Hi all - I have a 9-week old girl, Abby, who generally needs to go potty twice a night. The problem is, when I (calmly and without talking to her) take her out of her pen and put her in her potty area, she zooms around, super hyper from being let out - and will not go. Then when I put her back in, she cries very loudly. Even after finally going, she cried and barked for 50 minutes last night before finally settling back down. Any tips on this? I don't pet her, play with her, talk to her, or in any way reinforce her excitement. I'm not agitated from being woke up. I just want her to do her business and get us both back to sleep!
Re: Nighttime potty breaks I think maybe she doesn't need to go potty - I think her cries could well be for attention, then she wees eventually because it's what she knows you want. Try ignoring her and see if the crate is clean when you get up (early to start with)
Re: Nighttime potty breaks I always slipped Juno's lead on to go out for the night time toileting so she was unable to run around in the dark. If Abby hasn't wee'd in a few minutes she's unlikely to need a wee at the time, so pop her back in her crate and try again a little later Is Abby crying to go out, if not I would leave her until she does. She is unlikely to toilet in her crate and puppies seem to be able to go much longer at night than during the day so don't worry too much.
Re: Nighttime potty breaks Thanks, guys, for your replies!! The most frustrating thing is she DOES need to poo, because a couple times I have left her and she's gone (in her pen) afterwards. A lead is a good idea though.. preferably a very short one! I am up at 6am, she won't let me sleep longer than that. Hoping she gets a little better about holding it as she gets older. I always thought puppies didn't need to poo at night but this is definitely not the case for her!
Re: Nighttime potty breaks [quote author=stripeybelly link=topic=10646.msg157766#msg157766 date=1429550095] Thanks, guys, for your replies!! The most frustrating thing is she DOES need to poo, because a couple times I have left her and she's gone (in her pen) afterwards. A lead is a good idea though.. preferably a very short one! I am up at 6am, she won't let me sleep longer than that. Hoping she gets a little better about holding it as she gets older. I always thought puppies didn't need to poo at night but this is definitely not the case for her! [/quote] Fear not those 6 am get ups will soon be a distant memory... At 6 months Bella now has lie ins until 8 on a weekend and will sleep again if I go back to bed ;D
Re: Nighttime potty breaks Ps maybe try feeding her early on and nothing after 7, that stopped Bella's nighttime poops
Re: Nighttime potty breaks [quote author=CDM link=topic=10646.msg157770#msg157770 date=1429550377] Ps maybe try feeding her early on and nothing after 7, that stopped Bella's nighttime poops [/quote] Think they're all different on this, Juno's last meal was around 18:30 to 19:00 and she always did a poo when we went out during the night. All will be easier when she goes through the night
Re: Nighttime potty breaks I don't feed her past 6pm which makes the 3am poos all the more puzzling. Thanks, everyone, for the advice and support!!
Re: Nighttime potty breaks She's still so tiny I'm sure she'll grow out of it, Bella pooped in her crate the first few days / nights too. ;D