Puppy - night time waking

[Cazzie1979]

We have an 11 week old puppy (male miniature dachshund). We are struggling with the night wake ups, he generally wakes 2-3 times in his crate (in our bedroom) and we aren’t sure whether to take him out for a wee each time, try to settle him by stroking (which doesn’t seem to work) or take him out to put him on our bed to settle then put him back in the crate. My husband works two jobs and I work part time so I’m doing most of the wake ups but it’s taking its toll on me. It’s like having a baby all over again lol! If anyone has any advice on what to do during these multiple wake ups then I’d really appreciate it.

I’d be taking him out for a wee each time.
Try and work out if there’s a pattern to his wakings, and if he actually needs a wee each time.
Is the bedroom dark, do either of you snore and disturb the dog?

Yes you need to take him outside for a wee every time. It does quicky get better.

He might be cold as well- my boy used to wake up and then I’d wrap him in a blanket and he was fine!

Out for a wee, no talking or stroking. Straight back in his cosy little bed inside his crate, blanket to cover crate.

there doesn’t seem to be any pattern - the night before last he slept most of the night, then only woke at 4.30. Then last night it was 3 wake ups, 1 only an hour after we took him to the bed. We don’t snore so can’t be that.

Do you wrap him in a blanket while he’s in the crate or take him out wrap him up then put him back in?

i know he will cry/wail if we put him straight back in no cuddles or settling down - and our concern is for our next door neighbours as we obviously don’t want to let him to cry for a long time as it will wake them up. Would you just let him ‘cry it out’ in crate regardless of how long it goes on for?

11 weeks is too young to hold his bladder through the night so you should expect him to wake up at least once.

from my experience of raising 2 small breed puppies, you need to establish a routine ahead of them. So if the earliest he wakes up is 2am for example, set an alarm for 1:30, take him out to the toilet with minimal fuss (low lighting, no playtime or cuddles), you might have to wait a bit but he should go once he moves around a bit. Then back to bed.

I would say at this stage you’ll want to set a second alarm a bit later during the night so he has 2 wee breaks. And then in a couple of weeks move the first wee break later and later each night so eventually you just have one break. And then eventually when he’s old enough, around 16-18 weeks, he won’t need a toilet break.

I also suggest covering the crate to help a darker and warmer environment

I wouldn’t suggest letting him cry it out completely but also you can’t fuss too much. So I slept with my fingers inside the crate the first couple of nights for my puppy (one of mine settled fine without me but my youngest cried a lot more). He would cuddle and lick my fingers but I didn’t react or speak, not even eye contact because that would get him excited. He would sometimes whimper a bit but I ignored that too so he learnt to settle himself. Then after a couple of nights I didn’t have my hand by the crate but just laid on the floor next to the crate (until he fell asleep). And the eventually I was in bed within view of him in the crate and then moved the crate to the other side of the room slowly to where it is now 3 years later. It took about a week of slow transition

Thank you, that all sounds like really good advice, I will try this tonight and hopefully it will take a week for him to get used to it. He’s a very needy puppy, whimpers if I’m the other side of the cordoned off area, even though he can see me, wants a lot of attention!

We didn’t get our dog until he was 12 weeks and we were taking him out once at night for at least 3 weeks so probably until he was about 16 weeks. It is like having a baby/toddler again but that stage doesn’t last as long as it does with a human baby luckily!

Crying it out with such a young puppy is never the right thing to do. If he’s so needy he needs more reassurance not less

I’d put him back in on a bed and then wrap a blanket on top of him so he’s all cuddly x

Of course he’s needy, he’s a tiny 11 week old baby who has just left his mum, siblings and everything he knew. This is completely normal behaviour and textbook for a dachshund. Did you fully research the breed and what to expect before you got him?