Hi, I've got a ten week old puppy. Sometimes when I've got up to take her toilet at night, her bed isn't really wet, but I can smell slightly urine smell. Does this mean she's wee earlier abd its dried or is it drips from the previous toilet time?
Does she smell of pee, or does her bed smell? Its not likely she'll pee on her bed, which is why crate training works so well, but their bladders are still small at 10 weeks and if there's a chance you didn't hear her calling earlier she may have had a busy 'coz she couldn't hold it - but unless its just a drop or two you should find a damp spot... And I think it would have to be a lot of drops for you to be able to smell it! Could she have had a busy near her crate in the day?
Is slightly under four hours ok for a ten week old puppy? Can they do longer one night then not as long another?
Yes and yes. They are all different. It's about how quickly their bladder matures, when they can hold it all night they will. Mine all take slightly longer as I have a puppy pen, not a crate. But that's because I don't want the night time waking so they wee at one end of the pen and have their bed at the other
I tried Mags' method with my latest puppy. Failed miserably. "Wee at one end and have their bed at the other"? Heh. More like, sleep on the hard floor, go into the bed for a wee/poo, roll round in it a bit then shout loudly about it. Cue me getting up to clean the pen and puppy. Repeat several times a night. Luna really opened my eyes to "they're all different". They really, really can be!
Then there was Twiglet, who simply climbed out of the pen This is my puppy set up btw - photo of Kara last Summer, the pup before Mollie.
If I were to do it that way until my puppy has more control, would it work to go back to her sleeping in a crate at night or not? I just feel disappointed as I'm back at 3hours and 3/4 and I have to go back to work next week....
Once again, they are all different. Gypsy hated crates, Mollie is happy to go in one any time. And, like snowbunny's pup - it may not work at all. Luna shouted when she'd weed in the pen. .
and just to show how different puppies are - my Bailey slept through the night from when he first came home with us, in a crate next to our bed, to this day he has not needed a night time toilet break. The first few nights I kept waking up to check on him (thinking he may have cried and I missed it), in fact one night I poked him to make sure he was still alive! All that got me was a sleepy grump as he moved to the far side of the crate so I couldn't touch him!
They are all very different. For the first few weeks I was up and down all night when my girl was in a crate. When I let her in our bedroom (not in a crate), she would often sleep from around midnight til about 9am. She hated the crate and would have me up every hour.
My pup was in a crate from 8 weeks but I kept the door open at night so she could get out to wee and poo on paper I put down by the back door. She probably did only two poos at nighttime and a few wees. She didn't call out. Within a few weeks I locked the crate door and she stayed dry. She calls out now (she's 9 months) with a polite whine if she's got a tummy upset and needs to go out, otherwise she's quiet and clean.
Benson was practically dry from the day we got him. We got him at 10 weeks old and he was already used to the crate. He had the odd accident when visitors arrived, but no accidents overnight, as good as gold as a puppy. Anecdotally it does appear that bitches might take slightly longer to toilet train than others. Bamble took at least 5 months, and had the odd accident right up to 6 months old. On the subject of crates, I do feel that crate training speeds up the process as the pup doesn't want to soil the crate, it's instinctive, as long as adequate toilet breaks are given of course
When I got mine, we had him in a crate just outside of our bedroom, letting him outside every time he cried, then we slowly moved it further away until eventually he didn't need to go out at night anymore. I personally would keep pup in a crate at night, it makes them feel safe and secure, I always give mine a treat for going in there, he now takes himself off to bed. There were a couple of nights when he wasn't in his crate that he had an accident, but never had one whilst being in there.
To be honest with the horror my sister had with her boy who is 10 weeks older I was prepared for being up every couple of hours - it took me about two weeks to realise that I didn't have a pup that needed a night time toilet break....he just likes to sleep I think!
Do they still learn to hold on for long periods at night if they have the pen situation...as I have done that for a week.. Just older I'm guessing.. Around what age?
There really is no "one size fits all". Some (very few) pups can sleep through the night already at 8 weeks. Some take a couple of months. Don't panic, your puppy will learn as the bladder matures. They all do
