Night times for puppy - any advice?

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We bought our first puppy yesterday, a lovely 8 week old cockapoo. We have a crate for her, which we put her in for the first time last night. We got up twice in the night to let her out for a wee, but I don't think she went once we got outside. She weed on her bedding, so I took that out straight away. When we went down in the morning, we found she'd done a poo, which of course meant that there was then poo on everything! 🤯

Everything I've read says you have to get them up in the night to let them out for a wee, but having spoken to a few people no-one seems to do that. Please can you give me the best advice for what to do with the puppy with regards to toileting at night? Any advice would be gratefully received. Thank you!

If she is peeing and pooing on her bedding then you aren't getting to her in time.

I didn't sleep in the same room when mine was a puppy but I was close by and used a baby monitor so as soon as he woke up I could take him out to the toilet when we first got him. As he got a bit older I used to set an alarm to take him out, gradually extending the time inbetween.

Some puppies seem to be able to sleep throughout without needing the toilet but mine couldn't until he was much older. I also never used puppy pads as I didn't want him to associate toileting inside.

We took ours out 2-3 times a night when he was young - if she's peeing/pooing In her bed then she's obviously desperate as dogs don't like messing where they sleep. He didn't sleep through the night reliably until he was six months old either. He's 10 months now and I can't remember the last time he was up in the night.

Generally the rule is dogs can go an hour/month of their age plus one, so I would say at 8 weeks (2 months) you need to be up every three hours in the night. So if you're in bed at 11, I would say you need to be up at 2am and 5am at a minimum, possibly more if she's still getting used to her environment.

Like @BiteyShark we never used pads as we didn't want him to ever associate indoors with going to the toilet.

I used to sleep in the same room as mine and was literally taking him out round the clock. The first week was worse than a newborn but persistency pays off and he picked it up really quickly.

Pup slept in our room initially. We took him out whenever we heard him stiring. Just straight out, toilet then back to bed. He stopped needing the toilet overnight when he was about 12 weeks old

Battendog slept in a crate by the bed and when he cried, I got up and took him out.

After a few nights I slowly moved the crate away (an inch a night) until it was the other side of the room. I left it there but if I'd have wanted him to sleep downstairs I'd have slowly moved it down there.

Our pup slept by our bed. I set the alarm for about 3am to take him out to pee or poo, and then out at 6am with him. Gradually moved the alarm call forward.

Does her bedding smell of her mum? If not then maybe she doesn’t associate her bedding as her bed/nest yet as it was only her first night.

I slept downstairs with ours for the first week and took him out in the night as soon as I heard him stir. Out on a lead and waiting until he'd done something. After that I had a reasonable idea of the times when he might be stirring so set an alarm for him and went down to take him out, again on lead and waiting until he'd done something.
Keep everything low key at night, and straight back in the crate once back inside. Is the crate big? Maybe you need to section it off for now so that the sleeping area is fairly compact.

The puppy only has a small part of the crate. Even if I let her out in the night, I doubt she'll poo when I want her to. She just poos when she needs to, which I'm starting to catch during the day when I'm watching her, but I just can't see how I'd know at night. I also don't want her to think I'll come to her crate if she barks at night, which she does quite a lot of.

She's pooed in her crate every night since we got her, then pooed in her travel crate while in the car today. I'm so fed up with cleaning up all of the pooed smeared everywhere and cleaning her up, too.

Brace yourself, OP. This could go on for a few weeks yet and is pretty normal.

The more you catch her in the day and get her outside, the quicker she will learn. You can attach a word to the action - so when she is pooing keep repeating "have a poo" (or whatever you want to use) and, in time, this will become a phrase you can use to encourage her to have one, when she isn't.

If she's pooed every night then she needs a poo every night. I'd be tempted to set the alarm and get up, take her outside (whilst being very boring so she doesn't think it is fun time) and see if she will go.

As a guide Battendog went out:

• about 3 times a night for the first week
• about 2 times a night the second week,
• once a night the third week
• by the fourth week were were starting to have nights where he wouldn't cry to go out
• by the fifth week we'd pretty much cracked nighttimes, though did have a couple of relapses later on

Research crate training.
She shouldn't mess in her crate unless absolutely bursting if she views her crate as her den which she doesn't yet.
It took a couple of weeks of setting alarms and getting up multiple times a night to get it cracked. My 6 month old puppy wees before bed at 10pm and lasts until just before 7am now.

How often are you taking her out in the day? When we brought our pup home, he was outside every 30 minutes while awake, after every nap, meal, snack, drink and play session. He slept in our bedroom so he woke us up in the night when he needed the toilet but we were up twice a night probably up until four months old, then once a night for a month, then by five months we'd cracked it and he went through. Now at 10 months he can go from 10pm to 8am without needing the toilet.

You need to set alarms in the night and take her to the toilet. If she's sleeping downstairs you can't rely on her waking you up in time. She'll wake up, realise she's alone and needs the toilet, and go to the toilet. Unless you regularly go down and take her out, she probably won't realise that she has the option to ask, if the makes sense?

As for pooing/peeing on command, you can definitely do it, but it takes perseverance. Go out with her every single time she needs the toilet, and give her the command while she's doing her business (we use "toilet!" or "quickly!") and when she goes, high-value treat and praise like mad, every single time. I went out with my puppy even after he was trained indoors, probably until he was 7-8 months old - firstly to make sure he was going and not just messing around, and secondly to make sure everything was "healthy". Now he goes out alone but he doesn't like going out at night alone yet, so we still have to take him before bed.

I have to say threads like this makes me so glad we brought our pup home at 12 weeks as opposed to the standard 8. He only ever messed inside once (and that was just after we got him home) and only had 3-4 accidents inside as our breeder had already trained him that outside = toilet.

I would say if she's toileting in her crate and barking/whining in the night this is separation anxiety. Remember she has just left all her siblings and her mum and now she's all alone in a cage far from comfort. I would move the crate right next to your bed so you can be there to comfort through the bars and take out for toilet stops when she stirs during the night.

You want to be building only positive interactions with the crate so if she's upset in it at night all the positive crate games you play during the day are being un done. Crates can be a wonderful resource but they must be built up positively and in short periods as not to cause stress and upset.

we try really hard not to interrupt the night so our pups get a late late night and then an early start, which we stretch out as they get better at being alone/holding it in. First few days we tend to bunk down on the sofa with them in the crate, so they know crate time is quiet time and squawking/creating a fuss is shooshed as soon as.

Also outside is for "busys" and if we are out there to do one there's no inside until a busy has appeared....you have to really get a grip on their routine and how they like to perform so that can take a couple of weeks. Current pup likes to poo first thing and last thing, others have been once a day, others after each meal....maybe you could alter meal times to cut out the overnight poo?

She's pooed in her crate every night since we got her, then pooed in her travel crate while in the car today. I'm so fed up with cleaning up all of the pooed smeared everywhere and cleaning her up, too.

You’ve literally only had her a few days. You need to be prepared for toilet training to take a while.

If it was me I would be looking to break the cycle of pooing in the crate. The more a puppy does something I think it creates a habit which will take longer to break.

You are worried about rewarding the barking but actually some of that will be to let you know they want the toilet. As they can't speak you won't know which is for company and which is for toileting. In the early days as I mentioned I have a baby monitor so every time he made a noise in the night I got up and took him outside for a few minutes then back again. No talking, no playing, stroking etc. Yes it took a while for him to get that nighttime was for toileting or sleep and yes I was bloody tired but I wasn't having to clean up poo and he wasn't thinking the crate was his toilet.

She's pooed in her crate every night since we got her, then pooed in her travel crate while in the car today. I'm so fed up with cleaning up all of the pooed smeared everywhere and cleaning her up, too.

Then you need to accept that your sleep will be broken for a bit to stop this. Baby monitors or cameras are cheap of amazon so there is no reason why you can't 'know' what's happening at night even if you aren't in the same room.

This brings back memories! I'd get up 4 times a night when DDog was DPup. And it still wasn't always enough. She tried pooing outside the crate which meant that I had to clean shit off the bars - such fun. (And I'd get cross - ashamed of that now)
Keep getting up and taking them out, and stay out till they've been. And praise, lots of praise (even if the neighbours think you're bonkers)

Firstly, where is the picture?

Secondly, it's all about perseverance. Have a look at the cockapoo club on Facebook,they have some great resources and tips.

When my pup was 8 weeks, we would remove the water at night and take her out for a last pee two hours later. The first few days I woke in the night to take her pee. But she did not go so I would then wake around 5/6am and take her for a pee and she went. She always happily sleeps through the night from the first night we brought her home. But, we also make sure she gets lots of exercise and play time during the day. By 8pm she is zonked out. We no longer remove the water at 7 months old and she goes through the night. We no longer crate her most nights, as she is on a good schedule.

Yikes, just saw the poo comments. Perhaps you need to look at what you are feeding her and the times you feed her? My breeder gave us specific times like 7am 12 and 5pm. I forgot exact timings, but something like that for early on. Our puppy has never pooped in her crate. In fact I'm struggling to remember what the heck she did to poop early on when she was not allowed out as I don't remember having to clean up much poop. I think she managed to mostly go on the poo/pee mat. Anyway, and once she was allowed out she only pooped when we took her out. Any time you feed the pup, except poop to come out shortly after. Feed the dog and take her for walk after. Mine will always poop after she has a meal.

And also, if the dog gets enough exercise and play, she should hopefully just sleep most of the night and poop during the day. As exercise makes them need to poo. Do not give food late in the day. 5pm should be cut off and then give her exercise and try to get her to poo. As your dog goes pee or poo, say the command word you use. For us, pee is "Quick quick" She learned very fast what that meant and I always gave her a treat straight after she did pee in the right spot. Now, I can get her to go pee on command straight away if we need to get back inside fast. If not, I go to the park and she always knows to go for pee/poo if she needs on the way home. She literally will realise okay we are on the way home, I better do one last pee and/or poo. It will only take a few months, but with good training etc you will get there.

Thank you for all of your comments.

Last night, I set an alarm and got up every two hours. Standing in the rain and wind in the middle of the night trying to get my puppy was no fun at all. I stayed out until she pooed, so I was in the garden for quite a long time, but at least she did poo in the end. So we had a clean crate in the morning, but when I left her in the crate to go out for an hour or so to go out in the afternoon, she pooed in it again. I took her out being puting her in the crate and she hadn't just eaten.

She doesn't poo straight after a meal, but I still take her straight out just in case she will. I've managed to 'catch' all the poos when I've been with her during the day.

I know we've only had her for a few days, but everything I've read says that dogs don't mess where they sleep, so why does mine?

We got our first cocker from a breeder whose dogs were working dogs, and not housetrained, so they didn't even start the process, she always seemed massively surprised when she pooed, and she wouldn't give us much warning at first, so we had crate poos despite leaping out of bed whenever she stirred.

I think for some puppies holding it even for an hour is too much sometimes, when they've got to go they've got to go. Once you settle into a routine you'll know when it's a fairly 'safe' time to leave them.

I still remember standing in the rain at 3am in January with her huddled on my feet refusing to wee.

You have to respond if they bark/scratch/cry, but you put them on the lead, take them out and wait with no interaction until they go (or you decide it's a false alarm) praise if they go and then straight back to bed.

She also had a terrible habit of doing a wee outside and then pooing in the house 5 minutes later, when we thought we were safe.

This puppy is too young to be left. Sleep near her. Don’t go out for an hour.
You need to take the pup out every half an hour. And after eating, drinking, sleeping and playing. Watch them like a hawk and get them outside to toilet. Then praise when they do.
Puppies don’t know not to toilet in their bed and can’t hold it either.

I think you are expecting far too much too quickly. At 8 weeks I was still only getting mine used to being alone for a few minutes and that was when I was still around. At that age bladder and bowel control was still pretty much go all the time with no or little warning.

Puppies will need to toilet in frequent intervals and more so when active. If you think logically at that age leaving yours for an hour is an hour when she hasn't been used to be left alone. She probably woke up and was looking about for you and that made her even more likely to need to toilet.

As you haven't even established a routine yet of not pooing in the crate, a routine of being happy left alone (lots of people have cameras so they can see if the puppy is happy on their own and build up to it slowly over many days or weeks) and the fact that at 8 weeks puppies have little bladder and bowel control it's really no surprise that you came back to a poo.