Diarrhea/Poop in crate!! HELP!!

[Mb1985]

So we have had Tahoe for almost 3 weeks.  She was only 6 weeks old when the breeder said she wanted the whole litter to be gone to their new homes so we had no choice but to take her home early. Well we began kennel training immediately like we had for our 8 month old boy. The first night she cried and wailed and I felt SO bad givin her age and how lonely she must have been without her mom and siblings.......so I put her in the big kennel with Diesel (our 8 month old) and that was that. Well the next night I tried putting her in her kennel again and the same scenerio happened.....she cried and cried and howled and barked. But my boyfriend and I were set on keeping her in her own kennel so she would learn. Well this has been going on EVERY NIGHT for 3 weeks. EVERY NIGHT we take her out about every 2 hrs and she still has about 1-2 bouts of diarrhea in her kennel. She NEVER sleeps and so in return we NEVER sleep. One night a few nights ago I said, "screw it, I'm so tired I'll put her in with Diesel" thinking that would calm her down for the night......but she had diarrhea all over poor Diesel's crate and so we were up at 3 am doing laundry....*sigh* The weirdest thing is too is that she ONLY has the diarrhea at night...like she works herself up that her stomach is upset.
I am at a loss and so discouraged. Every night is dreaded now.....I don't understand what is going on.......Is it her age? Is it seperation anxiety? Will she ever grow out of this? Will I be able to ever properly kennel train her?
Her crate is not to big. That was my first theory. We even switched her to another smaller size where she can stand up and turn around but thats it.....and she did the same deal in that one..
Any theories?? Help we are soooo sleep deprived and I'm getting worried about my girl

[Bruins_Boxer]

I would have the vet check a stool sample . There are many things that could cause diarrhea ( worms, giardia,& Coccidia) so I would rule those out first  .

[Mb1985]

No its nothing like that.....shes been to the vet when we got her and she NEVER has diarrhea unless its at night when she's worked up about being alone. Thats what led me to believe it was seperation anxiety 

[Christina]

Could be too much food, or too rich of a food.  Sometimes the things like coccidia and giardia can be missed on a fecal and need to be checked several times to be officially ruled out though. 

[Theresa]

Ditto everyone else...I would have the stool double checked.  Especially for giardia....its very easy to miss...most vets have to send it out to get a giardia diagnosis

[Mb1985]

Ok. Thanks for the advice. If thats the case though, would it cause the diarrhea only at night?? That seems really odd to me. During the day she has completely solid formed poopies 

[BoxerWB]

It could be stress making the symptoms worse.

Here are some questions I have that your description thus far hasn't answered:

How is she during the short acclimation "visits" to the crate during the day?
Where is the crate positioned within the house? Where is the crate in relation to Diesel's?
Does she have something with your scent or her litters scent to sleep with?
Does she have a regular meal schedule?


If it isn't illness and is behavior,  I suspect it's the price you pay for going to someone who you self-described as a BYB. She may have been physically ready to leave her litter, but emotionally she needed those other 2 weeks.

[BoxerPerson]

Agree with others and, why not bring her in your bedroom and have her sleep in a small crate by your side, so she can hear & smell you.  I bet she just misses her litter mates.  Poor lil girlie losing her family at such a young age  that breeder/byb is not doing the pups any service by doing  this

[Mb1985]

It could be stress making the symptoms worse.

Here are some questions I have that your description thus far hasn't answered:

How is she during the short acclimation "visits" to the crate during the day?
Where is the crate positioned within the house? Where is the crate in relation to Diesel's?
Does she have something with your scent or her litters scent to sleep with?
Does she have a regular meal schedule?


If it isn't illness and is behavior,  I suspect it's the price you pay for going to someone who you self-described as a BYB. She may have been physically ready to leave her litter, but emotionally she needed those other 2 weeks.

We dont put her in the crate quite as much as we should  .....during the day I mean. She goes in probably 2-3 times for about 20-30 mins at a time. I am really trying to work on that now though.
Her crate is right next to Diesel's  in the corner of our bedroom  about 5-6 feet from my side of the bed. She sleeps with one of my son's old baby blankets 
We feed her once in the morning around 9 am and once in the evening around 7 pm....same with Diesel. She would GLADLY eat more though
So what do you think? Is there something I should alter or change? Any advice is greatly appreciated 

[BoxerWB]

But how does she act during the short crate sessions?

[Mb1985]

But how does she act during the short crate sessions?

Oh she hates it. Cries and cries. No accidents in there during the day though. Its always at night.

[BoxerWB]

OK - so would there be a way to not crate her during the night until she's comfortable in the crate for short daytime stints? Maybe gated into a bathroom, if it's adjacent to your bedroom?

Could the trigger be for the diarrhea be either darkness or duration (or both)? Those are the obvious differences I can think of between daytime and nighttime crating.

[Mb1985]

OK - so would there be a way to not crate her during the night until she's comfortable in the crate for short daytime stints? Maybe gated into a bathroom, if it's adjacent to your bedroom?

Could the trigger be for the diarrhea be either darkness or duration (or both)? Those are the obvious differences I can think of between daytime and nighttime crating.

Well the darkness could be something to consider perhaps...............duration though, I'm not so sure since we take her out to potty every 1 1/2-2 hrs....
Tonight I'll try leaving a light on in the bathroom or something and putting a piece of my clothing in there with her to see if that makes any difference .....I'll let you know 

[BoxerWB]

Well you said she was only in there 20-30 minutes during the day, so that's still at least 3 times longer at night, which means a lot more time to get herself worked up.

Also, when you are letting her out during the day, does she have to be quiet/well-behaved before you open the door?

[Mb1985]

Well you said she was only in there 20-30 minutes during the day, so that's still at least 3 times longer at night, which means a lot more time to get herself worked up.

Also, when you are letting her out during the day, does she have to be quiet/well-behaved before you open the door?

When she sees me at the crate door she usually always quiets down immediately with the exception of a small whimper or something. I generally try not to talk a whole lot or really do anything except take her straight out the back door, tell her to potty and praise her when she does and then put her back in her kennel.