2 year old pup wanting to poop at 3am

[lunaticminischnau]

I have a two year old female who is house trained and overall a lovely well behaved (if a bit cheeky) dog.

However, the one difficulty we have been having with her is her sporadic need to go for a poop between the hours of 2am and 5am (sometimes she wants to go twice within that time frame).

This could happen anytime from once in a month to once in 3 months so it is really hard to track the problem. Her behaviour is also completely normal too, so it is not like she is displaying signs of distress. It used to happen more frequently last year (every few weeks) but we changed her food and it seems more under control than it was. She's on butchers wet food and Mini Schnauzer Royal Canin biscuits which she's been on since she was a puppy (on the puppy version back then).
We also give her probiotics at breakfast and the vet has given her this probiotic paste in the past when I have mentioned tummy troubles. It usually clears up by itself with or without putting her on a chicken & rice diet for a few days after.

We haven't noticed her eating anything gross in the lead up to our nightly wakeups which could be causing it & we tend to keep her diet fairly bland without too many treats and rich food to try to prevent issues. She also usually has a consistent poop schedule of 3 times a day at the same walk times and we feed her her last meal a lot earlier now at 5pm to try and make sure she has digested before bed. She also has the opportunity to go to the toilet right before bed.

At least she whines to let us know she needs to go out but on occasion, if no one has woken up or we don't notice in time she will usually end up going on the floor and just look very guilty. Almost always a massive, runny one (sorry for the tmi) so for the most part she has an upset tummy but sometimes it looks fine, she just really needs to go.

We also live in an apartment building in a busy city so from a safety perspective, I also don't want to be wandering the streets in the early hours waiting for her to do her business as she never does it right outside the block.

Just a bit stumped as to how to find out the cause for this?? I know from a neighbour with one that miniature schnauzers can have sensitive tummys so I wonder if anyone has experienced this before?

[Dawnspell]

I've not had any issues with sensitive tummies. The only thing that I can think of with it being so sporadic is if its and event causing an issue rather than digestion. A bit like us if we have a stressful event or change of environment etc it can disrupt our bowl movement too.

Something like an extra exciting walk, maybe a noisy neighbor for a day, vet visit, visiting somewhere new, just something that can cause upset. If a dog gets very stressed it can take up to 72 hours for the stress hormones to normalise. So the event may not even have been the day before. Try keeping a dairy of events.

[lunaticminischnau]

Since I haven't noticed her eat anything out of the norm, it could be stress/environment related. She is a sweetheart but also can be quite high strung so it could really be anything throwing her off!

[Rambuddy]

It sounds like you're doing a lot to manage your dog's sensitive tummy, and it's great that you've already made dietary adjustments that seem to help. Miniature Schnauzers can indeed have sensitive stomachs, and it could be a case of intermittent digestive issues that aren't always linked to specific triggers. The sporadic nature makes it tough to pin down a cause.

You might consider keeping a detailed food and behavior diary to track any subtle patterns or potential triggers. Additionally, discussing this ongoing issue with your vet to explore further diagnostic tests might help identify any underlying conditions. For safety, a pee pad or indoor potty option could be a temporary solution on those nights when she has to go unexpectedly.