# My 14 week old pup still isn't clean at night



## npg1 (Feb 27, 2010)

Am I expecting too much? We have gone through 3 beds today because he has weed on them. He does go outside to the loo most of the time during the day and this isn't the problem. The problem is at night, he is kept in a crate with just his bed in it but every morning we wake up to a poo and his bed soaking wet. Tonight I have decided to make the crate bigger and out in a pad as I am sick of cleaning his bed. He is a 14 week old cocker spaniel. Do I start getting up at night to let him out? Is using puppy pads the wrong thing to do?

Many thanks


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## terencesmum (Jul 30, 2011)

How much time does he spend in the crate at night?
I'd say you are probably expecting a bit too much. Terence managed to last from 11 til about 6 on a good night from that age, but I always had an ear out for any crying in case he needed to go.


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## XxZoexX (Sep 8, 2010)

You really do need to be taking him out at night.. 14 weeks is still very early and he cant hold his tiny bladder that long yet.. 
Im sure there is a sticky on this ill go check for you.
I would take him out every 40 mins to an hour through the day staying with him till he wees and add a command while hes releasing like go wee wee or something similar.. may sound daft but comes in very handy when older and you want them to hurry up :lol: 
PLenty of praise when he goes outside and if he does do something indoors dont scold him as this can make him want to hide when he goes... just pick him up and place him outside.
Also keep an eye for sniffing and circleing this can be a sign of looking for somewhere to go.
It doesnt take long for them to pick up. 
I dont know about crateing tho sorry

ETA heres the link to a very good thread

http://www.petforums.co.uk/dog-training-behaviour/75317-housetraining-your-pup-older-dog.html


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## Guest (Nov 3, 2011)

My pup was 85% toilet trained at 6 months. Different dogs take different lengths of time to toilet train


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## LexiLou2 (Mar 15, 2011)

Lexi was over 6 months before she was clean through the night...14 weeks is very young, how long is he been left in the crate?

Lexi has medical issues and still can't go past 7am without going out to the loo....we never get a lie it!!


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## Taylorbaby (Jan 10, 2009)

I think that is expecting to much his only 14weeks old, a baby! you should be taking him out after food/play/sleep every houe two hours what ever the schedule it, I read somewhere that smaller dogs are harder to train, I have found this true, but all dogs are different  good luck and dont tell the pup off, it isnt his fault


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## npg1 (Feb 27, 2010)

Thanks for your advise. 

Daytime he isn't left very long really on his own. We take him out during the day or the back door is open so he goes in and out as he pleases.

At night he goes jn crate at about 11pm, he doesn't cry all night and we get up at 6.30 and let him out but there is always a poo in the bed. We made the crate smaller, this is what I read up about, that they won't poo on their bed but he doesn't care. 

We have never got up to him apart from the first night we had him and I thought this would encourage him to think we would get up every night with him, also with using pads, it will encourage him to go indoors but I have decided I am using one tonight. 

Thanks again


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

npg1 said:


> Am I expecting too much? We have gone through 3 beds today because he has weed on them. He does go outside to the loo most of the time during the day and this isn't the problem. The problem is at night, he is kept in a crate with just his bed in it but every morning we wake up to a poo and his bed soaking wet. Tonight I have decided to make the crate bigger and out in a pad as I am sick of cleaning his bed. He is a 14 week old cocker spaniel. Do I start getting up at night to let him out? Is using puppy pads the wrong thing to do?
> 
> Many thanks


The theory behind crate training is that a dog will not soil his bed or surrounding area, however pups even at his age, do not always have a lot in the way to a large capacity to hold it for long periods. left too long in a confined space basically if hes gotta go hes gotta go, and has to do it where he is.

I have always taken my pups out at night when they woke or stirred, personally I slept down stairs for the first couple or so weeks. If you have him within sight and sound of you then obviously you can just take him out if and when he stirs.
If not the other way to do it is set and alarm and pop him out. 
Dont put on any bright lights, just a very dim or table lamp, dont talk to him either as both will stimulate him and make him wide awake, just straight out, toilet, good boy quick treat and back to bed light off. I found with mine 2 weeks maybe a bit more they were going through.

I wouldnt put a pad or paper in his crate tbh, it might even confuse him further and give mixed messages that it is OK to go in the house allbeit on paper, especially if thats what he did at the breeders or when you first got him. By putting him out day and night and making that the only place he should soon get the message.


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## Sleeping_Lion (Mar 19, 2009)

npg1 said:


> Thanks for your advise.
> 
> Daytime he isn't left very long really on his own. We take him out during the day or the back door is open so he goes in and out as he pleases.
> 
> ...


Just a quick note from me, that's 7.5 hours, how is that in comparison to how long he's left during the day time?

Ditch the puppy training pads, they train your pup to toilet indoors, not really that good a training method if you want my opinion 

You may need to have a think and get up to let your pup out, so that they learn to toilet outside, and eventually you will be able to increase the time, but really at 14 weeks, they are still a bairn.


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## terencesmum (Jul 30, 2011)

npg1 said:


> We have never got up to him apart from the first night we had him and I thought this would encourage him to think we would get up every night with him, also with using pads, it will encourage him to go indoors but I have decided I am using one tonight.
> 
> Thanks again


I'd say, set the alarm for 3ish and let him out. I don't know where you heard that but it's unusual advice to say the least. If anything, you have only taught him that it doesn't matter if he cries, no one will bother to come and let him out, so you probably made a rod for your own back here. If this was my pup, I might even spend a couple of nights on the sofa. 
Good luck!


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## XxZoexX (Sep 8, 2010)

Yes i also slept on the sofa for the first week 
Puppy training pads didnt last long here either.. was much easier training him to go outside from the get go


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## missnaomi (Jun 4, 2010)

One of ours never wet the bed or pooed in the night from being tiny, didn't want to get up and go out, the other took a good six months of me getting up at least once to let her out before she could wait til morning.

Not sure if I'm right, but I always feel that the more opportunities you give them to get it right - like getting up and letting them out when they wake up at night, taking them out tons during the day and praising them rather than just leaving the back door open, the faster they learn what to do, so everytimr they have to cope the whole night and make a mistake is a missed learning opportunity, but Im not sure if that's really how it is or if that's just in my head...

Naomi xx


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## PennyGC (Sep 24, 2011)

Unfortunately whilst dogs will avoid soiling their bed as someone else has said you've given your pup no option :-( and now soiling his bed is 'acceptable'. I always get up with mine at about 3am, gradually lengthening the time. Sometimes they're fast asleep and I'll given them another hour but they sleep in my room so I try and keep an ear out for them needing to go. Babies need to go out and really can't hold on that long - it's cruel to expect them too. You'll need more patience now, to break the habit of soiling overnight, but persevere and you'll get back the natural urge not to soil as long as you encourage and facilitate your pup to go outside.


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## npg1 (Feb 27, 2010)

Thanks everyone, looks like I will besetting the alarm tonight lol and not putting a pad down lol. I will update in morning, wish me luck! X


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## XxZoexX (Sep 8, 2010)

Good luck.. Let us know how you get on..

Oh and all we ask is for piccies to coo over as payment :lol:


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## npg1 (Feb 27, 2010)

Hi everyone. Had busy couple days! I will have to work out how to put pix on. I got up Thursday night at 3am and let him out, he was clean. I then woke up at 6.30am and he had wet his bed. Last night I must admit we had family over for dinner and wine etc and I didn't manage to get up!! But tonight I will be getting up with him.


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## terencesmum (Jul 30, 2011)

npg1 said:


> Hi everyone. Had busy couple days! I will have to work out how to put pix on. I got up Thursday night at 3am and let him out, he was clean. I then woke up at 6.30am and he had wet his bed. Last night I must admit we had family over for dinner and wine etc and I didn't manage to get up!! But tonight I will be getting up with him.


Excellent you are trying hard to get him dry :thumbup:
Might I suggest buying him a new bed (if you haven't done so already). It might still smell of wee for him, so he might think it's okay he wees on it, since he has done it before.


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## npg1 (Feb 27, 2010)

Well last night he was better. We woke up to him this morning and he had done a wee and poo on the pad. Maybe I will have to get a new bed, we already have 3 so am a bit reluctant but he has weed on all of them


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## missnaomi (Jun 4, 2010)

npg1 said:


> Well last night he was better. We woke up to him this morning and he had done a wee and poo on the pad. Maybe I will have to get a new bed, we already have 3 so am a bit reluctant but he has weed on all of them


Dog beds are rather expensive - so maybe just make a nice nest in his crate using an inexpensive fleece blanket or something like that - they're much easier to wash than whole puffy beds and really cheap from supermarkets - and you could see if it helped, and wait until the problem is solved before investing in a new bed? 
Naomi x


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## Guest (Nov 6, 2011)

npg1 said:


> Well last night he was better. We woke up to him this morning and he had done a wee and poo on the pad. Maybe I will have to get a new bed, we already have 3 so am a bit reluctant but he has weed on all of them


how often did you check on him throughout the night? i thought you weren't going to bother with that pad...


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## shazalhasa (Jul 21, 2009)

When I had my first dog, I went through all that paper and puppy pad nonsense too and it took until he was nearly 6 months old to get him fully toilet trained through the night. When the 2nd dog came along I changed tactics from the first day and it was a huge success 

All food is lifted, by 8pm at the latest. Water is lifted an hour before bedtime and in this house, that's at about 11-11.30pm. I make sure they have last toilet call before I go to bed and don't let them in until I've seen them do something... you really have to watch them to pick up the signs on whether they're finished or not. If they pee and run straight back in, then chances are that's all they need. If they sniff around then chances are they have more to do. I don't speak when they're sniffing but I do say 'go piddles and poo poo' as I'm letting them out. With a young pup, I'll probably repeat that until they go to start sniffing or actually do something. 

When it's the daytime/early evening toilet calls, I always give a small treat once they've been and come back in, telling them how good they've been. I don't do this after the last toilet call of the night simply because I don't want there to be anything else in them that might need to come out 

The result of that was Coco going through the night by the time she was 10 weeks old. 

When we had our litters, I start the toilet training as soon as they're old enough to go in the garden at 4-5 weeks old. I do the same thing in lifting all food and water before bedtime and making sure they're empty before going down for the night. Both of my litters were fully trained by 7 weeks old including going through the night both dry and clean.

I do believe that putting paper and pads down for the pup to toilet on inside the house is very confusing for the little babies who are only trying to please. If there's nowhere for them to go inside, chances are they won't as long as they've got a proper routine.


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## tttessa (Oct 31, 2011)

we have a new pup whisky 10weeks old - picked up on Saturday - he sleeps in his (closed) crate from about 11.30pm, and one of us (not meeeeeee) gets up at 3.30, he gets out does his wee and poop and trots back to bed til the other of us (me) gets up at 6.30 in the morning. We have an enclosed airline type crate and he LOVES it - he can escape from my daughters!

He was pretty much paper trained when we got him, so we are moving it closer to the door and he seems a happy little chappy.


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## springerpete (Jun 24, 2010)

npg1 said:


> Am I expecting too much? We have gone through 3 beds today because he has weed on them. He does go outside to the loo most of the time during the day and this isn't the problem. The problem is at night, he is kept in a crate with just his bed in it but every morning we wake up to a poo and his bed soaking wet. Tonight I have decided to make the crate bigger and out in a pad as I am sick of cleaning his bed. He is a 14 week old cocker spaniel. Do I start getting up at night to let him out? Is using puppy pads the wrong thing to do?
> 
> Many thanks


If getting up is what it takes then that's what you have to do, my spaniel pup 12 weeks old now goes through from ten P.m. untill around six a.m. but for the first few weeks we set the alarm for 3.30 and took him out, we gradually left it longer each night over the following weeks and, as I say, he now goes through to six. We've had a few wees but they've really been our own fault for not paying attention, and that's all, it doesn't take long, it does take patience and a little 'Putting yourself out' for a week or two. Good Luck.


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## swarthy (Apr 24, 2010)

npg1 said:


> Am I expecting too much? We have gone through 3 beds today because he has weed on them. He does go outside to the loo most of the time during the day and this isn't the problem. The problem is at night, he is kept in a crate with just his bed in it but every morning we wake up to a poo and his bed soaking wet. Tonight I have decided to make the crate bigger and out in a pad as I am sick of cleaning his bed. He is a 14 week old cocker spaniel. Do I start getting up at night to let him out? Is using puppy pads the wrong thing to do?
> 
> Many thanks


He's a baby - personally I don't use paper or puppy pads - if they mess, they mess and we clean it up.

I take my youngsters out overnight for quite some time - you wouldn't expect a baby of this age to be out of nappies, so why should you expect a tiny wee pup to be?

Yes, some pups are clean pretty quick, but others can take up to 6 months and beyond to fully housetrain.

For the first couple of weeks I pre-empt toileting by taking them out late at night, then during the night - then when we are up at 6/7am and like Pete stretch out the time during the night.

I've had pups clean through the night by 11 weeks and I've had annoying little b*ggars (usually boys) who ask to go out during the night for quite sometime longer - it's part and parcel of having a pup.

Good luck


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