Crate training at night...do we taker her out every time she cries???

[Jamie Petro]

We are on night #12 with our new goldendoodle Wrigley, and I need some opinions about nighttime crate training. So far she hasn't had any accidents in her crate, and we want to keep it that way! The first few nights we had her she was sleeping 3-4 hours before whining to go out. The last several nights tough she wakes up every 1 and 1/2 to 2 hours whining and barking. To this point we've taken her out every time just because we don't want her to have an accident in her crate. I think she may be crying for attention since she knows that we are going to take her out. My question is: Should we continue to take her out every time she cries in the middle of the night? Or should we let her whine and go back to sleep and take her out the next time? I don't want any accidents in the kennel, but I don't want her to have the upper hand either!

[Jamie Petro]

Thank you for all of the advice and support. The past two nights we've done as suggested and let her whine until she goes back to sleep...which doesn't take very long. We get up and take her out around 3:30 or 4:00 and then it's right back to bed(or the kennel for her). She'll whine for a minute or two, but that's about it. She's getting used to the routine. I have noticed that anytime we roll over in the middle of the night or get up to go to the bath room she cries out. So, I'm convinced that it's mostly for attention, and not for a potty brake. On a positive note, she rang her poochie bells for the first time last night on her own and then went to potty when we took her out! She wasn't just playing with them! I was so proud of her, and we threw a little party! Thanks again for the good advice.

[Mommy2Max]

I was very lucky that Max took to the crate quickly. The first three evenings (7.5 weeks old), Max slept in bed with us. I wanted to show him he could feel safe with us. He slept ona blanket in between Mike and I and barely moved and either did we! The fourth night we put him in the crate downstairs on the first floor (where we intended to keep it) and Mike slept on the sofa with his hand in the crate to comfort Max. Max slept on his fingers and fussed very little. From night five onward Max has slept in the crate without a fuss. I did have a warm blanket with our scent at the bottom and one of those heartbeat pillows to help comfort him.

He would cry a bit during the daytime because he would rather be with us - normal puppy behavior - but I ignored it. Yes, it crushed me to hear him cry. By the third day of daytime crying, I didn't feel as bad. It must have been the noise and lack of sleep combined. Max quickly realized that the crying was getting him nowhere fast.

I agree with Adina. I would let her cry. An accident is not the end of potty training. Max has had a few in his crate when I just took a little too long for his bladder's capabilities and he now, he never has an accident in his crate nor in the house. I would say he is 95% potty trained and he is just about 4.5 months old now. He even uses his poochie bells to tell me he needs potty. He is still too young to roam the house while it's empty and I don't trust him 100% on the top floor but, it's finally hit the stage where I'm not running out the ddor every hour or so. YAY! You will get there.

[Debbie and Thomas]

I'd have to say she may be "crying wolf". This will be harder on you-but I would let her try to settle down when she starts to cry for at least 15 minutes. If she knows you will get up when she makes noise-it will only get worse. They are so smart! Give it a try... I'll bet she goes right back to sleep.

[Michele, Biscuit & Mo]

Great advice so far, from Adina and Denise. We found that Penny was looking for some attention and did the same thing. One thing that also worked well (suggested by our vet) was to drape a sheet over the crate to make a more "cave-like" atmosphere. Sort of what you might do with a bird cage - cuts out distractions. We left the front of the crate undraped so Penny could still see out - worked like charm. At about 4 months, we stopped with the sheet and all was well.

[Denise, Winnie, and AngelAbby]

We had a radio playing on the top of her kennel- that seemed to help. And if I had just taken her out, I would just let her cry. (She has never had an accident in her kennel either)The key here is not to talk to her, pet her or anything when you take her out during the night. It's hard I know, but if they get no attention from you,it isn't so much fun for her. She will be there in no time at all. :-)

[Adina P]

I think you are fine to let her cry it out at this point. Maybe set an alarm for halfway thru the night if you are worried...but wean off that in 5-7 days. If she has an accident it won't be the end of potty training I promise =)