letting them out at night?

[binky]

My oldest (now 12-1/2) has always had to go out in the middle of the night, and I've had her since she was 10 weeks old. I am just grateful that it is now only once/night. For the first 3-4 years, it was 2-3 times/night. When she was younger, she would occasionally have an accident in her cage as well. She is just one of those dogs that has a smaller bladder, I guess.

Unfortunately, she has trained her 2-1/2 yr old fur brother to get up at night now as well. And the kicker of it is, for about the last 6 months, she has stopped having to go out and now I get up for the youngest one.

Guess it will never end, but after 12 years, my system is used to it. So much in fact, that now I can't go all night without having to get up to potty myself.....ha!

 

[lhahne]

Wow, I thought I was alone with this one---my molly slaps her paw on my face between 3 and 4, does her stuff and goes right back to bed--her max is about 7 hours--Carpet cleaning is getting old--It may have alot to do with leaving her water out all the time or she's the one doing the training! let me know if you figure this out.

 

[Jazmyn]

next, but continued dilemma

Okay here's a change to Jaz's habits. For about the past week Jaz has been getting up every 2 hours at night. We know she can hold her bladder, because she holds it when we leave for work; my husband comes home at lunch so she is only crated for about 5 hours--max. She has also been fighting us about going into the crate. Is this an indication that she is ready to be out of the crate, at least at night? I am not sure that I am ready for her to have run of the house yet while we are at work, but at night she could sleep on her blanket in our room. I can't put her on our bed, because right now our bedframe puts our bed up about 3 feet from the ground, and we don't want to take the chance of her falling off. We kept her crate in our living room because while in our bedroom she knew that we were close, but whined anyway. Any ideas?

Tammy

 

[Thomas Liggin]

Jazmyn, as far as fighting the crate, the only thing it indicates is that Jaz doesn't want to go into it. There could be several reasons for this, but it definitely doesn't mean that she is ready to have the run of the house.

Jaz should practically run into her crate when you say, "Crate" or "Kennel" or any other command you use. The best way to achieve this willingness is to reward her with a favorite treat once she has gone into the crate.

Do this every time Jaz goes into her crate. I bet in short order she will practically dive into her crate. Eventually you can cut back on the treats, but don't eliminate them entirely.

When we say kennel, both Indy and Ava dash into their crates. The idea is to make going into the crate a pleasant experience. Always leave the crate door open when not in use. You can even toss a treat in it now and then without closing the door.

You will find that once Jaz considers the crate to be her "special place", she will begin using it for naps or as a den. She may take a chew toy into the crate and lounge while exercising her jaws.

When Indy and Ava see us getting our jackets, they make a beeline for their crates without us uttering a word. They'll be patiently sitting in their crates, waiting for their reward.

That's the goal you should work for.


Tom

 

[Super Boo]

Skye, our 6 mos old, for a while used to hold it all night, but now he likes to get up between 3 & 5am to go potty. Boo our 2 year old female can hold it forever, but if she gets you up she REALLY has to go--like a tummy ache or something (usually after eating the cat food ).

We've tried picking up the water, but we walk them late and they're hot and thirsty when we get back. I would hate for them to go all night thirsty. So we deal and I chalk it up to him being a boy and having a smaller bladder.

p.s. At least he wakes us up to go and doesn't go on the floor:p

 

[craZ4HERKIE]

I work 2nd shift so i come in anywhere from 12:30-2:30...I always take the boys out right whenever I come in...even if they have just come inside....so fortunately once they bed down they sleep through the night....now when Herkie had his surgeries...that was another story!!!He was on prednisone(steroids) for about 3 months....and this increases their appetite and kidney functions....I didn't get a solid nights sleep for the whole 3 months...Herkie, poor thing, at that time could only hold his water for about 2 hrs at a time....and sometimes would urinate almost uncontrollably....I felt really bad for him because sometimes I am a very hard sleeper and by the time he could get me awake....he would have made a puddle by the back door.....I know he tried with all his might to get me up...but Mama would just sleep like the dead!

Jessica , Herkie & kuma