BUT POO'S A LOT IN HER CAGE AT NIGHT,AND HAS SPOTS OF BLOOD IN IT, NOT EVERY TIME. SHE EATS OK AND IS VERY WELL IN HERSELF. ANY SUGGESTIONS PLEASE. I AM NOT USE TO LITTLE DOGS AS I OWN THREE G S D'S AND A COLLIE, I HAVE REDUCED HER FOOD AS I THINK I WAS FEEDING TOO MUCH , SHE IS ON FOUR MEALS A DAY AND I AM FEEDING HER JAMES WELLBELOVED. SHE IS A SUPER LITTLE DOG.

I have 11 week old westie/poodle or westoodle who had exactly the same problem with blood in his poo, the vet suggested dividing daily food allowance into 5 meals per day and it immediately solved the problem. Something to do with small stomachs & bowels not being able to cope with too much food at once. Can't suggest anything for pooing in crate at night as we have same thing some nights but I don't see it as a problem, the nights are a long time for a small puppy to wait. 11 weeks is still very young to have complete bowel and bladder control at any time of the day and night. Hope this helps, I'm sure someone else will have some other suggestions.

Hi ,i have a westie x lhasa apso, who also suffers with her tummy ,the vet says that westies especially have very sensitive tummys ,if i feed her anything other than chicken /lamb based food it goes straight through her also she is sick and generally unwell ,we have to feed our cats on a garden table moving all chairs etc so she cant reach their food as she will do anything to get to itshe just loves cat food,but she is sick almost immediatly ,i do try different foods for her as she is not exactly ecstatic with what she should eat! touch wood though we have not had blood in her poo good luck with both of these pooches Regards Sue & Lola xx

Hi there,

Both problems could be caused by over feeding her, and you may be prone to giving far too much food with always having big dogs, if she is being fed too much it has to go somewhere.

Don't feed her right before bed so that she should have done both before her bed time, at her age she should be out around midnight and out again at around 6 am..if not a bit earlier. This way she will learn that toliet is for outside.

I would however say that if the blood doesn't disappear over 48 hours with reduced amounts of food then off to the vets for some advice.

Good luck Pamela

can't say anything about the blood in poo i'm afraid but just to let you know re: pooing in her cage that we have a 15 wk old cavalier and she's only just starting to be able to hold through the night now, she's nearly always had 1 poo in her cage by morning otherwise and we usually make her last feed @ 7pm - then we're up to her by 6.40am (eugh!)

a lot of people told me that small dogs take longer to gain control of their toilet habits but it will come.

ruby's had no poo in cage in the morning for a few days now - but her favourite trick currently as she doesn't like going outside in the cold is to gently saunter out of her basket in the morning when dad comes down and stopping off to pee in her nighttime cage loo-corner in front of him!!! THen she gets immediately taken outside to get her precious little paws damp and cold anyway and usually does a poo then.... so at least we're winning the poo battle!! Little minx - am trying to convince him that if he picks her up as soon as she squats and whisks her outside he won't get his slippers sprayed w pooch pee, but i don't think he trusts me on this one yet ;) am sure it will come with time!!

My 19month male Westie when he was a pup had loose poo for a long time and often with spots of bood in it through all the straining he was doing. He needed his anal glands emptying several times as a result of loose poo. The vet suggested that it was because he was having too much protein in his food. I tried different foods gradually and eventually found Naturediet Lite (it was recommended on this site by others who had same problems). It has worked a treat. His stools are now formed and he's not going as often.
As for pooing during the night he grew out of that but at that age i was up through the night letting him out when he needed to go. Consider the protein, avoid treats and good luck, it will get better.
Budmag

Hi

I have now had 3 Westies and currently have a 21 month old girl. At 11 weeks your girl is still a baby and has a long way to go with house training, so don't despair. The Westies I have had have all been about 6 months old before they were completely house trained. Westies also have an independent streak and, in my experience, do things when they decide to!:) As for the blood, if it has been going on for a couple of days I would definitely get it checked out by the vet. Being only 11 weeks your girl will only need very small meals but you should have a word with her breeder who should be able to help with a suitable feeding programme. I feed my girl NatureDiet which we are both delighted with! me because it doesn't have a lot of additives and her because she's a fussy little madam!!:D This information is just my opinion as a pet owner and not expert advice but I can definitely confirm that Westies are brilliant!!:D:D

As others have mentioned, 11 weeks is too young to expect her to be clean at night. I kept my Cairn in a crate near my bed - when she woke up at night I got up and took her outside. I cannot remember how long that went on, but I think she was about 4 months old before she could make it through the night. She was nearly nine months before she was totally reliable because she would "forget" herself when she was excited by visitors and sometimes she would simply squat and wee on the carpet. Terriers take excitement to heights as yet unachieved by GSDs.:- ) She also had a few accidents right before she came into season, which I believe was hormonal. She is a year old now and reliable (knock wood).

My first small dog (a Yorkie) was a real change for me as well, as I only had GSDs previously. I was used to an 8 week old GSD being near to perfectly house trained in a week.

Enjoy your Westie. She will make it up to you in laughs.

Stacey

Thankyou all for your help, I have divided her feeds into five portions and the poo is much better, as for the night time poo's that doesn't bother me I was just surprised that she did it so often during the night. her last feed is at 6.30pm now and we get only two lots, she is a great little dog and keeps my GSDs amusued and busy,and she is very quick to learn, lets hope she learns agility as quick when she is older,my other dogs have all enjoyed it, it will be interesting to see how I run a mini dog. Thanks once again.