I could really use some help. Our new lil guy is 8-weeks old and being crate trained. We have a schedule we follow during the day to allow ample play time and potty breaks. However, at night we're struggling. His crate is on my side of the bed. I will take him out for last call at around 10 pm and then he goes into the crate. Usually at around 1-2 am he starts getting loud and my wife has been taking him out. But we also don't want to reinforce the crying and then being let out. So she'll wait for about 10 minutes after he quiets down before taking him out. Last night I told her to let him cry it out and not take him out in the middle of the night. But it was driving her nuts so she did it anyway. He gets no water after 8 pm and goes again around 10 before bedtime. Is it reasonable to assume he can make it until 5 am (6-hours) to go out again? I know once we get over this hurtle we'll be good. But for not it's been tough with these middle of the night potty breaks. I told my wife I'm suffering from PSD (puppy sleep deprivation) today. We both have been exhausted this week with all the crying at night.
At 8 weeks, I think he definitely needs to go out and you can't ignore him. The only way you can ignore him is if he in a pen and has puppy pads or somewhere to go that is not his bed. I believe at first we had 2 overnight pees, went down to 1 and by 12 weeks she slept through the night. We also crate trained and I took her out immediately when she cried, no playing or interacting, just quick pee and back to bed for everyone. It's the post-pee crying that we ignored. It's tiring, but ends quite quickly - much faster than a human baby that's for sure!
I’ll echo everything Quinn said. Your pup is still really little. We took our out at least once a night for the first month or so that he was home. He couldn’t make it all night at first and then he could, but he would completely empty his bladder all over us the minute we picked him up to let him out in the morning. I think our pup was about 14-15 weeks when we let him go all night. It’s a little like a newborn baby...you just have to suck it up and do it for the first little while.
I take my 13 week old outside before bed at 10 PM. I then get up and take her out at 2AM. My wife takes her out at 6AM then. At 8 weeks you are going to have to take her out at a minimum of twice a night. The dog can only hold it for about 3 hours at 8 weeks
Every dog is different and your pup has the bladder he has, there is no value in letting him cry it out. Assuming that his crying is indicating he needs to go out to wee (I.e. he pees as soon as he's taken outside) I'd be getting him up, out and back in his crate asap. No talking or interaction other than a 'good boy' when he empties his bladder then back to bed until next pee time or morning. That way he's not in any discomfort and you guys get the most sleep. Also, I wouldn't be withholding water at any point. Good luck!
Agreed, 100%. Withdrawing water won’t help potty training and could actually make the night waking worse if he’s thirsty. If you want unbroken nights you could try a puppy pen. Most of mine weed at one end and I’d clear it up in the morning. ‘Tho Twiglet shouted to let me know she’d weed so we still had broken nights lol It’s not for long at all in the scheme of things .
Last year, I took my puppy out twice a night. This gradually reduced to once a night and by 18 weeks, she slept all night. I had to judge the timings as she didn’t bark or make a sound. I didn’t get it right the first few weeks and bless her she had accidents in her crate. We eventually got into a routine and I found I could set the alarm later so we went from 2 trips outside to 1 then none. I was very sleep deprived - it’s not nice but doesn’t last for long in the overall scheme of things. I used to just open her crate, put her lead on (carried her when she was small), went outside, then put her back in her crate without saying a thing, keeping as quiet as possible, then straight back to bed. I would think if you got up at that first cry, you stand a better chance of getting back to sleep quicker.
What we did is we didn’t wait for him to bark before we let him out. We woke up every 2 hours and let him out to pee no matter what. He ALWAYS went and it didn’t reinforce any barking because we were the ones that woke him up. Yes, it’s tiring and frustrating having no sleep, but it’s only for a couple weeks, then you can increase the time. Puppies are like babies and you get no sleep lol
