My newfie girl still potty's in her kennel at night .

[horsepoor21]

Hi everyone , I'm new here and have never posted before . I have a four and a half month old newfie who still goes to the bathroom in her kennel . I always thought dogs didn't want to use their kennel as a bathroom because they'd have to lay in it but she sure doesn't mind . So , if I wait until almost 11 or midnight to put her to bed  and then let her out by 4 am she usually has a dry kennel . But I have to make sure not to feed her after 4 in the afternoon or they'll be a huge poopy mess . If I want to sleep in ( is wanting to sleep past 4 am considered sleeping in ? ) I have to make sure to set my alarm or there is a horrible mess . I've had her looked at by my vet and she is healthy . Are my expectations just to high for her age ? All the other dogs I've had made it thru an entire night with no messes in their kennel ..... My girl is the queen of baths as she has to take one every few days ...... And it's too cold here now to give her one outside . I'm afraid she'll clog my bathtub up with all that black hair . LOL Thanks for all your help , in advance . I guess I just need a little encouragement . 

[RedyreRottweilers]

How old, exactly, was this puppy when you got her?

Where did you get her?

Where do you keep the crate?

How is the pup doing on housetraining during the day?

What sort of food are you feeding her?

And just so I'm clear, is she urinating AND defecating in the crate, or just defecating?

[shangrila]

I have three thoughts about this.

1. Once the puppy is forced to potty in their crate (by not being able to go out when they need to), it sort of makes them 'unlearn' that it is not ok to go in the crate. The more times that she goes in the crate, the harder it is going to be to get her to learn not too. Also, the more the smell lingers, the more likely she is to do it again. What do you use to clean it after accidents.

2. Have you been using a crate divider? If you give the puppy too much room at first, they will think that they can pee in one corner, and go sleep dry in another. So you have to carefully monitor how much space they get and give them more space as they grow and as they as they learn.

3. I think that sleeping on the porch may contribute to the problem. Outside there are wild animals. Wild animals can scare puppies. And scared puppies pee in their cages. Are you sure that you can't find anywhere in the house to put her crate? You'll probably even find that she is quieter inside

[sarnewfie]

Well first off
newf pups should be part of the pack
they should not be housed on the "porch"
how sad.
next, the water if not hot outside be cut off around 8 pm
only if it is not hot.
i would also contact your breeder.
she can give you tips
if she is the kind who really cares.
a good breeder is there for you no matter the questions
remember, the bladder on a newf pup is no where the size of their body, and it takes longer to potty train a female than a male.
Also i am very surprised you are feeding iams.
i would make sure that your breeder knows this,
giant breeds have very specific dietary needs.

[newflvr]

Our Newfs sleep in our bedroom with us and they may virtually no noise at all....far less than snoring husband!

Chester is now 7 months old, but even at 4 months, he could sleep quietly (not in a crate) right next to the big boy Cowboy.  Try bringing her in!  I completely agree with what everyone else is saying.  She really needs to be with you in your room at night!

[sarnewfie]

newfoundlands will not thrive nor grow well on food that is not balanced, i hope for your sake her joints and her body grows in a way that it should.
iams is not good food for young growing newfs.
to many people put their faith into their vet.
vets do not know about diet, nutricion and growth rates of the giant breeds, they do not see enough of them, and , it is enough just to keep educated on the medical field
i highly advise you to call your breeder and find out what other foods she recomends, or , you will find, feeding a cheaper food, will not only hit your budget later on thru health issues, it also will lead to more volume in poo.
you also need to contact your breeder, tell her how you are house training ,and ask her for tips.
a breeder should be there to guide you thru the growing stages.
the growth of the first year is so critical, and in my experience, iams is lacking in a lot of ways.

[tonyc]

if you're on a tight food budget, try Costco/Kirkland's rebranded Diamond foods. no soy/wheat/corn, high protein, low kcals..

then again, if you don't hv a petsmart in town.. there's a good chance u may not hv Costco either

[sarnewfie]

The prefered food is one that promotes slow growth is well balanced and some require other things, a good breeder keeps up on each pup as some pups will have different needs than others in the litter.
males will have more demands on their body than females due to more growth, so the breeder needs to be kept up on the growth of the pups.
i wouldnt feed the costco
but that is me.

[sarnewfie]

your breeder
newfoundlands can have growth anomoly crop up in the front legs
due to accelerated growth, they also can have other problems including joint problems due to improper diet.

back to basics, innova, canidae, wysong, these are just a few that are trustworthy ........
good luck
as i said, vets do not specialize in dietary needs, they also do not realize that growth rates are affected by what they are fed.
this is not made up, it is fact.
some veterinarians do special in it, due to breeding and raising certain breeds themselves, but in my experience and others out there, the medical aspect is their specialty
they also get royalties off science diet.

Disclaimer,
not meant to offend.

[brandon]

We love our vet, but he also tried to push the science diet food.  Seems like all vets do now, I guess there is some sort of royalty thing going on.  12 or so years ago it was probably one of the top foods.  My personal opinion is it is made up of too much corn filler, but thats just my opinion, I'm not a breeder, animal-healthcare professional, etc or anything other than a computer geek who has a dog.  Seems like premium foods have come a long way in the last 10-15 years.

[sarnewfie]

i put a list in my last reply to you.

[brandon]

Based on recommendation s from others, we were feeding Canidae, and have switched to Chicken Soup for the Dog lover's soul.  Those two seem to be almost exactly the same, except the chicken soup has a few more things in it, and it is available closer to where we live.

I think the Costco/diamond foods seem pretty good to me, looking at the nutritional content (studying the back of the bag), it looks about the same as the other really premium food, and is not too loaded with fillers.  Our dogs breeder used the diamond foods, and her dogs looked great. 

We just own one large breed, he's only 6-months old.. so take my advice for what it's worth (not much)

[shangrila]

So then what does everyone feed their dogs ?

We have an entire forum about food here at BPO. You can find it here:
http://www.bigpawsonly.com/index.php/board,193.0.html

You might fing this thread 'What brand of food does your dog eat?' particularly interesting
http://www.bigpawsonly.com/index.php/topic,1139.0.html

[sarnewfie]

Do you have any small mom and pop shops that sell pet supplies?
if you do they can place orders for people.
see if you can find one.
i used to drive twenty minutes to get my food one way! LOL

[shangrila]

What stores do you have in your area? Do you have a petco, a petsmart, or other pet store with a website? Also, what is your budget (be realistic - I know that I feed zoey the most expensive food, but I don't have kids to feed, and I am not going to try and convince you to feed something that is way out of your budget). If you tell me these two things, I can help suggest some brands that you can both get at the store and afford that would still be nutritious for your pup