No asking to go out at night

[hannahrobiha]

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Hi All,

Hopefully someone can shed some light on this issue as I am really stumped.

We have had puppy about 2 weeks (she is 10 weeks old) and she was doing really well with house training. If she is out of her crate she goes to the door if she needs to go out, or just goes out herself if the door has been left open.

There has been a few wees in the house, but she has never pooed in there.

The issue is at night when she is put to bed. She makes absolutely no noise whatsoever, not even to tell us she needs to go out. She has simply started to just pee in the crate and go back to sleep on her bed next to it (didn't realise this until I took her water bowl out as I just thought she was tipping the water over). This has only started happening in the past week, other than that we have had a dry crate if she has needed to be left in the day.

I have gone back to taking her out every two hours and always make sure she has gone for at least a wee before putting her in the crate, but most of the time so far over the past week she has already peed before I have gotten there, and has never once made a noise to get out despite me staying up for hours to make sure I hear her.

We have shhhed her occasionally when she has whimpered in the crate but we know that she has already been to the bathroom and doesn't need to go - has this caused some sort of issue?

Does anyone have any advice?

 

[Mariachristina]

Bless! Only 10 weeks old and virtually house-trained during the day. That's brilliant. Folk may disagree, but I would just accept that as she is far too young to have control of her bladder for a whole night, and as I wouldn't want to be up all night, I would take steps to ensure that she doesn't have to sleep on a wet bed. I got one of those old-fashioned child's wooden playpens, stood it on a groundsheet in the kitchen and put the dog-bed (in your case the crate with its door open) inside the playpen. One of my bitches, Vida, happily weed on the ground-sheet for 6 weeks, but my beautiful recently-departed Lucy was dry all night after a week. I notice you mentioned water. I complained to my vet at the time that Vida was still weeing at night after 6 weeks and he asked was I leaving water down. When I said I was he said "Well you're creating your own problem". He advised removing the water at night, and she became dry all night shortly afterwards.

 

[hannahrobiha]

Thank you for this,

Its good to know that I'm not doing everything completely wrong! In no way is she completely house trained as I stepped in a lovely puddle on the kitchen floor this evening, and I am a little disheartened we see to have taken to giant steps backwards, but she is a very clever little puppy that has already learnt NOT to eat the gravel/her brothers food/jump on the couch and loves to sit/stay/come/paw for food.

So far I have taken out her water bowl at night for the last week and we still seem to be having the same problem, have also washed the crate with an enzyme based cleaner, and washed all her bedding

Any more advice?

Going to trying taking her out for a toilet at least twice this evening before bedtime to see if it helps, and stick to taking her out every two hours again.

 

[excuseme]

Puppies are never easy and very few come already "potty trained"

10 weeks is still very young and many would still be with their mothers at this age with yet no potty training/guideance at all !

It is quiet normal to have huge set backs thouughougt this training process. Some puppies can take months to understand the methods of this training.

I would always leave news paper on the floor near the back door for such a young puppy and encourage the use of this indoors and some just outside too for a positive result.

Our dogs all know what "wee wee's" is and whether it is number 1 or number 2 this is still "wee wee's" ! If the wee or poo is done in the correct place praise is given in the form of kind words and praise, pointing at the job done saying good girl look wee wee's !

If a mistake has been made I will point and in a less excited or less pleased tone say "look who has done this Urggh! " and carry the puppy to where I would have liked the job to have been done.

Your cage for training must be a happy place and not a place of punishment, make sure that your cage is covered with an old blanket or likes of, this makes it a nice private place and the puppies "den"

The suggestion of a childs play pen and crate with door open are a good idea, the puppy will learn that when it wakes and gets up it steps out of its bed and moves "outside", as the puppy gets older this process will graduate to the back door and outside! News paper in the pen is as usefull as a plastic sheet.

Other thoughts; Do you go out to work and leave the puppy alone for long spells with no one around to help with potty training?

Do you have a garden, can you leave the door open for the puppy to come and go as it wishes when you are home?

Always lift and carry your puppy to the outside whenever it wakes up and invite it to wee.

There are so many suggestions, but in many cases it is just a matter of time. Good luck !

 

[HappyPawsBedford]

I agree that taking the water away and going back to getting up every 2 hours is the way forward.

Then when you've had to wake her up to get her to go out for 3 days in a row I'd get up every 2 1/2 hours and once you've had to wake her up 3 days in a row again add another 1/2 hour between get ups do this until you don't have to get up at all. It's no fun getting up throughout the night, I grant you, but it helps them to train their bladder to hold on a bit longer.

The good news is that by 14 weeks they should naturally be able to control their bladders for 7/8 hours at night but you'll want to be ready to let them out instantly when they wake up cos they will be bursting.

10 weeks is still very young so there are going to be accidents it's best to ignore them when they toilet indoors, just clean it up, but make a huge fuss of them when they go outside that way they understand that going outside is a good thing.

You clearly know what you're doing and have done a great job so far. It's a very frustrating process and takes a while but you're heading in the right direction and it won't be long now till its all over and you have a fully housetrained puppy

 

[hannahrobiha]

Hi Both,

Thank you for your advice. Thankfully last night was a dry night, (up once at 2am), and so far all seems good. She definitely knows that 'toilet' means running to back door to go outside for a wee because our old dog does it with her too so she just copies.

Thank you for all your kind words, a puppy is completely new to me so I worry that I am not always doing the right thing!

 

[excuseme]

Having an older dog to go outside with is a great help, as you say the puppy tends to copy the other.

I totally agree that water in the crate is not required !

Don't frett too much it is all very early days at the moment, she will grow up and understand.

 

[gypsysmum]

Toilet training is all about rewarding the right behaviour and ignoring the wrong behaviour. Any wees and poos in the garden should get an, immediate, high value reward. Keep some by the back door or in your pocket. What you are looking to train is a puppy that thinks "wee wee" and then the very next thought is "treat if I do it outside!". Don't wait for puppy to walk towards you to get the treat as this might be construed as rewarding coming to you. The treat must arrive as the wee or poo finishes

Paper, though ok for very young puppies to catch accidents, is not good for house training as it can give the message that it is "ok" to pee in the house!

Leaving the door open can confuse some puppies that the indoors and outdoors are one and the same thing. Many summer puppies regress in the winter when they find the door closed.

 

[hannahrobiha]

Thank you all,

Gypsymum,

She does come running for a treat but I think we are at the point she knows its for weeing. I say 'go toilet' she goes and looks at me the whole time waiting until she is done so she can have her treat, so she definitely knows what it is for!

I'm glad to say for the past few days not a single accident in the house, and until last night we had a dry crate. Last night was definitely my fault as I heard her but thought she was fussing rather than needing a wee, it's sometimes really hard to tell the difference, but you've all made me feel much less anxious about the whole thing.

She really is a lovely puppy with a very sweet personality that loves to learn so I know everything will get there eventually!