Potty Training

[Discussing Labradoodles & Goldendoodles]

Can anyone please tell me how long should I expect Oscar to hold it at night? He will be 13 weeks old this Friday. We crate him for the night, the crate is in our bedroom so he does not feel lonely. I usually take him for last pee at around 10, 10:30 PM. He can hold it till about 5, 5:30 AM in general. Should he be able to hold it for a little longer? I wake up every morning to go to work at around 6, 6:30 AM. If he wakes me up at 5:30AM I feel a little frustrated since its only about 30 minutes I wish he could wait. I tried talking to him, telling him he is a good boy and to lay down, but he looks at me and barks. I don't mean to seem like a selfish person, however, I have been so tired since I got him I am falling asleep at work sometimes or after work when I sit to watch TV. I know he is still very young, but if anyone can tell me when it gets a little better..... He is really good, never had accident in the crate and almost none during the day. He can't hold it that long during the day and I pay attention to how he behaves so i pretty much know when to take him out. I give him water about an hour before I put him in his crate. I tried to do it 2, 3 hours before but than he is barking in the middle of the night because he is thirsty. It is summer time and he plays with my other dog every evening so I can't take the water away from him. Any helpful insights? Thank you.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Oscar may be doing the best he can and he sounds like he's doing well for a puppy. do you go to bed right after you take him out? If not, take him out just before you do go to bed.

[F, Calla & Luca]

You can try it, preferably on a weekend so you can take a nap if you need it : )

[Deborah Brown]

What time does he eat?  Do you remove the water in the evening?  It might help to not give him water past 7pm.

Since I'm a bit selfish, I'd move him out of the bedroom. I REALLY need my sleep. He might last a little longer if he can't see you. You might sleep better if you don't hear him wiggling around and making puppy noises in the night.

[Robin & Josie]

We had the same problem with Josie. She went down at about 11 (when we did). Also had the crate in our room (tried it in a different room but the relentless crying and barking took care of that). She, too, was getting up either in the middle of the night - sometimes when one of us did - and wouldn't go back to sleep until I took her out. It just wasn't worth waiting her out.

I, too, really need my sleep, so something had to give. 

Now she is 16 weeks and, as an experiment, we tried letting her sleep with us, starting last weekend. It worked like a charm. At first we were afraid she might jump down and she would not be safe wandering in our room (and neither would my shoes....), but she doesn't.

The best part is that she sleeps all night without a peep. Occasionally I feel her licking my arm or my cheek :), but other than that, she's been sleeping MUCH MORE SOUNDLY and longer too. I can get up six times a night (fortunately that isn't happening), and she sleeps right through. This morning was the first day since we got her a month ago that I actually woke up with my alarm, rather than her whining. It was heavenly.

Good luck!

P.S. We are still using the crate when we are not home. She doesn't love it yet, but we're hoping that will change because she cannot be left to her own devices at this point....

[Robin & Josie]

I know that there are those that subscribe to that theory re the higher sleeping place, walking through doors first, etc. I'll let you know if we're creating a little monster as we get down the road further. In the meantime, it's working for sleep!

Your other point of Oscar getting too big, eventually, is certainly a valid one. Josie is only supposed to be 15 lbs or so, so I hadn't considered that issue. On the other hand, our last dog was bigger and she ended up in her own bed next to ours. You may not feel ready to have him out of the crate yet and that's very understandable. This puppy thing is exhausting!

[Hua]

Charlie is 13 weeks as well.  I take away his water after 8, and take him for his last potty anywhere from 9:30 to 10 pm.  He sleeps in a crate next to my bed.  I let him out in the morning at around 6:30 first thing for potty.  I've been doing this since I got him at 8 weeks and he never had an accident at night.

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

I don't think that theory about hierarchy can be correct. At any given time during the night there is at least one dog on our bed if not two! Boris likes to snuggle up the middle with his head on my pillow and Riley prefers the end of the bed on his back with his legs in the air. Boris was eight weeks old when he came onto our bed. When they get hot they retreat to the cooler floor. None of these sleeping arrangements have made any difference to their training or manners. They were both easy to train and continue to listen to me when I tell them clearly what I want.

[Kary, Sparty & Stella]

We have a 13 wek old puppy too. I take her out, same as you, 10-10:30. She sleeps till 7ish. I take away the water at. 730, but give her an ice cube at 10.00. She cracks me up because she sits by the freezer before bedtime for it. She just licks it a few times and then plays with it. The thing to look forward to...they change a lot the next four weeks, so hopefully, Oscar can start holding it longer. We had a not so good potty day here. :(. Days like today always bum me out, and I start to stress about what I'm not doing right. One day at a time, I guess.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

It sounds like he is doing very well for 13 weeks especially during the day with no accidents. As for the night sleeping, I picked up water by 6 pm and I don't think either one ever woke because they were thirsty. We also had them in bed with us within the first week of them being home, so I am of the doodle in bed camp. Never an accident in bed and they sleep soundly until we get up, no matter what time. We have a king size bed and they are each over 60 pds. There are some nights we have to push one over to make room, but it's really very cozy and if one or both aren't in bed with us we find ourselves looking for them.
As for them not listening to me or feel like they are on our level.....that's all a matter of training. He could never be in your bed and still stop listening or feel he is on your same level by how he is trained the other 14-16 hrs in a day. Good luck and this will all be over soon.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Personally, I think that he is doing great to go down at 10:30 and want out at 5:30.  If this is as long as he can hold it, then that is how long he can hold it. This won't last forever - perhaps a few more weeks at most.  We found that with a couple of our dogs, putting them on our bed at night was the key to getting to sleep all night.

[carmel lowry]

Depends on what you want going forward.  We brought Joey home at 13 weeks, we never brought him into our bedroom.  He slept down stairs uncrated in the utility room.  He only ever had one accident during the night which was first night.  Never had any issue at night after that...which proves I guess that a 13 week old pup can be dry from 11pm to 7.30 am.

We were surprised that Joey seemed to get it from day one, I don't think he is an exception though..

We only ever had two day time accidents which were down to us not letting him out frequently enough.  He is 9 months now and has been completely reliable since 4 months. 

Personally I didn't want him in our bed or bedroom so best to move him sooner rather than later unless of course you plan to keep it that way.  

Sounds like he is nearly there with potty ...good luck.

 

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

When I was training my doodles I would pick up the water about 7 pm and take them out for the last time about 10p.m and they were fine, never any accidents.  I get up at 4:30 am so that is about 6 hours..... try picking up the water after 7 pm, I also would pick up the water about 1 hr. before I had to leave for work.  I also did not keep my doodles in the bedroom, they were crated in my living room.