Sadie the night owl: all suggestions welcome

[Becka]

I apologize for the length of this, but I wanted to make sure I included all details that seemed pertinent.

For the last week or so, Sadie has been waking me up regularly between 1:30 and 2:30 in the morning to go potty. She's done this before, on very rare occasions, but usually because she had loose stools or she hadn't gotten in her last poop of the day before bed. What's new about this is that she doesn't have to poop, and it's starting to seem more like habit than need.

I try to make the whole event as "businesslike" as possible--I take her into the backyard, tell her to go potty, praise her when she does, and go right back in the house. I don't let her run around or play at all. A couple of times I've taken her out there on the leash just so that she understands it's not time to play, but it takes her much longer to pee when I do that. I've considered taking her in the front yard on the leash because she only ever goes in the front yard to pee (it's not fenced), but I'm not that thrilled about the idea of hanging out in my front yard in the middle of the night.

We usually go to bed around 11:00, and I take her out to potty right before that. She gets at least a couple of hours of exercise a day--more if she's in daycare that day. Up until May she was sleeping in my room with the door shut, but after I had shoulder surgery and had to sleep on the couch for a month she got free rein of the house at night, and has generally been good with it (no accidents). Sometimes she sleeps in my room and sometimes in the TV room. She always wakes me up between 6:15 and 6:45 in the morning (I'd be getting up that early anyway). Could the middle-of-the-night peeing have to do with her moving around more in the night? Should I be taking up her water at night? She is only a year and a half, so I know that in many ways she's very much a puppy.

A couple of times she's tried to wake me up a second time, maybe an hour later, and I've told her to go to go lie down and she has given up (and there were no signs of any accidents in the morning).

Your thoughts and suggestions are most welcome. I do realize that she is probably manipulating me and I need to figure out how to be tougher with her (and yet I don't want her to have an accident...)

Thanks for reading!

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

Just observe how many times she is peeing during the day.  If it seems more than normal she may have a UTI and that of course would explain why she needs to go out.  If it is not a UTI then it is a habit and you need to break it.  I don't see any problem lifting her water during the nights and once she has gone out at 11 then she should easily be able to manage until morning.  You may have to restrict  her mooching about.  It's possible she is waking up, having a wander and then says 'Im a bit lonely, I think I'll wake Mom".  If you use a crate perhaps re-introduce it for night time.

[Becka]

Thanks, Nicky--these are good things to consider. (And shana tovah to you!)

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

Thanks Becka, a sweet New Year to you too.

[Michele, Biscuit & Mo]

If it is not a UTI, I would consider the possibility that it's a combination of her having more run-around room at night AND water.  You might consider taking the water bowl up right before bedtime and see how it goes.  Good luck!

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I would re-introduce a crate at night time.  Or have a bed in a specific room where she cannot roam.  We typically close the door to our room at night so Peri cannot roam the house.  I think she might if she sensed an animal or heard something. But she knows when it's bedtime and that she is to be on her bed in our room.  Do make sure it is not a UTI..

[Ginny Nightingale]

My pup is one and a half, is gated in two rooms, has water available and never gets us up at night unless he has an intestinal issue--and even then, it is with a quiet woof that we can barely hear--so I am guessing that for her, it is a habit--I would take everyone's excellent advice and after doing the UTI research and taking the water away as suggested, see if the problem is solved--if not, go back to the crate for a while since roaming seems to be causing a problem.

[Diane and Alma]

Alma does this.  She is now 3.  She has full roam of our house, day and night.  She has not had an accident inside since she was being house trained as a puppy.

She hated her crate and would be so submissive when we would open the door to let her out that she would pee on herself.  We got rid of the crate. 

When she first started waking us up at night we assumed she had to go potty.  We would let her out and she would do her business and come back in.  We usually didn't even talk to her or pet her so she wouldn't associate going out at night with praise or play.  But getting up with her several times a week was beginning to become a bad habit. 

I agree with others that you should rule out a UTI. 

So here's our solution.  We take up her water dish around 7pm.  We trained her to ring bells hung by the door when she wants to go out.  (We are lucky because she only rings them when she has to do her business unlike other pups on this site who also ring them just because.)  We let her out before we go to bed around 10 and take her poochie bells off the door, show them to her, and tell her "time for bed" as we put them away.  If we forget to take the bells down and she rings them in the middle of the night we get up and let her out.  She still tries to wake us up occassionally - especially if her routine has been changed.  She will paw at the bed to get our attention.  We tell her to go lie down and that usually works.  If she keeps trying to get our attention my husband or I will get up and tell her to go lie down and show her to where she likes to sleep - behind the bathtub on the cool tile.  This usually gets her back on track so she sleeps through the night.

Good luck because getting up in the middle of the night is no fun.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I think it is a stage. Vern goes through this periodically. I don't withhold water and he has never had an accident. I swear some nights he just wants me to get up with him for company, but I don't want to chance it either that he really has to go to the bathroom. Fudge rarely gets up at night, but Vern has done this since forever :) I have no great advice. I just get up with him. He has me well trained.

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

I agree with Laurie. I think she is "playing" you! Try telling her "no, night night time" the first time, she is after all a clever little doodle. :-)

But for peace of mind  you should probably rule out the UTI thing.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Yep, Laurie is tough :) I was only up with Vern twice last night and the first time he walked right over to the treat jar and sat down and looked at me like, "thank you for getting up to get me a treat." LOL

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

LOL! Laurie is a "Softie" and VERNSTEIN can really play her - ha ha. She, apparently, is unable to say NO.

So unless you want to be up all night coming up with new blogs to entertain us all, grow a pair! ha ha

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

LOL :)