[WIRick]

I have 3 dogs, a 20 lb poo/chi cross female-8yrs, a 9 lb chihuahua male 1 yr, a 4 lb chihuahua male-1 yr(all three are fixed). At night around 10 pm they are put outside for 10-20 minutes(I live in the country). They are then kenneled(24" long, 16" wide, 18" tall) for the night. They are fed first thing in the morning and then around 4pm they are fed again. 1, 2, or ALL of them at times, sporadically, poop in their kennel before I get them outside around 7am. I recently wormed all three thinking that if they were suffering from an infestation that they may not have been able to hold themselves from pooping in their kennel. I am at my wits end! Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks.

[Marc]

9 hours is a long time for a small dog with a small bowel. Are the droppings normal consistency? If so, then the problem isn't the dog. You'll have to find a way to let them our earlier.

[CorkyMax]

Was going to say about the same as Marc before I saw his post! I totally agree!

This is on my mind a lot because of all the news of coyotes killing dogs----You live in the country---Do you have coyotes there? I would be very concerned if you do and esp. if you let your dogs out at night to go potty by themselves. (And the size of your dogs are perfect 'pickings' for these devils). Coyotes have even snatched dogs while the owner was with them!

Pit bulls Save Chihuahua mix from Coyotes Please read the entire thread (all posts).
I was looking for more but couldn't find it but here are a couple posts that were in a thread in here: omg.. i was out one evening walking my dog and 2 coyotes came running up to me and my dog. It seriously scared the heck out of me!! So i picked up my dog and started screaming at the coyotes and they ran away. Now i make my hubby take our dog out for her evening walks... she gets several a day. And i carry pepper spray when i walk her during her day walks. It was pretty scary, there not very big but still there scary!
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angiesample
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skivvies
Member
--------------------------------------------------------------------------Eek! I once was walking Tiffany during the day. I got back home and turned into my driveway, and there was a coyote standing right there. I couldn't see it as I came up because there are bushes along the side of my driveway. I freaked out and picked Tiffany up. It walked away after I made some noise but agh it was scary!

[Lunareclipse]

I had a chihuahua and I litter box trained him. I remember the first time it snowed and the snow was deeper than he was tall. Maybe you can get some little litter boxes, like for a kitten and start litter training them. Boomer used his litter box for 11 years.

You can also place the litter boxes in their crate after they get used to using them.

[Marc]

I like Lunar's idea - they even make a special dog litter that's available at some of the larger pet chain stores. I imagine that it smells/resembles grass so that it's an easier transition for the dog.

This is something worth looking into if 9 hours is the minimum they're going to be in a kennel.