How to prevent my dog from pooping at 4 AM and waking me up early?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I would try to feed her a bit earlier than 5am, maybe 4:30. She likely has to defecate before you leave for work. I would try to take her for a 15 min walk right before you leave for work to get her to poop before you leave. She may be holding it and then going right after you leave. She should be able to hold her stool otherwise that short 4-5 hours. By 16 weeks only feed her twice daily. She will grow out of this. Another option is to have someone come in to walk her quickly around 7:30 am. I hope this helps and I wish you and Sara Mae the very best!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Luna. Yes, I would change her meal time to the mornings. Dogs typically will need to have a bowel movement after a meal. So this makes it more likey that she will need to have a bowel movement overnight. I would also take her out frequently during the day so that she will have less of need to go out at night. It has probably become a bit of a habit for her to go out at night. So it will take some time for her to adjust to the new schedule. I hope this information helps!

I would recommend decreasing the number of feeding for max through the day. If max is a Labrador he should be big enough to only eat twice a day. If you start feeding him twice a day it will help limit the amount of times he defecates. I would recommend the latest you feed him be 6:00pm. That way he has plenty of time to digest his food before bed. Hope that helps

Thank you for submitting your question regarding your dog. A dog will typically have a bowel movement 20-30 minutes after eating a meal. So I usually recommend feeding two meals per day, one in the morning and one in the evening. This will give you time to get him outside to go to the bathroom before you need to leave for work or go to bed. If he is used to free feeding, it can take a bit of time to make this transition. Put the food down for 15 minutes in the morning and let him eat. Then give him another 15 minutes to eat in the evening. Soon he will realize that he needs to eat during these time or the food will go away. I hope this information helps!

The circling and whining may be indicating she needs to go outside to eliminate. I recommend getting her seen by your vet to make sure there isn't some underlying medical condition that is causing her to suddenly need to relieve herself so early in the morning. If she is an older dog, she may simply be unable to hold it as long as she used to, but it's best to check her out at your vets to be safe. You might consider feeding her two meals a day, one at breakfast time and another late afternoon or evening. Make sure she goes outside right before bedtime and give her plenty of time to relieve herself. Dogs can be like people and do better when they are on a structured schedule with food.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is likely just him trying to get your attention. There may be something in the house or just outside that is bothering him so I would check on that. There may be a cat trying to get his attention at night. Best of luck!

Hello. I would not recommend feeding Stella during the night. Just like us, we need to have a good nights rest for the following day. Waking her any time after 9pm will make it much harder to try & house train her to sleep all night. Definitely feed her in the morning & she should do great. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.