Nighttime toileting

Hi, we have a 9 week old cavapoo puppy, and decided not to use puppy pads but to take her outside at night when she needed to toilet. One of us slept on the sofa, very near to her crate, for the first week, then a couple of nights ago we moved back upstairs and she didn’t seem to notice that we weren’t actually in the room, not fussed which is great.

My concern is that she’s needing to go out at least 3 times during the night. Typical times are 1am, 4am then 6am, then she’s ready for the day. We’re finding the lack of sleep pretty horrendous - have we made a rod for our own backs by not opting for nighttime puppy pads? I know her bladder must be teeny tiny, but some encouragement along the lines of ‘it’ll soon improve’ would be really helpful. Thanks!

Yes, it will improve Make sure her garden trips aren't too much fun - keep her on lead, and don't say anything apart from a low-key 'good girl' when she toilets. As for survival - take it in turns to be on 'night duty', which might mean one of you sleeping in a spare room. The knowledge that one night in two you can get a decent night's sleep and not have to go out into a freezing cold garden can really help you get through this stage.

You have made the right decision, puppy pads give mixed messages about whether indoor toileting is allowed or not, confuse the puppy, and slow down toilet training. Every successful toilet outside is one step closer to being trained.

Maybe others will have a view but I don’t remember puppies going quite so much, maybe it would be worth popping a sample into the vet to test for a UTI though. Try to get the first wee of the day as the sample if you are going to do that.

JudyN said:

Yes, it will improve Make sure her garden trips aren't too much fun - keep her on lead, and don't say anything apart from a low-key 'good girl' when she toilets. As for survival - take it in turns to be on 'night duty', which might mean one of you sleeping in a spare room. The knowledge that one night in two you can get a decent night's sleep and not have to go out into a freezing cold garden can really help you get through this stage.

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Many thanks for your reply!

JoanneF said:

You have made the right decision, puppy pads give mixed messages about whether indoor toileting is allowed or not, confuse the puppy, and slow down toilet training. Every successful toilet outside is one step closer to being trained.

Maybe others will have a view but I don’t remember puppies going quite so much, maybe it would be worth popping a sample into the vet to test for a UTI though. Try to get the first wee of the day as the sample if you are going to do that.

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Thank you - we’ll certainly look into this.