Question on Crate Training

[Mark33]

I have my 13 week old female on a schedule for feeding and "outside", but she still has an accident (pee pee) in her crate really early(4:00am) in the morning.

Will this pass, and she will learn to hold it until she is taken out later at 6:00am, or am I doing something wrong?

PLEASE HELP! ALL SUGGESTIONS APPRECIATED AND WELCOME!

[Vivianne]

At what time do you put her in her crate before you go to bed? You may need to stop giving her water before she goes to bed or take her out in the middle of the night. She is still very young and her bladder very small. Don't set her up to fail by giving her no choice but to go potty in her crate. Do what you can to help let you know she has to go and then take her out to do so.

She will soon be big enough to hold it through the night. They grow very fast....too fast. Before you know it you'll wonder where your little puppy went. Enjoy this time together and take her out in the middle of the night if you have to.

[Squeaky2004]

When Squeak was 13 weeks old *sigh* we would take her out every 2-2 1/2 hours, we never really had an *accident* in the house. Now she is 5 months old and has the go outside to do your thing down pat

[Judy Chrusch]

Hi Mark, what time is the last time before bed that you take her out to potty? She's still very young and may have accidents for a while yet, be patient and take her out late at night before you go to bed, then she should last and also limit her water in the evening as Vivianne said. Before you know it she will be trained and you'll look back on these days . Make sure she does go in her crate that you don't yell at her bc she won't have a clue why she's being yelled at. Only if you catch her in the act should you say something. Hang in their, it's temporary and most of all stay calm and be patient, it will come.

Judy

Ch Karriem's Blue Moon Czar CGC

My beloved friends who passed on and saddly missed

King- GSD
Brutus- Rottweiler
Ceasar- Rottweiler
Smokey- Angora cat
Stosh- Grey tabby cat
Boscoe- Tiger striped cat

To my MANY small critters who also passed on

[BostonRott]

Are you leaving water in her crate overnight?

[tugger5000]

I think we were pretty lucky with Dante... he refused to soil his crate. As a young puppy, He would whine when he had to go out, but I made sure he understood it was only to go potty. (ie: picked him up, carried him down stairs, let him do his business, picked him back up and placed in his crate... I was pretty mechanical about it 1-because I was tired, but also to make him understand (hopefully at the time) that the only reason he is being let out of his crate was for a bathroom break)). The only encouragement he received from me was when he actually pottied in the grass... gave him a "Good Puppy" and a small treat.
As he got older, he gradually was able to last through the night.
It may help to reward her whenever he does his business outside. We've found that as an adult, having them able to go on command is helpful before a car trip, rain storm, etc...

[AngelBunny]

I get up once at night and when I have a puppy, I use this time to take the puppy outside. Many times, I'd have to wake the tot up from a sound sleep, but if I was up, I figured I might as well take the puppy outside. And the last thing I do before going to bed is take the dogs or puppy outside.

Also, how big is your puppy's crate?? It may be too big which is why she's using it as a latrine as opposed to fussing and crying to alert you that she needs to be taken outside.

[sherri]

13 weeks is a little over 3 months old. I was always told that the most time you should expect your puppy to wait is the number of months old they are. Here someone said it is the number of months plus 1 hour. 3 months mean 3 hours or if you want to use the plus 1 then 4 hours. If you follow this schedule plus limit the amount of water (at night) and the space that your puppy has in her crate I think your accidents will diminish.

[Anne]

I think at 13 weeks she is too young to hold on all night. When my girl was that age I used to get up and take her outside at about 3am. We didn't have any night time accidents.

[K9-man]

My Mal pup just turned 12 weeks. She’s been holding it over night (4 1/2 – 8 1/2 hours) for about the last week and a half.

I never got up to take her out in the middle of the night (got her at 6 ½ weeks). I expected her to pee in the crate. No big deal – just take the towel out, clean up the bottom of the crate, put a new towel in.