Needing the toilet during the night...can we do anything different?

[MrsC]

Hello! 

Our 3.5yr old greyhound boy is wonderful in every way. We've had him since he was about 18 months old and he's incredibly happy, cheeky, playful, confident, inquisitive and loves a snuggle.

The only issue we have is that for the last few months he's been barking to go out to the toilet during the night, usually twice a night. I don't think he's barking for attention as he goes straight out, does his business and goes straight back to sleep again. He has his dinner at around 5pm and always goes out for a wee before we go to bed (anywhere between 11 and 12 usually) but he still barks to go out for a poo at around 2am and sometimes a wee at 4-5am.

Part of me is grateful that he wants to go out rather than us coming down to a little present every morning, and it could be worse as we all go back so sleep straight away. I'm just wondering if there's anything we can do to get a full night's sleep? Or just accept its the way things are and if he needs to go, he needs to go?

Many thanks in advance for taking the time to read this. 

[macoduck]

Have you taken a urine sample to your vet to check for a UTI?

[MrsC]

We haven't gone down that route as it's usually a number 2 he needs to go out for and no other issues with his weeing. But definitely something we'll look into. 

[FiveRoooooers]

Def agree with Ducky's suggestion of testing for a UTI. Am I reading correctly that this is new behavior? What has changed for him in the past few months? What and how much are you feeding your boy (what is his name!)? He sounds like a wonderful boy

[MrsC]

Thanks so much for the reply. His name is Batman and he's quite bonkers but the most loving, affectionate and loyal boy. 

Now I'm thinking about it, it's not really a very new behaviour, maybe more that we've just got used to it. For a while we'd wake up in the morning and he'd have done a poo in the living room, but he's not done that since barking to go out in the night. And on occasion he just wants tucking back into bed! 

We feed him approx 220g of kibble (usually with a topper of something like sardines or mackeral) at around 10am and 5pm and then that's it. He's only a small boy (about 28kg). 

[FiveRoooooers]

Bonkers Batman 

He's a good boy to alert you that he needs an out! That doesn't sound like too much food for his size. Perhaps there is too much fiber for his system in that particular brand of kibble. Grain-free is not the option, but you could try looking at other kibbles to compare ingredients and percentages of fiber, etc. Does he poop during the day? Is he getting enough exercise to stimulate his system? 

[MrsC]

Yes, I was wondering whether it's something to do with his food. He usually does about 3 poops during the day, which are solid but quite big. The kibble he's currently on is 3% fibre, so I'll do some research. He gets between around 45 mins to an hour walk a day. 

I mean, if it's something we just have to live with I'm more than happy to answer his calls if he needs to go. And like I said, he settles back to sleep again straight away. I wonder if an earlier dinner might make a difference?!

[FiveRoooooers]

An earlier dinner could give Batman's system more time to process his noms and make for a last poop at bedtime, worth a try!

[Jerilyn]

He's such a good boy, telling you that he has to go then going right back to bed, but I totally understand not wanting to have to get up every night.  I know you can't make him go, but maybe you could encourage him to poop before bed. Make him run a round a bit or make him stay outside a little longer to see if he'll go then.

[1Moregrey]

6 hours ago, MrsC said:

He has his dinner at around 5pm and always goes out for a wee before we go to bed (anywhere between 11 and 12 usually) but he still barks to go out for a poo at around 2am and sometimes a wee at 4-5am.

Do you know how long it takes him to digest his food?  Once you know that move his dinner time later so he will be ready to poo a few hours later?  Maybe try moving it to 8pm-9pm and see if he can sleep until 5am-6am. 
 

[greysmom]

Couple thoughts...

It doesn't sound like he has a medical issue, but if he hasn't had urine labs or a stool sample checked for parasites recently it doesn't hurt to check that off the list.

He might need an actual walk for last outs (or at least during the evening hours) to make sure he poops before going to bed.  Adjusting his feeding times may help - his two meals are fairly close together and it's most often recommended to be more evenly spaced during the 24 hours - 8-12 hours apart rather than 7 or less.  

There *are* low residue foods available, but I don't think that's your issue.  Try more exercise first.

The other thing is to make sure he stays warm enough during his sleeping hours.  The urge to go potty works through the release of hormones - when a dog gets woken up a hormone is released that tells them to go.  So if he gets cold and wakes up he's going to have to go potty too.  You mentioned that he wants to be tucked in, but if he's a restless sleeper or a nester some jammies or a light housecoat during the night is probably a better option.

[MerseyGrey]

I second the suggestion to walk before bedtime. Ours used to wake us up as regular as clockwork at 5am, then he stopped waking us up and starting to poop in the house more. We started taking him for a walk at 9ish, just before bedtime, and now he sleeps later, he rarely wakes us up to toilet and he only poops in the house if he has an upset tummy. The late walk has made a positive difference (and it’s only a 5-10 minute walk most nights)

[macoduck]

Regarding 1MoreGrey's comment about how fast your boy digests his food, the easiest test is to include some corn with his meal. Kernels usually come out looking the same way they went in.

[LBass]

20 hours ago, greysmom said:

The other thing is to make sure he stays warm enough during his sleeping hours.  The urge to go potty works through the release of hormones - when a dog gets woken up a hormone is released that tells them to go.  So if he gets cold and wakes up he's going to have to go potty too.  You mentioned that he wants to be tucked in, but if he's a restless sleeper or a nester some jammies or a light housecoat during the night is probably a better option.

This is indeed a good place to start.  My first Greyhound, Piper the Perfect , began sleeping through the night when I got him jammies.  I still remember the happy dance he did when it was time to put those jammies on.   Also, I would encourage you to have him checked for a UTI.  My current hound, Nate, asks to got out at least once on more nights than he doesn't.  He is also prone to what I think of as "stealth" UTIs--no clear symptoms like frequent urination yet he did indeed have a UTI. 

[rogereli]

Hello, we are getting a very similar behaviour. I wondered as it's winter he's getting earlier and fed earlier. . We take him out at 11 and he is pooping but cries about 3.30 and does need a poo - it's definitely I want to go out for the loo cry rather than a give me attention cry. I did read somewhere else about feeding later so we might give that a shot, I'd be interested in Mrs C's results!

[Mercsmom]

On 12/12/2022 at 12:56 PM, greysmom said:

when a dog gets woken up a hormone is released that tells them to go.  So if he gets cold and wakes up he's going to have to go potty too. 

That's brilliant, Chris.  I'm sure not many people would have thought of that.