Hello everyone.

Before I get into my question, I just have to say thanks to Ed, his website, and this board. I spent two years reading *every* page on his site and this messageboard, and bought a few of the videos, even before I got my German Shepherd puppy this summer. I can say that doing all that research beforehand has really paid off big time. Thanks a bunch.

However, I now have an odd problem with my little guy that doesn't seem to be covered anywhere and I would like some advice.

Some background: My pup is a 4 moth old male. He's housebroken and crate trained. He used to be able to sleep through the night with no problem. During the day he is able to hold everything in for at least 4-5 hours. I haven't tried any longer. His food has not changed since I got him. I cut him off from food and water between 6-7 pm, I take him out at 8, and again at 10pm before I go to bed.

But for the past 3-4 weeks, *every* single night he gets me up at *exactly* midnight, 2am, and again at 4am to go. It's almost as if he had an alarm clock. I let him out, he goes outside and he poops.

My question is, since he used to be able to hold it in at night, is there something I am doing wrong, or is there possible something internally wrong with him? His stool during the day is solid (it could be better), but when I see his night ones, they were loose compared to the day ones. When he first started waking me up, they were runny at night, but are better now than they were when he first started doing this.

I'm not sure what to do, I was thinking of keeping him in another room (further away so I don't hear him) and giving him the choice between holding it in or exploding during the night. Or could it be something outside his control and maybe a trip to the vet is needed?

-bry-

I would most definitely look into a medical/food sensitivity issue. First rule out intestinal parasites...he may have some type of worm or protazoa that could be causing problems with his digestive system. Your vet may also want to look him over.

If everything there is normal, I would think about changing his diet. You said his stools are solid during the day but "could be better"...maybe he is sensitive to something in the diet? What do you feed him?

Thanks for the info, Looks like I'll be making an appointment with the Vet <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

The brand of dog food I feed him is called Canidae. It's what he's had since I got him, and what the breeder fed him and his parents. The funny thing is, his stools used to be just fine and are still comparatively better in the daytime. I'll try ruling out parasites and other things he eats when I'm not looking first.

I guess I just found it odd that he would have to go at the exact same two hour blocks every night even after I totally drain him before bedtime.