My one year old dobe has been clean for ages - last week on 2 nights he had poohed in the kitchen and again last night.  Nothing has changed, I haven't changed his food or done anything different.  He goes out around mid-night for his last toilet and then I am up at 5am. 

The only thing is I do have a problem with his two meals, he will not eat in the morning until he has been out for a walk, he usually goes for a walk around 11am and then he has his first meal when he gets back.  Then I give him his tea around 6ish, usually after we have eaten, he is normally looking for it then. 

The first night he poohed in the kitchen, I woke around 3am and I could smell something so down I went.  He has only done one pooh each time, so its not that he has a problem or an upset tummy.

Personally I would try and move his meals so that they are aproximately 12 hours apart, this will enable him to digest them better, sounds as if they could be kind of building up in his system. If he insists on a walk first perhaps you could do a really short one and that would 'trick' him in to eating.

Does he normally toilet on his midnight walk.  If not, I might be tempted to give him the one meal at lunchtime so that he goes on his last walk.  Good luck

He will only normally go when he is off lead walking.  Usually he goes late at night when he is in the garden.  When I got up this morning he had been again and also been a wee about 3 times.  I just think its strange as his feeding habits have been the same for ages and also his toilet times.  Normally I let him out at 5am and he will do a wee, then I go off to work.  My husband gets up around 8ish and lets him out again.  He may go to toilet around 9ish.  I get home around 9.30am and we take him out about 10.30am.  I was feeding him around 9.30am, but he wasn't eating the food (he would have a couple of mouthfuls but that was all) then he would finish his food when he came in from the park.  His food pattern has been the same since he was about 7 months old, he will be one on 16th Feb.  I just find it strange he has suddenly taking to going to toilet in the kitchen.  The other thing is he normally barks to go into the garden.  Yesterday my boys got up and went to school at 8.20 and my husband did not get up until 9.00am and in those 40 minutes he had gone to toilet in the kitchen! 

Is there a chance he has been affected by any thing different in the home; could he be disturbed by anything (for instance has his bed been moved or is it in a high traffic area?).
It may well be the dinner times, but sometimes other things may be affecting the timing :)

Lindsay
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