Why does my pup want to wee more/not settle in the evening

[chickflit]

I have a chow/lab cross puppy who is about 18 weeks old (I've lost track). His house training is coming on fine he's walked twice in the morning before 9.00 and then I let him out every 30 minutes during the morning for a wee. He's walked again at 12 and then again at sometime between 4.00 and 6.30. He also likes to spend some of the morning pootling around in the garden.

However on a night, from about 6.30/7.00 onwards he just cannot settle and is constantly wanting to go out for a wee. I really noticed it last night because I was ironing, I'd start ironing something he'd want to go out, then I'd come in and he'd be out again before I'd finished ironing the same thing. Most of the times he does do a wee, sometimes it's because he wants to catch bugs.

I have to crate him when I'm putting the DC's to bed because he'll just wee in front of the door while I'm upstairs so at least in his crate he holds it in and I'd hoped this would train his bladder to hang on for a little while.

He'll eventually settle down at about 10.30 and you can guarantee that when I take him out at 11.00 ish before we go to bed he doesn't want to do anything.

The nights are getting colder now and all the door opening is making the house cold so I need to nip it in the bud before it gets too cold.

I work from home and am with him all day, however evenings after the DC's go to bed and I've tidied round are my time for sitting down and relaxing and it's probably the only time all day I sit still, so I did wonder if this could have something to do with it.

[belindarose]

Is he getting enough sleep in the day do you think? Could be a bit overstimulated? My 21 week old pup does spend a lot of his day sleeping. I'd have to crate him while I did something like ironing anyway, and he'd either go to sleep or chew a bone/ toy.

[chickflit]

I think he is getting enough sleep during the day, there's only me and him in the house and it's very calm. He normally has a long snooze in the morning after our walk and then again an hour or so on the afternoon before we go for our teatime walk.

It's just in an evening when he really can't seem to settle and doesn't have any bladder control. He can wait by the door for me to go to him during the day but on an evening if I don't get him out as soon as he cries there's a puddle of piddle and he seems to need a lot more wees on a night.

[notmeagain]

when is he fed and what is he fed?

[SwearyMary]

I have a 19 week pup. We are up, so she is up, at 6am weekdays. She goes out for a wee and poo straight away, then is in fed, has a play and then sleeps until about 9.30am when we go for a nice walk and run off the lead. Home and she will either want to sleep again or play for a while before sleep again. Play can be outside with me, indoors with me or simply playing with her toys if I am getting on with MN jobs. She will usually do a poo and wee before I feed her at lunchtime. Then I tend to MN go out to shop/pay bills etc until around 4pm (she is happily crated and will sleep in it, door open when I'm home). Pup put out to wee when I get home. DD comes home, plays with pup. Fed again at about 6pm then we go for another walk, some time off the lead if its not too dark. Pup will then sleep and wake for a play at about 9pm, so out to wee then. Bed at 11pm ish, in the crate after last wee.
I'm a complete novice but it does sound like your pup is overstimulated a bit. Two walks before 9am is a lot and he shouldn't need to wee every 30mins, IMO.

[SwearyMary]

FWIW, I feed my Pup on Nature Diet, she has treats of teeny tiny cubes of cheese on walks for coming back etc (not on every return, although she would like!!), I give her one of those small apples that are aimed at children in polybags from Tesco each day too. No scraps. No farts. Nice firm poo!

[chickflit]

I feed him on Royal Canin. When I say two walks before 9.00 the first walk is really just 10 mins up the lane into a field for a wee and a poo. That's the same at midday. The second walk is 30 - 40 mins in the woods after the school run and the same again in the evening.

He does need to go out every 30 mins because otherwise he wees indoors, believe me 30 mins is a big advance on what he was like when we first got him.

He sleeps fine all night and he's calm all day it's just the incessant needing to go out for a wee on an evening.

He's fed three times a day around 7.00 am, midday and 6.00. He doesn't necessarily eat it all in one go and will stagger it out.

To be honest he's so calm during the day that I think he doesn't get stimulated enough. He just plods around after me or snoozes or just lies around listening to the radio or sometimes just chewing on his toys. He's not often a bouncy boy.

He might play football with the DCs for 10 minutes after school but he'd much prefer to watch.


Actually SwearyMary our routines are virtually identical, it's just the evenings that my boy can't settle. He's happy to be in his cage or on his settee during the day.

[belindarose]

Is there something outside (hedgehog, cat?) that's making him excited and want to go out (and have a quick wee while he's there?). Clutching at straws for you! Sounds quite annoying.

[SwearyMary]

Ah, they are short walks! Pit stops
Yes, I suppose our routines are very similar really. I hope you're enjoying him apart from this.

Perhaps there is something making him want to go out in the evening as Belindarose says. Really hard to know what his problem is. I guess you could try a longer run in the afternoon and see what he is like then?

[chickflit]

Oh I do enjoy him, it just drives me nuts that at the time of day when I'm ready to settle down he's up and down like a yo yo.

He does love it outside on a night we live in a very rural area and yes he has discovered the hedgehog family who live in the hedge in the garden, he's managed to catch two mice and there are loads of crane flies out there too that he loves. So that's probably contributing to it, it's just that if I ignore him or tell him to settle on his bed and he's been asking to go out he will just have an accident and wee.

I've been taking him out of the front door tonight hoping there are fewer distractions (well apart from cows looking over the fence at him).

Fingers crossed he starts to grow out of it. Thanks for your help and advice.

[SwearyMary]

Ahhh, he sounds like a lovely pup! He will settle down, there are SO many things to distract them at this age. Mine has discovered the joy in pulling huge pieces of the shrubs off and tossing the piece in the air then chasing it....good game!! I too live in a nice rural area, its great for them! Glad he brings you joy, mine certainly does. I waited a long time to get her.