General Question going out at night

heavyblankets

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Jan 21, 2013
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I'm bringing home my 9 week old puppy next Tuesday. She'll be my first dog. I'm going to crate train and I've read that I need to not respond to her cries at night, but can a 9 week old puppy hold it all night? I'm thinking "all night" means from around midnight to 8am... or do I need to plan on taking her out in the middle of the night for a while?

Also, how old were your pups when you started allowing them to sleep in bed with you (if ever)?

Thanks!
 

Silastheman

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Feb 6, 2013
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hello!! well some pups can hold it all night around 10 weeks old AND some(like mine) will pee in crate even when i take him out every two hours thru the night..so it depends on the pup..start with the first night, set your alarm to take him out every 2 hours, if the crate is dry,then the next night try 3 hours, etc..you will learn fast how long he can hold it..also only leave enough room in crate for him to lay and turn, because anything bigger he will use one side to potty and one side to sleep...dont let him drink alot right before bed! Also..not responding to his cries means at first when you place him in crate to go to bed, he will most likely crie and freak out, just ignore it (its really hard and sad) but after a few nights it will stop, but if he cries a few hours later it is because he needs to potty...if hes scared and lonley at night, try putting a little radio on (that worked for my puppy) or have his crate in your room so he can see you and you can bang on the crate when hes crying and say NO shhhh....also we hang a sheet on his crate at night to make him feel safer...hope i helped and goodluck!!!
 

RaRett

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There is a general rule of thumb... age in months +1 = hours of hold time
2 months old should be able to hold it for 3 hours
4 months old should be able to hold it for 5 hours etc (if memory serves me correctly!)

When you buy your crate spend the extra money upfront for the one with a divider in it, that can be adjusted as the puppy gets bigger. Most people end out going out and buying a crate that is too small and then they have to buy 2nd or a 3rd ! or they buy a really BIG one, and the puppy has so much room that they use one corner for a bathroom and the other part for a bed.

Congrats and best of luck ~! :) :)
 

RaRett

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oh and the bed question.... well once you start them in the bed, its REALLY hard for you to get your bed back! LOL

I definately wouldnt recommend the puppy in bed with you, until its house broken (If you think a mess on a carpet is bad, imagine on your mattress ! ! ! ! and they are $$$$$$$$$$$$) and alot of injuries happen getting off a bed (or a couch) for the little ones. Bullies arent as springing as say Labs etc, They tend to go *THUD* More :p
 

2BullyMama

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There is a general rule of thumb... age in months +1 = hours of hold time
2 months old should be able to hold it for 3 hours
4 months old should be able to hold it for 5 hours etc (if memory serves me correctly!)

When you buy your crate spend the extra money upfront for the one with a divider in it, that can be adjusted as the puppy gets bigger. Most people end out going out and buying a crate that is too small and then they have to buy 2nd or a 3rd ! or they buy a really BIG one, and the puppy has so much room that they use one corner for a bathroom and the other part for a bed.

Congrats and best of luck ~! :) :)


Perfect information ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Plus 1 hour for every month old they are
 

JeannieCO

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if hes scared and lonley at night, try putting a little radio on (that worked for my puppy) or have his crate in your room so he can see you and you can bang on the crate when hes crying and say NO shhhh....also we hang a sheet on his crate at night to make him feel safer...hope i helped and goodluck!!!
Let me see if I get this right? You suggest that if he's lonely at night and starts to cry to "bang on the crate when hes crying and say NO shhhh". Personally, I think that's the worst thing to do! Having his crate by your bed is fantantic, as is a sheet, What what would be more productive than banging on the crate is to put your hand down at the crate and put your fingers in there so he/she can smell and touch you. They only want to know you're there and that will ease their uncertainity. Banging will only alarm and scare them of you and possibly even their crate at night.

Keeping them apart in another room in my personal opinion is not good either. Sure it may be good for your sleeping but it's not good for the puppy who's now alone.
 

mer55

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As you see, you will get many different ideas and opinions on what to do!! Bottom line is each pup is unique and you will have to do trial and error to find out what works and what does not!
We took Bogey home at 8 weeks old. I had the crate with the divider and it was placed in my living room. I slept on the pullout couch next to him for the first week. The first few nights I set the alarm and took him out every 3 hours. He was so sleepy that I decided on night 4 to see how long he could go since I was sleeping right next to him and would hear him. His last potty trip was 10 pm. I woke up at 5 am and thought for sure he would have peed in the crate after that amount of time- nope! I woke him at 5 to go out cause I felt so bad- wrong move- 5 am was play time after all that wonderful uninterrupted sleep! Didn't make that mistake again! So, I took him out between 10 and 1030 for the last time, I never restricted his water, ( he still to this day takes a good long drink before bed) and he has NEVER peed in the crate. the other mistake I made was making the crate to small and confined. I had beds, toys and blankets in there. Nope, he settled down much better when I took out the divider and let him have some space. This may not work for every pup. I was very lucky. By the end of hte week I was back in my bed and I kept waking up to check on him- he was sleeping just fine! I made the choice not to have him in my bedroom- that room is totally off limits, even now. I do cover the crate at night- I think it gives him that sense of "the day is done' and he settles right down when it's bed time. It also differentiates being put in there for our going out, or his jail time! LOL!
That's another hot topic- using the crate for "punishment". When your pup starts biting, and becomes a furball demon, I found that crate time calmed him right down. Also, if he got really obnoxious duringthe day (and he will) I knew he was tired and forced him to stay in there for a rest. He comes out a different dog!
Good luck! Find out what works for you and ask away to all of ushere who have been where you are!!
 

sweetpeasmom2008

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Right now Lucy sleeps 3 to 4 hours at a time through the night then as soon as I hear her start moving around and crying I put her in the litter box to potty. I put her right back in the crate and she goes back to sleep. I would not put your pup in bed with me tell totally house broke so a year old or so. Sometimes even older dogs feel the fabric and soft bedding and they will pee.
 

Vikinggirl

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Hi, your little guy needs to go out about every 2 hours during the day , with the last pee at around 11:00 or 11:30 pm. He won't be able to hold his pee all night, as its too long from 11:00 pm to the morning, when I was training my two guys, I would set my cell phone alarm for 2:00 am and take them out for a pee, and my alarm clock for 6 am for the first morning duties. The middle of the night pee is only a temporary thing that usually lasts for about 5 months, and then they will learn to hold. I also would take their water away at around 8:00 pm, so they wouldn't have to pee all night. I posted a puppy training schedule on the puppy club forum, that I used for my two puppies that worked for us. I'll copy and paste it for you.


Hi new Bully parents, my name is Monica, and I have 2 English Bulldog pups, they are both 9 months old, and are brother and sister, their names are Bulldozer and Blossom. I've noticed a lot of new puppy owners have posted questions regarding potty training for their new babies. Since my 2 are now 9 months old, and I have been through this already, I thought I might share what worked for us. The puppy stage is very much like having a baby in the house, the training takes time and patience, and sleepless nights, but it is a temporary phase. The best thing that you can do to make potty training go smooth and without accidents is to first crate train your new baby, this will make your life much easier. Crate training your pup is not a cruel thing to do, they actually learn that the crate is a safe place. You can use it for sleeping, and for a safe place to put puppy in when you can't watch or supervise them, and for when you need to go out. The other important thing to do for successful puppy training is establishing a schedule. This worked the best for us, and our babies were fully trained by 5 months old. The schedule that worked for us was:


6 am: Take puppy out for their first pee and poop of the day


7 am: Feed puppy breakfast 1/3 of a cup kibble mixed with water.
Place puppy back in crate for 10 mins to let tummy settle after eating.
Then take puppy out for potty again.


7 am: From 7 am to 2 pm take your puppy out every hour or two throughout the day , and increase the
time by an hour each week , so they learn to hold.


2 pm: Feed puppy lunch 1/3 of a cup of kibble mixed with water.
Place puppy in crate for 10 mins to let tummy settle after eating.
Then take puppy out for potty again.


2 pm: From 2 pm to 8 pm, take your puppy out every hour or two during the day.


8 pm: Feed puppy dinner 1/3 of a cup of kibble mixed with water.
Place puppy back in crate of 10 mins to,let tummy settle after eating.
Then take puppy out again.


8 pm: From 8 pm to 11 pm , take your puppy out every hour or two, until around 11 pm or 11:30 pm.
The last pee and poo break will be at around 11 pm before you go to bed.
Take your puppy's water away around 8 or 9 pm, otherwise you will have many accidents throughout
the night.


2 am: We would set our cell phone for 2 am to go out for a pee. The time between 11 pm and 6 am when
they go out for their first pee is too long for the new puppy to hold, but again this a temporary phase,
and the puppy will eventually be able to hold all night. This happened for us when the pups were 5
months old. After they were 5 months old, we were able to eliminate the 2 am outing, and they were
able to hold for 4 or 5 hours at a time during the day.


I hope this helps any new puppy owner that has maybe never owned a pup before, and doesn't know how to train a puppy, or anyone who has a new puppy and is struggling to train them. At first it's like you are training when the puppies will go, but eventually they will tell you when they need to go out, they will either go to the door, or bark, or whine, my female Blossom will whine, when she wants out, my male Dozer will bark. Another thing to do is take your puppy out before and after they play, as they will always go pee after they have been excited.


Good luck to everyone, and remember this is a temporary phase , your puppy will be trained before
You know it. Enjoy your new baby.
 
Last edited:

Rural mystic

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We crate train and both of the crates are in our bedroom one on each side of the bed. We also found the dogs like it better if the crate is draped with a towel or sheet on the outside of the crate, its more like a cave and have tried it both ways and both dogs, one is a maltese [the older dog] and the bulldog seem to prefer it. We leave some space open on the sides of the crates for circulation. I brought my bulldog home during the holiday when I had some scheduled time off, he was 8 weeks old. For the first week I took him out every two hours and after eating and playing. This was through the night as well, I would set the alarm if needed to get me up. He was house broke within the first week to ten days. After the first week or ten days or so he was spending the entire night [during our sleeping time] in his crate without once soiling inside the crate. He is now 17 weeks old and has never pottied in his crate. Every dog is unique up to a point so this will be something you will have to work out with your dog to see how it goes. But my suggestion would be for the first week or so to take the puppy out every two hours and then extend the time and play it by ear so to speak
 

Silastheman

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Feb 6, 2013
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Let me see if I get this right? You suggest that if he's lonely at night and starts to cry to "bang on the crate when hes crying and say NO shhhh". Personally, I think that's the worst thing to do! Having his crate by your bed is fantantic, as is a sheet, What what would be more productive than banging on the crate is to put your hand down at the crate and put your fingers in there so he/she can smell and touch you. They only want to know you're there and that will ease their uncertainity. Banging will only alarm and scare them of you and possibly even their crate at night.

Keeping them apart in another room in my personal opinion is not good either. Sure it may be good for your sleeping but it's not good for the puppy who's now alone.



my Silas learned to stop fussing when I would bang the crate a little and say shhhhh. I read to do this in a puppy training book, or to shake a loud can of coins..my banging the crate and shhh was less scary, because it was quiter than the can of coins and he would hear my voice..he now only fusses when he needs to go potty..it worked for him..I wasnt MEAN...thanks and good luck
 

Rural mystic

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Yes and for the first few nights in the crate when the lights are turned off the new pup will likely whine and cry abit wanting company. You can ignore it to a point but sometimes I would speak to him in a soft voice to reassure him all was ok. And whisper shhhh when he was crying. There were a couple of times during the first few nights that I got him out and took him to the living room so my wife could sleep and lay down beside him on the floor while we both tried to sleep. He rode home in my arms while my wife drove home the night we picked him up from the breeder/kennel. He followed me every move I made, and everywhere I went for the first week or so. He wouldn't leave my side. He has since gained a bunch more independance, but cherish those first days with your new pup and develop the bonding with one another
 

Silastheman

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also my pup pees in his crate all the time no matter how much I take him out thru the night because he had a bad UTI and it set him back big time...I have to reteach all his potty habits:(( best of luck:D

- - - Updated - - -

also my pup pees in his crate all the time no matter how much I take him out thru the night because he had a bad UTI and it set him back big time...I have to reteach all his potty habits:(( best of luck:D
 

JeannieCO

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my Silas learned to stop fussing when I would bang the crate a little and say shhhhh. I read to do this in a puppy training book, or to shake a loud can of coins..my banging the crate and shhh was less scary, because it was quiter than the can of coins and he would hear my voice..he now only fusses when he needs to go potty..it worked for him..I wasnt MEAN...thanks and good luck

Good to hear, I've personally never read that in a puppy training book (not that it's not there, just never read that). All mine said to do what I mentioned. When you said bang it leads one to think a loud knocked on the crate. Can of coins works great but not for that. It's really more for when you want to stop a undesirable habit or round play when you have more than one. Thanks for explaining that.
 

Silastheman

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Good to hear, I've personally never read that in a puppy training book (not that it's not there, just never read that). All mine said to do what I mentioned. When you said bang it leads one to think a loud knocked on the crate. Can of coins works great but not for that. It's really more for when you want to stop a undesirable habit or round play when you have more than one. Thanks for explaining that.


your very welcome. I have read many places to try the can of coins if he wont stop whining in crate but my pup was too scared of that. I guess every one has their own ways and all pups respond to different things!! I am never mean or scary towards Silas, just the opposite haha he is a spoiled little man
 

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