nighttime crating

[tigger1007]

Hi! I am new here, and a new puppy mom. We got Mojo a shiranian, on Thursday night, she is 3 months old. Her previous owner has done some of the ground work for potty training for us...she will go outside!! My question is, at this age should I be leaving her in the crate all night making her hold it until morning or should I continue getting up with her throughout the night? I definately do not want to make a habit out of getting up to take her outside 2-3 times a night (especially in the winter). So far she is doing fabulous in her crate so far I just don't know if all night is too long fer her little bladder....any ideas?

[TeriM]

The pup will likely let you know if he needs to go out during the night. At three months it is quite possible she will sleep through the night (assuming max 8 hours or so?). My labs both slept all night quite quickly but others have had much longer transition periods. Generally bigger dogs are also easier then smaller dogs as well . If your pup is unable to hold it or seems at all stressed and restless during the evening then get up and take her out. You really don't want to ignore them as it can lead to further problems with potty training if they have "accidents" in the crate and it could also lead to urinary infections if forced to hold it longer then he is ready for.

[bendyfoot]

I agree with Terri, the pup will let you know if she can't hold it. Small breeds usually take longer to house train and also usually have to go out more often than large breeds. With our pup, we started getting up in the middle of the night (2am) for a pee, and gradually increased the length of time she stayed in her crate. Three weeks later (she's 14 weeks old) she now can stay asleep until 6am without any trouble (about 8 hours). That's about her max right now. If we "need" to sleep in we get up at 6, do a potty break, then put her back in the crate for another hour or two.

[jessi76]

great advice so far... only wanted to add that if you do get up for a midnight potty run, make it very "business like". no cooing, cuddling, or playtime. snap the leash on, go out, give a soft quick praise when she goes ("good girl" in a soft happy tone) then back to bed. you want to let the pup out to relieve herself, you want to praise her softly for telling you and going outside, but you don't want it to become habit. At 3 mths, we were starting to stop the midnight (or 2am) potty runs, so I think it's reasonable to expect your pup can sleep through. One way to help this is to limit (not withold) water consumption after a certain hour (like 8-9pm). less water that goes in late at night, means less that comes out at 2am.

[bendyfoot]

ooohh, good call, that's SO important. Ours gets a pat, a "sit" command, leash snapped on, out for business, back into crate, another pat and "bedtime" cue, and that's it. No playing, no talking, no messing around, just out and then right back to bed.