KarriLab Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 We have had our little black lab at home for 3 nights and are crate training her - I'm just not 100% sure what to do at night time and thought I'd check before we instill any bad habits in her! I know that there is tons of info on here about crate training (which has been very helpful!) so my apologies if this has already been asked (I couldn't find anything about this). She goes into her crate at night with no dramas and settles pretty quickly. We don't have the crate in our bedroom, but it is closeby. I'm wondering though how to go about toilet breaks at night time. Do we wait till she wakes up and whimpers a bit before we take her out or do we set an alarm and take her out? We tried setting an alarm on on sat night and took her out at 1am where she promptly did a wee, but nothing else, and then settled back down in her crate. BUT at around 1.45am she started crying so we ignored her, thinking it was for attention, rather than toileting - we were wrong! I went out to her after about an hour thinking I'd just settle her back down without letting her out, but she'd done a wee & a poo in her crate So I'm confused!! How do we know whether she's crying for attention (and therefore needs to be ignored) or crying to go to the toilet (and we need to act fast!). Thanks in advance for any helpful advice! A pic of the little angel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlc Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 Hi, Im noew to the crete training and only use the crete for my boy to sleep in, My other 3 dogs all older never used a crete but my youngest one was beside himself the first couple of nights so I go t him a crete and we have never looked back. Im no expert but this is what I did, first and foremost if he cryed I took him outside and he would always go and that would be about once through the night he is 6 months old now and sleeps through and has been for a while. He does tend to be a real sooky boy so if he has been out to the loo then crys a bit I know it is just for attention!! There will probley be others who can give you better advice im jsut going on what I did, I always also made a habit of not talking or playing to the pup when taking him out to begin with incase was only crying for attention, but you will get to know after a while and I think the main thing is if she has been asleep and wakes and crys then always assume she need to go to the toilet. I also find with my lot the girls as pups always needed to go more frequently than the boys, not sure if this is the same with other people..... BTW your pup is very cute!! Have fun with her the puppy days go so fast!! Barb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puggy_puggy Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 Could you put the crate in a puppy pen so that the pup could go on newspaper during the night? The two foster pug pups I have had for the last few months sleep in a bed in a puppy pen at night so if they really need to go they can go on the newspaper. I usually get up during the night to let my adult pugs out to the toilet, they sleep in bed with me so I will hear them when they get off my bed, so I also let the pups out during the night as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teebs Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 My first dog was crated down stairs, when i was living at mums (for a few weeks!) I set an alarm for every few hours, and he went to the loo each time. I slowly extended the time between each stop - This dog has only ever gone to the loo inside once, and that was when he was REALLY sick. My Staffy was crated next to my bed, i didnt set an alarm, but when i heard her start to move around, i would get up and take her out. She still does a 2am and a 6am pee EVERY night, but i am now used to it and usually wake before she starts to cry! (She is 3!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelpie_Pup Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 What a beautiful puppy!! The waking in the middle of the night for toileting doesn't last long, so just think of it this way.. When/if the puppy protests when you first put her in her crate, that is generally a cry of protest and nothing else. Always be sure to toilet before bed (perferably wees AND poos!). It is normal for the puppy to wake in the middle of the night.. if they wake at say 1 am, it is highly likely they need to toilet. She's already had her "protest cry" when you first put her in for bed.... so it is best to take her outside if she wakes a few hours after and start crying! If she's done a poo before bedtime- try and allow enough time between dinner and bedtime for this to happen- it's likely she won't need to do one until the morning. We fed our pup her dinner at about 6.30-7 and crated her for bed at around 10-10.30 most nights and this allowed enough time for her to do her poop before bedtime. She only ever woke in the middle of the night for wees. Mind you, she only woke in the middle of the night for the first 5 nights we had her. The first 2, she cried even after we put her back in at 2 am after she'd done wees outside... we just put her next to our bed and talked to her for a bit so she felt secure. Actually, a few weeks ago, we stayed at my parents house for the wknd, and poor thing ate something in the backyard that made her sick and she got the runs.... woke every hour on the hour through the night with a sore sore tummy Well done on choosing to crate train - I can't recommend it highly enough!!! Hope it all goes well for you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuvMyCav Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 Hi KarriLab, I wouldn't set an alarm as long as you can hear when pup needs to go out, just put her out when she's calling. Don't put water in the crate at night so that she's less likely to need too many wees. Our first few weeks we got up no more than twice a night and very soon we were down to one. It wasn't long before there were no more night wees. Our boy is five now (sleeps in a crate beside the bed) and occasionally he'll make a tiny scratch on the crate during the night. I tell him to lie down and go back to sleep and nine times out of ten he does just that. If he continues to scratch, I know he means business and we go outside (but this is very rare - usually if he has a tummy ache). Best of luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarriLab Posted July 15, 2008 Author Share Posted July 15, 2008 Thanks everyone for your replies. We had a MUCH better night last night. We fed her much earlier and didn't set an alarm, just waited for her to wake us and went straight out and straight back in again. Only one toilet break at 2.30am so we were stoked! Thanks again!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuvMyCav Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Oh, good news karriLab! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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