How many times sgiuld i get up in the night with an 11 week old puppy

[beautifultrauma]

I have an 11 week old puppy who is coming on well with toilet training. We take him out every hour or so and reward him when he goes. Our issue is with night time. He will wake and cry for a while, and it's hard to know if he wants to pee or just wants attention. Sometimes it can be every hour, and when I take him out he does pee. But yet if he's asleep on the sofa he can hold it for 3 hours or so! I just don't know what to do!

Also he just doesn't like being left alone. We have him in our utility room with a baby gate on the door so he can see and hear us, but he still cries. I have a few meetings coming up and will have to leave him, only for an hour or two hours maximum, and I am worrying about this, as he loves company and hates being alone. Can anyone please help?

[BiteyShark]

But yet if he's asleep on the sofa he can hold it for 3 hours

If he's waking up in the night he will probably want to pee as he is moving about and at that age can't hold for long once awake.

When mine cried in the night I would take him out anyway for a pee whether he had one or not and then straight back to bed without saying anything so no fuss, no talking. I did this each time until he got the message that night was for sleeping or peeing. Once he had got that I worked on the principle that he could hold his bladder at night for 1 hour per month of age plus 1 so at 3 months old he could hold it for up to 4 hours. I therefore would set an alarm to take him out but others just wait for them to wake up.

[Radardetector]

We never got up in the night with our pup. He was confined to the spare room via a baby gate. He had a bed in there and puppy pads to go toilet on.

He did cry alot and in the end we gave in and moved him to the landing with a gate over our bedroom door so he could see us.

He needed the puppy pads at night for a while after he was house trained but it was better than getting up to take him out.

[beautifultrauma]

Thanks bitey, this is all new to me!

[beautifultrauma]

Thanks everyone. Do you think puppy pads are a good idea at night time or do they hinder the toilet training at all?

[BiteyShark]

Personally I didn't use puppy pads as I never wanted him to think it was ok to toilet in the house. Think it's a personal preference thing.

[adaline]

Personally I think puppy pads are a money making scheme.

You don't need them and all they do is teach your dog that sometimes it's okay to toilet in the house when they need to learn that outside is for toileting.

We got our pup at 12 weeks and he needed taking out twice in the night at that age. He's now six months old and normally sleeps from about 10.30-6.30 without needing the toilet. We take him out last thing at night and as soon as he stirs in the morning.

He hasn't had any accidents for a couple of months - part of that might be luck but we never used puppy pads and took him out about 3 times an hour daily for the first month of his life! He's also never been left unattended for too long so never really had the opportunity to go inside.

[Radardetector]

If you use puppy pads then you have to teach them to use the pad then use the outside, which probably does mean toilet training takes longer but it does mean less accidents on the carpet and no getting up in the night.

Our pup was 11 weeks when we got him and was about 16 weeks when he was trained to go outside, then about 25 weeks before we could get rid of the puppy pads at night.

The use of the puppy pads in the day was litrially just a few weeks when he was tiny but it was ages before we stopped using them in the night.

[SchoolNightWine]

I've had my 11 week old pup a week and she cries once a night (about 2pm) for a wee. She cries again about 6.30 and that is morning to her.
I had puppy pads down for the first few days but have now given up as she wasn't reliably using them. If we spot her doing her business inside, we're taking her outside immediately so doing it inside has no benefits (like avoiding the rain which she tries to do). I have easy clean floors though, not sure I'd be so keen with carpets!

[SchoolNightWine]

2am not 2pm! I'm sleep deprived

[argentino]

This might sound mental (and obviously not feasible for everyone) but DP and I slept on our very comfy sofa bed in the living room which had easy access to the garden via patio doors (before we had kids). Our pup slept very well in his crate and DP and I would take in turns to let him out to the garden- never more than twice during the night. We did this probably for three months until he slept through. No crying involved!

He can now go 12+ hours in his crate (moved upstairs) very happily.

Would never dream of using puppy pads!

[adaline]

I think using puppy pads in the night only is an even worse idea!

It basically teaches them that when you're not around they can toilet on the floor/in the house but when you're around they can't. So won't they just go where you can't see them and toilet on the floor?

Ours had two accidents the first day we brought him home (probably a mix of fear and excitement!) but we've taken him outside ever since. I think it helped that we got him at 12 weeks instead of 8, so he'd had all his vaccinations and could easily go outside.

I also think you need to get them used to going outside in all weathers and at all times. I know people who'll use puppy pads because it's easier than going out in the rain every twenty minutes, for example.

I just don't understand the concept of letting your dogs toilet in the house just because they're small. It's lazy ownership in my opinion and hugely unfair and confusing for the dogs, as you're basically making them sit in a room/crate with their own waste for hours on end.

[Namechangeforthiscancershit]

Mine is 12 weeks and I’ve had him for 2. I didn’t like the idea of puppy pads so I started off getting up every 2 hours in the night (first two days of super enthusiastic puppy ownership!) now he goes from about 10.30 to 2.30 and 2.30 to about 6.30, no accidents. I’m not sure when I’ll drop the nighttime wee- seem to have read loads of conflicting stuff online.

[Namechangeforthiscancershit]

And yes to the attention thing! Mine sleeps in my room (I know but I couldn’t bear the crying) and comes to work where he has company all day so I worry I am getting nowhere fast with getting him used to being on his own. He sleeps a lot but it’s very light so if I try to leave him asleep when I go for a shower or something he will be awake and following me before I get out of the room

[Radardetector]

I just don't understand the concept of letting your dogs toilet in the house just because they're small. It's lazy ownership in my opinion and hugely unfair and confusing for the dogs, as you're basically making them sit in a room/crate with their own waste for hours on end.

They're more for accidents rather than allowing toileting in the house. Obviously it's personal preference but we used them, it wasn't detrimental to house training and it saved the carpets. The dog wants to go outside but if he can't because it's night or he's caught short, he can go on the pad.

My dog wasn't in a crate so it wasn't cruel, he wasn't trapped with his own mess. He was on the landing with a bed at one end and a pad incase he needed it at the other. Saying its cruel is like saying leaving a baby in a nappy all night is cruel.

[BiteyShark]

Namechangeforthiscancershit I increased the period between the night time pees every 2 weeks by 30mins.

So if I was getting up to take him out at 2am then I would take him out at 1:30am two weeks later then 1am 2 weeks after that until I just took him out last thing at night.

[Namechangeforthiscancershit]

Bitey that’s fab, thank you. I have a wees notebook with all the times in so this level of precision appeals to me a lot!

[MrsMaisel]

Our 9.5 week old cocker is let out 9.30pm for a last trip to the loo, then sleeps through until 5.30am, which is reasonable from my perspective. Cried the first couple of nights at 8 weeks, and I let him out each time he wanted to... then slept through a night, then again up in the middle of the night, but now, fingers crossed, seems to be consistently sleeping all night. Have the baby monitor on my ipad/phone so I no longer have to sleep on the sofa next to him. Day time week are mostly outdoors, occasional accident inside.

[Namechangeforthiscancershit]

Ooh that sounds very good for that age. Good job!

No indoor accidents here but I watch him like a hawk! I’m sure once I start to relax and rely on him to tell me when he wants to go out there will be

[anniehm]

Don't, simple as that. Within a couple of days they will learn to go back to sleep. Ensure they have water, and put a puppy pad down in case they need to go. We never came down to ours, never get a peep out of him - in fact now he doesn't bother getting up for quite a while after we let him out of his sleeping room

[beautifultrauma]

Ok it's been a week. He howls and barks for almost two hours at night. It is tearing our family apart. Everyone is so tired and it's just not working. I know he needs time, but it's making me ill, my DH is exhausted going to work and my DC look like zombies after being woken so much.
Much as I hate to say it, it looks like we will have to re-home him. Not sure if the breeder will take him back or not. I am devastated, and my DC will be too, but what else can I do?

[GinIsIn]

Ok where is the puppy sleeping, what are its bedding arrangements, when in the night is it howling and hat are you trying when it does?

[1vandal2]

This is totally normal for baby animals. They just need love and for their humans to understand that they will their world will revolve around them for the rest of their lives. The toilet training can take months to crack and you just need to do it unfortunately

[BiteyShark]

There are lots of things you can do but you need to say exactly what you are doing now so people can advise.

Some people put them in their room in a crate and slowly move the crate away a bit at a time.

Some people sleep downstairs and slowly retreat a bit at a time.

I did the get up everytime and take outside even if he didn't need a pee whilst sleeping next door.

Have you tried making the bed/crate more snug? Tried leaving clothing that smells like you?

Also what times are you leaving him from. Expecting him to sleep for 8-10 hours would be unrealistic etc. Also alot of puppies wake early in the mornings at first so again knowing the times he is howling can help on the advice.

Unfortunately getting a puppy can resemble getting a baby in that a lot of them cry or need attending to in the night and sleep deprevation is kind of normal for a short period. I know and have been there but you just have to ride it out. You husband could wear ear plugs. You could get white noise machines for your DCs to blot out any noise whilst you get through the early parts of puppyhood.

[Namechangeforthiscancershit]

I am sure the breeder will want to help, but it hasn’t been very long and he’s very little. He’s missing the overnight company of his siblings and mum.

I’m sorry to have to ask again but as we’ve all chipped in with out fluffball dramas I’ve lost track! What are the sleeping arrangements you’ve got at the moment?

Are you in England? If so least you’ve got a bit of time before schools go back so your children have some time before the zombie thing is too much of a problem.

How are you feeling this morning?