@taryn12 Ours is exactly the same! Wakes my partner up, does his business, comes straight back up and gets into bed - no accidents in the house just holding it at night - thanks so much! Our friends think we're a bit insane for putting up w it but it's honestly so relieving to see it might not be just "bad training"
@gandalfsbigpants I’d rather get up in the night to a good boy asking to go out than get up at 7 and have to clear up pee/poop and have a dog that feels bad that he went in the house.
@gandalfsbigpants Have you tried doing a final call before bed? Or just adding one a little later in the evening?
As some people mentioned before, crate training can definitely be helpful - for us, our pup (now almost 1 year old) sleeps through the night and has slept through the night since he was roughly ~4/5 months.
Of course every puppy is different and maybe the final call will be sufficient however, if it’s not, limit that water intake a couple hours before bed and maybe just set an alarm for the usual time he wakes up and take the pup for a quick wee - this way you and your partner can share the load.
@joelle1 Would you believe we just tried this tonight! We normally come up to bed and chill out for a bit before falling asleep, it had been about 90 mins so we said we'd try bring him out ooooooone last time before going to actual sleep (I'm still on my phone I know but I'm curious for these responses lol) but I'm interested to see how it plays out!
RE crate training, he naps in his crate w door open, relaxes in there and goes in by choice, goes on car rides but the car is the only time he'll tolerate the door closed or he barks the house down and always has - not just an hour but im talking 4-5 hours with no stopping from when we started crate training at first, which went on for 3-4 weeks before we eventually just decided to leave the crate open for him to go in and out of - since then we've just always kinda said that maybe full crate training might not be for our doggo but open to any tips if yall have any
@gandalfsbigpants I just played constant crate games with him! Door closed door open, I also place high value chews, licky mats and kongs all in the crate - I know some people even feed meals in the crate! I’d also build up gradual comfort levels in the crate with the door closed. I also have a crate cover which my pup seems to quite like.
Also my pup’s crate is not in the bedroom with us, it’s actually in the living room - I can hear him perfectly from my bed if he needs me and we also have a camera. The living room is very dark and quiet which my pup loves at night. I would say after a few weeks of training he was good to go - always show him it’s a good thing to be there.
@gandalfsbigpants I know it's really tough missing out on sleep. She'll start to sleep better eventually but unfortunately theres not really any way to train it. Our pup is 1.5 years and still needs to pee at night sometimes.
@bkchristian Thanks for responding! We were of the assumption that smol dog = smol bladder so are thankful that he knows to wake him up instead of just going on the floor - it's our first dog and friends think we're crazy so just wanted to post and see what people thought!
@gandalfsbigpants Our puppy is 3 months old and he can sleep through the night. A schedule and a good session of walk (including pee/potty) is necessary. We have been doing this since day 1. We wake up every 3-4 hours to take him out to pee and he comes back and goes to sleep. It's all about a routine for us which has worked. They need to sync with your clock, when they see the lights off and you put them in a comfortable spot, they're usually good.
@karykay Hey thanks for commenting! He has a great routine with wakeup, food, walks, and even myself and my partners schedules are predictable for him as we both work from home so typically get up / work / take lunch / work / log off / make dinner / etc - I think the issue is the waking up in the night to take him out has also become routine which we are trying to nip in the bud ideally
@gandalfsbigpants I see. Then, your best option is rewards! Gradually increase the time between bathroom breaks, rewarding successful trips outdoors. Use a consistent feeding schedule and avoid giving water close to bedtime. You can also supervise closely indoors, and interrupt accidents with a gentle "no" before taking him outside. Consistently reinforcing positive bathroom habits might help. It may take a couple of weeks before a habit is formed. You may also want to ignore him and not give him every time he cries. Maybe putting him in a different room for a bit until he develops bladder control.
@gandalfsbigpants Does he have access to water right up until bedtime? Maybe having a set time in the evening where no more or very little water (like an hour before bedtime) would help?
@imagebeastmarkbeast Thanks for your comment! We do take his water away about an hour before bed - I'm still kinda convinced it might be small dog = small bladder and he needs to go when he needs to go, but thought I'd post and see if anyone has any tips as we're first time doggo owners!
@gandalfsbigpants Our black lab is 40lbs now at 5 months. We take water away 3 hours before bed. She sleeps in a crate and has slept 10.30-7am since she was like 3.5 months old.
@rebekahy2k Interesting!! How old are they? I kinda guessed it might be a smol dog thing but don't actually know anyone w smol dogs - thanks so much for your response!!
@gandalfsbigpants This is not a smol thing neccesarily. Come visit us at r/dachshunds. My kaninchen dachshund of 4,5 kg and 3 years can can hold his pee 10 hours easily. More often he goes towards 12 hours around night time.
@jett4mom Thanks for commenting! Ours is similar size, just under 4kg! Do you think it could be an age thing as someone else suggested? How long did yours take to hold his pee a lil bit longer?
like one hour after the last meal. Then do potty breaks right before bed.