Potting at night in crate

[BeverlyC]

I recently have a new issue with my puppy; he was 10 weeks on Sunday 11/16. We have had him for 2 weeks and 1 day. Well, for 12 days straight he has gone in his crate at night, slept all night never waking until 6:00 am. This was done with no accidents in the crate. For the last 3 nights, at some point during the night, he urinated in his crate. Never made a sound that he has to go out. He sleeps next to the bed in his crate and husband is a very light sleeper. For three mornings, we have found a urine soaked blanket. We are very miffed at this and aren't sure what to do. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :o

[excellrott]

What time is his last potty at nite? Maybe in order to keep to the 6am schedule, you will have to let him out later at nite for a few weeks. Also, how big is his crate? You know they really don't like to lay down in their own waste.

[BeverlyC]

He usually goes out for the last time between 10:30 to 11:00. His crate is a medium size, his body when stretched out is as long as the crate and he has room to stand & turn around. This is his 2nd crate since we got him, one he has already outgrown. This morning my husband said he was actually laying in the urine. That surprised me a little bit, I didn't think they would do that. I also thought if he would need to go he would cry or bark, he does during the day.

[moondog]

I think I'd try a couple of things....First, hold back water after 8pm and second, set your alarm for 2 or 3 am and take him out to potty. Is there any connection in timing between moving him up to a larger crate with the accidents?

[BeverlyC]

My husband usually only sleeps good until about 3 am so we were actually discussing his taking him out at that point, today. Lothar had to get a new crate after a week. He first used the one we had for our kitties and it was pretty small and he only fit in it a week. He gained 5 pounds in 10 days and has gotten huge. So maybe it could be related to the new crate, but he had been in it at least 5 days or so before the first accident. He can't stand up in the first crate anymore. I think my husband got the next size up from the first crate.

[spidey]

He's still young enough that he should be on a potty schedule - I'd say every 2-3-4 hours until he's reliably not going in his crate anymore. If he's allowed to go in his crate he will eventually stop being averse to messing in confinement, and then you've got a big job ahead of you with housebreaking. IMO, you need to just accept interrupted sleep for the next few weeks and get that puppy out every few hours during the night.

[BeverlyC]

Originally posted by spidey
IMO, you need to just accept interrupted sleep for the next few weeks and get that puppy out every few hours during the night.

The getting him up at night shouldn't be an issue. We will start trying that and see if it corrects the situation. We just assumed that since he didn't alert us at night then he was able to hold it.

Don't most dogs make some kind of ruckus when they are crated and they need to go potty? During the day, he gets about 2 hours of play time and an hour of sleep in the crate in rotation. When he comes out of the crate, we go potty. Could this have anything to do with the night problem? Because I am taking him out of the crate before he alerts to having to go potty during the day. Should I leave him in?

[spidey]

Don't most dogs make some kind of ruckus when they are crated and they need to go potty?

Some don't do it right off the bat, remember that puppies are usually used to using one corner of the whelping box or x-pen as the bathroom, so he's probably not used to the idea of going outside to potty. IME you sometimes have to train the young ones that the bathroom is outside - he's more likely to alert you that he has to go out if he's used to going outside (rather than being left to his own devices). If he's on a schedule so that he's always empty when he's in his crate, then he should get into the idea that his crate isn't the bathroom. Just in case - he should also always go out after a nap, after a meal or big drink and after a play session, this is in addition to going out every 2 hours or so when he's awake. If you can set him up for success by making it unlikely that he'll have an accident in the house, and praise him like mad for going outside, you should find he's housetrained pretty easily. Good luck. :)

[BeverlyC]

Thank you for your help. I called the breeder too, I wanted his opinion on the subject also. He basically agrees with everything that has been posted. One thing I did not realize was that, before we got him, he was in a crate at bedtime with some absorbent material and would urinate on that. The breeder stated that he probably doesn't know the difference and since we have a blanket in his crate, it is absorbing the fluid and he is not laying in it directly. We will set an alarm and take him out on a routine schedule. Again, thanks...

[K-9Girl]

First of all, Congrats on your new puppy! :)

When Kodi was a young puppy he too slept in a crate at night. To this day, he loves his crate. I remember that at night I would have to get up three times to let him out, when he was really young, sometimes four times. IMO, letting him out more during the night will help a lot....let us know how it goes. :)

Sara

[laurlitt]

I wouldn't use a blanket in the crate either. It absorbs the urine and doesn't make it uncomfortable for the dog (hence not learning the lesson to not pee in the crate)...