Nighttime toilet training

[IDrinkFromTheKegOfGlory]

We have a nearly 9 week old working golden retriever puppy (we've had him since 2nd Jan). He's settled really well and is happy and lively during the day and sleeps pretty well at night in his crate. Since we got him DW has slept downstairs with him, moving further from his crate every night (she's now in the hallway and he's in the living room). She generally hears him whimper between 1-2.30am for a wee and then again at 5ish for a wee and a poo usually. He otherwise sleeps between about 10pm and 6.30/7am. We're getting hold of a baby monitor so she can move back up to our bedroom while still being able to hear him so she knows when to take him outside.
Obviously, we'd like to get the nighttime toilet issue sorted asap so he can sleep the whole night and she gets uninterrupted sleep again (she's doing the bulk of nighttimes rather than me because I did all the baby wakings for feeding, illness, etc - we have 2 DCs - so I pointed out I'd done all my night wakings as far as I was concerned! ). She's spoken to a few friends who have all had puppies in the last couple of years and she's had such different advice/stories from them - from someone who's dog is still not reliably dry at over 1 to someone who said they never took their puppy out at night even from 8 weeks old.
We're obviously prepared for it to take a while if it needs to but equally we don't want to be teaching him to get up in the night as a habit if he doesn't need to.
Thoughts or advice, please?

[IDrinkFromTheKegOfGlory]

Bump. Anyone?

[BiteyShark]

It's both a personal choice and also about the individual puppy.

I used to get up with mine and take him out as he could never hold it all through the night when he was little.

Not sure what you mean by the dog that isn't reliably dry at 1 years old (do you mean they have accidents because the owner ignores them or do you mean they will let the owner know they need the toilet).

Mine is 2 years old and sometimes barks because he needs to pee or poo at night. I'm certainly not going to stop him going if he needs to go especially as he has a stomach condition that flares up ever now and again.

As for not creating bad habits the issue is there is no single method of toilet training a puppy. Just look at the different articles, threads and opinions. What I would say though is that yours is still very very young and their bladder function is still developing.

[Wolfiefan]

You will only be teaching him to get up at night if you set an alarm and wake him!
Wolfiepup was going through the night for 8 hrs by about 13 weeks. But she’s a giant breed with a bladder of steel.
Don’t restrict water but do consider what times you feed to try and avoid overnight poo!

[missbattenburg]

There are quite a few recent threads here on night time routines so take a look through them. I suspect you haven't had many replies because people have only recently responded to the other threads on the subject so are a bit typed out on night time toileting.

So long as you maintain a boring and functional manner during the night time wake ups (no eye contact, no fuss, just carry the dog out, wee and back in again, go straight back to bed) then it's never worth the dog waking you up just for the sake of it. They will learn that waking you up in the night only results in a chance to toilet so will only wake you up for that purpose.

Battendog took about a month to settle through the night but still did wake me up occasionally when he was desperate to go for some weeks after that. I would hope he'd do so again, if the need arises. I tend to think about it like this: I could not guarantee I would not need a wee in the night every single night without fail. I won't expect it of him, either.

[BiteyShark]

I could not guarantee I would not need a wee in the night every single night without fail. I won't expect it of him, either.

Yes my dog the other night woke me as he needed not just one but two poos. So glad he knows that he can wake me and I will get up because I really wouldn't have liked to clear that up

[Girlintheframe]

We took ours out whenever we heard him stir (he slept next to our bed). If he didn’t stir we didn’t wake him. When he did stir it was straight out then straight back into his crate again. The first week he got up twice each night, the 2nd week once and by the 3rd was sleeping right through. I think we were very lucky though and it defo varies from pup to pup.
If he barks now to get up it’s back to straight out then straight back to bed again.

[Girlintheframe]

Meant to add we brought his last mealtime forward so he wasn’t needing to poo overnight.

[IDrinkFromTheKegOfGlory]

Thank you all for your comments - and sorry if I've posted a question that has recently been answered 😳 I'm very new to the Doghouse (usually hang out more on AIBU!) so hadn't clocked those threads.

We certainly wouldn't want him to think he couldn't wake us if he needs to go to the toilet so we would always respond to him if he wakes. I'll make sure we're not waking him though so as not to create a habit. And I'll make sure we're not giving him any attention (which he loves nearly as much as chicken 😆).

I totally appreciate it's very early days and I mustn't expect too much but, as with babies, when you're out of the chaos of the beginning period you can see clearly that it all works its way out in the end but when you're in the middle of it it seems never-ending and you constantly second-guess yourself! I honestly wonder if having another DC might have been easier... 😉

[missbattenburg]

It wasn't a dig IDrinkFromTheKegOfGlory , just an explanation of why you were getting radio silence...

I found the worst bit about a puppy is the constant fear "what if this behaviour never changes" and yet the one thing you can almost guarantee about them is that they will change. Almost daily. For at least the next 12 months.

Buckle up!

[IDrinkFromTheKegOfGlory]

Ha! That was my mantra with the DC when they were little - "it's only a phase, it's only a phase" 😆 Unfortunately the good behaviour was often as temporary as the bad... 🙄

Thanks for all your help, everyone. Much appreciated!