# Springer pup pooping ALOT



## Scottguilbert (Sep 30, 2014)

Hi i got a springer spaniel puppy on saturday. Hes 8 weeks old and doing really well. Very playful and active. Only problem we're having is he's pooping alot. And when i say alot at least 10 times during the day and night. We're feeding him the same food and the same amount (1 cup split over 4 meals) each day so his diet hasnt changed but im finding it hard to believe that pooping that much is normal. Theyre proper sized and quite moist too (sorry to be graphic).

The other problem is that because he goes so much that when we come downstairs in the morning theres poo all over his crate, and often some that hes launched out onto the lounge floor. He gets it all over him and puts his toys in it. I know he wants to keep his den clean which is why hes trying to remove it but because its so often we cant let him out in time for him to make on his toilet pad. Hes picking up the toilet training really well and goes on his pad everytime during the day but like i say at night we cant get him there enough! We dont put him in his crate until hes made so we assume that he'd be empty but he keeps finding a way to make more! Advice would really be appreciated.

Thanks,

Scott.


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## LaceWing (Mar 18, 2014)

Read the ingredients on the bag of dog food. A low quality (cheap) dog food will have lots of filler in it, resulting in lots of poop. Dog Food Analysis - Reviews of kibble lists over 300 dog foods and rates them. See if you can find your dog food in the list.


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## smokeybear (Oct 19, 2011)

Scottguilbert said:


> Hi i got a springer spaniel puppy on saturday. Hes 8 weeks old and doing really well. Very playful and active. Only problem we're having is he's pooping alot. And when i say alot at least 10 times during the day and night. We're feeding him the same food and the same amount (1 cup split over 4 meals) each day so his diet hasnt changed but im finding it hard to believe that pooping that much is normal. Theyre proper sized and quite moist too (sorry to be graphic).
> 
> The other problem is that because he goes so much that when we come downstairs in the morning theres poo all over his crate, and often some that hes launched out onto the lounge floor. He gets it all over him and puts his toys in it. I know he wants to keep his den clean which is why hes trying to remove it but because its so often we cant let him out in time for him to make on his toilet pad. Hes picking up the toilet training really well and goes on his pad everytime during the day but like i say at night we cant get him there enough! We dont put him in his crate until hes made so we assume that he'd be empty but he keeps finding a way to make more! Advice would really be appreciated.
> 
> ...


Hi, not is not usual for a pup of this age to defecate so often.

There are two main reasons puppies defecate a lot, one is that their tummies are a bit upset from a change of water and the stress of a move (did you bring home some water from trhe breeder?)

The second most common one is overfeeding. Have you made sure that no one else is giving any more food and are you counting any extras such as titbits?

Have you discussed this with your breeder?

What do they say?


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## Rafa (Jun 18, 2012)

What are you feeding him?

It isn't Wagg Complete is it?


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## Amelia66 (Feb 15, 2011)

The pooping in the crate, do you take him out to toilet overnight or just leave him in there all night?


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## Scottguilbert (Sep 30, 2014)

Hi thanks for the replies.

His food is eukanoba puppy food. I couldnt find it on that analysis page but its very expensive so id expect it to be good quality.

Water wise we only live 15mins from the breeder so the water should be the same surely? I havent spoken to the breeder.

Portion wise we give him the same as what the breeder was giving him so youd think she would have warned us but who knows.

Night time wise we get up a couple of times a night but its usually too late. He had his last meal at 6 tonight which was 4 hours ago, since then hes had at least 5 poos. He doesnt seem nervous hes been great but maybe thats it. Any other thoughts are welcome. Thanks.


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## Amelia66 (Feb 15, 2011)

Scottguilbert said:


> Hi thanks for the replies.
> 
> His food is* eukanoba puppy* food. I couldnt find it on that analysis page but its very expensive so id expect it to be good quality.
> 
> ...


is that what the breeder was feeding him?

I mean puppies do poop alot, but it sounds like it is more than average so the only thing i would think was either the quality of food or feeding him too much.


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## Rafa (Jun 18, 2012)

Amelia66 said:


> is that what the breeder was feeding him?
> 
> I mean puppies do poop alot, but it sounds like it is more than average so the only thing i would think was either the quality of food or feeding him too much.


This sounds an awful lot of pooping!

I would try changing his food, gradually. If you want him to stay on a complete food, introduce it gradually, mixing it a little at a time.

I wouldn't expect a pup to be pooping more than three or four times a day at most.

Body wise, how does he look? Is he plump or fat and has he been wormed?

How many times a day are you feeding him?


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## rona (Aug 18, 2011)

What consistency is the poop and how is pup generally behaving?

To be honest, if it's 5 times in 4 hours I'd get to the vet. Your pup may be dehydrating

I certainly wouldn't be changing food at this stage


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## Jamesgoeswalkies (May 8, 2014)

You've had him three days. He's 8 weeks old and you say he is very playful and active. On this information i would suggest you simply monitor him closely. Don't change anything (he doesn't need more upheaval and any change is more likely to exacerbate an unsettled puppy).

Frequent pooing in a small pup is natural, however _prolongued_ frequent pooing may not be and if this continues then i would simply suggest rather than trying to sort it yourself you simply speak to your vet.

J


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## Scottguilbert (Sep 30, 2014)

Hes just come back from the vets (he was going to get a jab anyway) so i asked the vet and he said not to worry its probably a combination of the food and moving home. He said to try changing the food over so does anyone have any recommendations? Thanks

Oh also he said i need to be tougher on him at night and leave him alone and just accept that for the first couple of weeks ill have to deal with his spontaneous toilet goings.


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## Old Shep (Oct 17, 2010)

I certainly wouldn't be leaving him in a dirty cage overnight. Dogs like to be clean and I believe if you fail to work with the dog on this, you may end up with a dog who thinks it's ok to poop in his cage. 

His natural instinct is to be clean.

If I were you, I'd set my alarm for a couple of night and get up regularly - say every two hours- and at least try to catch some of the poop. 

Have you thought of keeping a small diary of his feeding and pooping times? It could maybe give you a better idea of his routine?

Don't forget to include ALL the treats you may give him as "feed" times if you are keeping a diary.

Also, I would use his normal kibble for treats. Just take it from his daily allowance- not in adittion to.

Pups are hard work, and some are a bit more tricky than others.

:thumbsup:


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## Wiz201 (Jun 13, 2012)

Scottguilbert said:


> Hes just come back from the vets (he was going to get a jab anyway) so i asked the vet and he said not to worry its probably a combination of the food and moving home. He said to try changing the food over so does anyone have any recommendations? Thanks
> 
> Oh also he said i need to be tougher on him at night and leave him alone and just accept that for the first couple of weeks ill have to deal with his spontaneous toilet goings.


we've had Teddy cockerpoo pup on Arden Grange puppy/junior for a year and he always pooped about twice a day. I'd try Arden Grange, I know for a fact that's good quality food. I wouldn't trust that a more expensive food like eukaneuber is better quality.


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## Scottguilbert (Sep 30, 2014)

Thanks for both those replies. Yeh i will get up and make sure his crate is clean. The annoying thing is ill get him out to let him make and he wont then ill put him back in the crate then 20mins later hes made in the crate. Hes gona be a struggle i can tell but i wont be giving up! Ill try the diary idea although it does all seem to be quite random. I think the problem is he thinks its ok to poop in the crate so he doesnt give us any warning before he goes. 

Also thanks for the food advice ill look into it.


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## Old Shep (Oct 17, 2010)

If you know he will poop 20 mins after he goes back, then go get him 15 mins later and try that!

It's a bit of a suck it and see game!


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## Scottguilbert (Sep 30, 2014)

The problem is the randomness though. He had dinner at 6 last night, had about 4 poops between then and 10 when he went to bed. I then got up at 4am to check on him and him and the crate were covered in poop. I dont get how hes producing so much!


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## Old Shep (Oct 17, 2010)

Scottguilbert said:


> The problem is the randomness though. He had dinner at 6 last night, had about 4 poops between then and 10 when he went to bed. I then got up at 4am to check on him and him and the crate were covered in poop. I dont get how hes producing so much!


I'd say leaving him for 6 hours is way too long for a wee fella. Especially one who poops so much.

You need to get up more frequently to let him out and clean him up. Otherwise you'll end up with a dog who is extremely difficult to get clean and dry overnight.

I know it's a pain, but a few nights of sleep deprivation is worth it in the end.

With young pups I keep them crated in my bedroom overnight till they are going all night without needing let out. That way you can hear them when they start moving around and get them out before they do anything.
I keep 2 crates- one In The kitchen and one in my bedroom.

It usually doesn't take long till they can go from say 12midninght, till 5 or 6am.

You really need to accept your nights will be disturbed for a wee while anyway.


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## LaceWing (Mar 18, 2014)

Eukanuba is on their list, but the puppy formulas are not rated. Eukanuba was one of the best foods thirty years ago. They were bought out by a huge corporation and the formula was changed. They are now a mid grade food. Check out the website again, this time look at the six star and five star lists. There may be something that you can afford. I feed raw, but when I have to feed kibble for some reason, I use Taste of the Wild. Boston terriers have sensitive tummies and they&#8217;ve always done well on TOTW (I foster for a rescue).


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## Old Shep (Oct 17, 2010)

Doesn't matter what you feed, if you leave the dog too long in his crate.


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## PennyGSD (Apr 16, 2012)

Old Shep said:


> Doesn't matter what you feed, if you leave the dog too long in his crate.


No - but if you feed a better quality food, or one that suits your dog better, or one that produces less volume of waste, then it could mean a longer spell before it becomes 'too long'.

One of my previous dogs used to do mountains of poo on Arden Grange Salmon at least 5 times a day. Switched to their lamb flavour and this reduced down to regular as clockwork twice a day, and a much reduced size too.


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## Old Shep (Oct 17, 2010)

This pup is being left for 6 hours at a time- clearly much too long.

I wouldn't leave any pup that long in a crate without a toilet break.


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## PennyGSD (Apr 16, 2012)

Old Shep said:


> This pup is being left for 6 hours at a time- clearly much too long.
> 
> I wouldn't leave any pup that long in a crate without a toilet break.


Yeah - sorry. Meant to add that 6 hours was far too long but it got lost along the way. I don't type as fast as I can think!

What I meant was if there was a way to cut down on the frequency and volume then the OP would stand a chance of getting to the pup before they'd made a mess, which will obviously help in the long run. But to still pop him into the garden every few hours while in the training phase.


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## rona (Aug 18, 2011)

Don't think much of your vets advice 

Did they check over the pup or just give the vaccine?


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## Scottguilbert (Sep 30, 2014)

They did both. He seemed nice enough it was a vets4pets guy.

Its been a couple of days and ive changed his food to iams puppy. He took to the change well and although hes still pooing a lot its better then it was. He lasted 4 hours this afternoon without an incident.

The last few nights ive been getting up every 2 hours to let him out and it has improved but ive still had a few incidents. It just doesnt seem right that 8 hours after his last meal, after at least 5 poos and being let out every 2 hours hes still relieving himself in the crate.

It is getting better i must say although i feel terrible through lack of sleep. It just seems to me that the issue is the amount he needs to go. If he only went 2 or 3 times a day then this wouldnt be a problem and i cant see how to fix it. Getting up and letting him out is helping him not go in his crate but its not helpig the main issue which is the large amount of pooing.

I know puppies are hard work and i wont be giving up i just wish i could find an answer and have something to work on to help the issue


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## smokeybear (Oct 19, 2011)

I think 2/3 times a day is a little unrealistic TBH.

My puppy is now 11 weeks old and still goes about 4 times a day, she is still having 4 "meals" day so I would expect this.

I also would not be getting up more than twice in the night, with a 7 - 8 week old puppy, are you spacing out his meals across the 24 hour period?

I think if you keep a diary and note down the frequency, consistency and amount he defecates, urinates this may hold you in good stead should you need to go back to the vet as terms like "a lot" etc are fairly meaningless.

Good luck.


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## Sophie89 (Aug 18, 2014)

Hi
Welcome to the forum.
I would not recommend Iams puppy food. The general rule is that anything you can by in a supermarket I.e pedigree, wagg, bakers excluding Lilly's Kitchen is generally not a good quality food. Have a look at the dry dog food index on here to see the ratings for each dog food. Personally I would recommend Arden Grange puppy food or taste of the wild or maybe raw


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## Old Shep (Oct 17, 2010)

Sophie89 said:


> Hi
> Welcome to the forum.
> I would not recommend Iams puppy food. The general rule is that anything you can by in a supermarket I.e pedigree, wagg, bakers excluding Lilly's Kitchen is generally not a good quality food. Have a look at the dry dog food index on here to see the ratings for each dog food. Personally I would recommend Arden Grange puppy food or taste of the wild or maybe raw


What utter tosh!


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## Scottguilbert (Sep 30, 2014)

Yeh i was planning on getting arden but ran out of his old food and just needed something. He seems to like it though.

As ive said earlier its impossible to get any consistency out of him. I feed him at 7am, 11am and 6pm (i phased out his 2pm meal to try and slow down the pooing in the afternoon while im at work). 

Even if he pooed 4/5 times a day that would be fine but 8 times a day at completely random times and the middle of the night is just crazy. I just dont know how his little body can produce that much.

Thanks everybody for your advice so far its just stressing me out a bit.


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## smokeybear (Oct 19, 2011)

Scottguilbert said:


> Yeh i was planning on getting arden but ran out of his old food and just needed something. He seems to like it though.
> 
> As ive said earlier its impossible to get any consistency out of him. I feed him at 7am, 11am and 6pm (i phased out his 2pm meal to try and slow down the pooing in the afternoon while im at work).
> 
> ...


That is a HUGE gap between meals, nearly 12 hours!

He really should be on 4 meals a day and spaced out more so it is more like 6 hours between meals IMHO.

Cutting down a meal and compressing meal times may be a factor in this as well as anxiety about being left alone for so long.

It is impossible to house train a pup if it is left for longer than he can hold his bowels and bladder


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## Old Shep (Oct 17, 2010)

How long is he crated for at a time- by day and by night?


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## Sophie89 (Aug 18, 2014)

Old Shep said:


> What utter tosh!


How can it be utter tosh as you put it. You tell me what good quality dog food you can buy in a supermarket? Everyone has there own opinions so maybe other forum users should respect that and make a valid comment about why they think what they do instead of just criticising others opinions .


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## Old Shep (Oct 17, 2010)

Sophie89 said:


> How can it be utter tosh as you put it. You tell me what good quality dog food you can buy in a supermarket? Everyone has there own opinions so maybe other forum users should respect that and make a valid comment about why they think what they do instead of just criticising others opinions .


Maybe look at some other threads for information regarding dog food.

There's a huge amount of snobbery and plain old ignorance about dog food.

(And I'm using "ignorance" in it's literal meaning.)


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## Amelia66 (Feb 15, 2011)

Sophie89 said:


> How can it be utter tosh as you put it. You tell me what good quality dog food you can buy in a supermarket? Everyone has there own opinions so maybe other forum users should respect that and make a valid comment about why they think what they do instead of just criticising others opinions .


its only as good as your dog does on it, it could be green in the index and give your dog the runniest tummy of any dog food. Personally i have tried all the green dry dog foods and none of them agree with my pup, that doesn't mean I'm therefore feeding her a bad food, it means i have chosen a food that she does well on and enjoys.


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## catpud (Nov 9, 2013)

Amelia66 said:


> its only as good as your dog does on it, it could be green in the index and give your dog the runniest tummy of any dog food. Personally i have tried all the green dry dog foods and none of them agree with my pup, that doesn't mean I'm therefore feeding her a bad food, it means i have chosen a food that she does well on and enjoys.


This - in all honesty, you could feed what is supposedly the highest quality food out there but it's no good if your dog's stomach can't handle it or it makes him / her ill 

Yes everybody has opinions on dog food, but if it suits your dog and you can afford it you are doing something right. I feed a mixture of things and am a bit old fashioned, but it suits my dog so it's all good.

I do sort of get where you are coming from in feeding the best quality, but dog foods do have to meet standards to be classed as complete - you might not believe that those standards are enough but that's a personal thing, and hopefully also based on what your dog can handle.

Not all dogs need to avoid grain, or wheat, or meat meal.

(Not picking on the person who said about quality by the way, just pointing out that it's only as good as your dog says it is  )


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## Sophie89 (Aug 18, 2014)

I wasn't implying that everyone feed there dog on green food from they dry dog food index. I was just advising the OP that there is a list of dog foods on this forum that they could try and see what agreed with there pup. I have tried some of the green and orange foods and found that they did not agree with my GSD's therefore I now feed my raw and my GSD's are thriving on it. I agree it's all about finding a food that agrees with the pup but stand by my original post that generally supermarket foods such as bakers, pedigree wagg etc are not good foods as they contain a lot of fillers, cereals etc


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## smokeybear (Oct 19, 2011)

Sophie89 said:


> How can it be utter tosh as you put it. You tell me what good quality dog food you can buy in a supermarket? Everyone has there own opinions so maybe other forum users should respect that and make a valid comment about why they think what they do instead of just criticising others opinions .


You can buy Arden Grange in a supermarket and several others.

Really such sweeping and incorrect generalisations only undermine the credibility of your "advice".


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## smokeybear (Oct 19, 2011)

Sophie89 said:


> I wasn't implying that everyone feed there dog on green food from they dry dog food index. I was just advising the OP that there is a list of dog foods on this forum that they could try and see what agreed with there pup. I have tried some of the green and orange foods and found that they did not agree with my GSD's therefore I now feed my raw and my GSD's are thriving on it. I agree it's all about finding a food that agrees with the pup but stand by my original post that generally supermarket foods such as bakers, pedigree wagg etc are not good foods as they contain a lot of fillers, cereals etc


The fact that some foods did not agree with your GSDs says more about your dogs than the food per se.

there is nothing wrong with cereals per se, millions of dogs do very well on them, recent science has demonstrated that dogs can and do digest them.

As for fillers, what are these?

Usually a matter of personal and often extremely unscientific opinion.


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## Old Shep (Oct 17, 2010)

The food index ratings on this forum are the opinion of someone who has no training in canine nutrition and, AFAIK, no knowledge of nutrition in general.

That is not to say they have gone to a great deal of trouble to list the ingredients from a huge variety of dog foods- which in itself is helpful.

However, the ratings (ie, good, bad, indifferent) are merely one member of the general publics opinion and not based on any scientific knowledge.


There is an excellent book by Linda Case on the science of feeding your dog- it even has a chapter on the warm fuzziness of feeding your dog, too. Not to be missed!


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## Scottguilbert (Sep 30, 2014)

Despite this thread being ruined by people bickering about dog food quality i just wanted to put an update on here in case anyone else has this problem in the future.

After a few days and a few changes the problem seems to have gone! Hes only making 2 or 3 times a day now and aren't diahorretic at all.

We changed his food again to arden grange puppy which he loves. We also started giving him charcoal treats twice a day and was also given some medicine from pets at home (cant remember its name but its a thick brown liquid and is in a syringe which you put on a spoon for the dog to eat).

We could see the problem going away each day and i dont know if it was one of those changes or all 3 but it did the job and i can now sleep without having to get up every 2 hours which im very thankful for!

Thanks to everyone who did help and suggest things.


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