# Greyhound peeing in the night



## Steve 182 (Jan 31, 2014)

Hi Everyone,

This is my first post. I feel a bit guilty joining the forum only now that I have a problem to solve but please forgive me!

My wife and I have a 2 year old male greyhound which we aquired from previous owner about 4 months ago.

Initially he would occasionally pee or poo on living room carpet. We put this down to change of home/ownership and we moved his bed to the dining room which has a stone/tiled floor so easier to clean. We adjusted his feeding times and he no longer poos in the house. However he now pees almost every morning normally between about 5.00AM and 6.00AM.

I have bought soft crate which he is OK with and has got used so I tried zipping him up in it overnight. No complaints, no howling, but I came downstairs at 6.00AM to find he had peed in it!

The crate is large at 1.3 metres long but then again so is the dog. His back just touches the top when he stands up and if he stretches out he virtually touches both ends so I don't think I can downsize the crate to discourage him from using it as an en-suite.

That same night he peed in the crate I offered him a drink before bed which he declined (there was no water bowl in crate) and he also showed no interest in drinking when I let him out again in the morning so he is not drinking excessively. 

He always gets taken for a pee before bed usually just before 11PM (I go with him to make sure) and the floor is normally wet when I come down at 6.00 so it seems he decides to pee after about 6 hours of sleep.

I'm running out of ideas as to what to try next. I got up at 4.00AM today to take him outside (he had not peed on the floor) but I really don't want to get up at 4.00AM every day (6.00AM I can just about live with). This is my first dog but I'm sure most dogs can last at least 7 hours overnight without peeing?

I don't think he is incontinent because he does not do it every night and when he does I think its a whole bladderfull so I'm inclined to think its probably a behavoir issue rather than medical?

Any suggestions gratefully received

Thanks in advance

Steve


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## Amelia66 (Feb 15, 2011)

when is his last drink before the one you offered and was declined and what lines the crate? we found with our pup anything soft in her crate and she will pee no matter when [once as soon as she went in there!] as it soaks it up and she doesnt have to deal with it as much. we also had to adjust her last drink as even with a pee before bed she could pee in the morning.


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## Lizz1155 (Jun 16, 2013)

Hi Steve, welcome to the forum.

To me it sounds more medical than behavioural. Most dogs will do absolutely anything to avoid soiling their sleeping quarters (crate), and will only resort to doing so if they're desperate or incontinent. (Crate training a dog as a way of getting them toilet trained only works if the dog has the capacity to "hang on" - it they're incontinent or desperate they will still toilet in their crate. Even in the correct size crate, you cannot force a dog to hang on for a time beyond what they're capable of).

Given that your dog is fully emptying his bladder rather than just "marking", I would also go with "it's medical"/ "he just needs the toilet" rather than it being behavioral. It sounds like he cannot hang on until you're awake and ready to let him into the garden.

Also since you've experimented and taken him out at 4am and he hasn't then peed again between 5-6am, it would suggest that he actually needs to go to the toilet, as opposed to doing some form of behavioral peeing indoors. If it were behavioural he would most likely have still peed indoors between 5-6am, despite having a toilet break at 4am.

Most dogs can go overnight without peeing, however for some reason it sounds like your dog _genuinely_ can't. Try ruling out medical reasons (UTI's, bladder weakness, Cushing's, kidney issues...)

You shouldn't need to limit a dog's water intake so that they don't need to pee in the night. Sometimes it is suggested to limit a puppies water intake overnight, for housetraining purposes...but again, this tends to be unnecessary. Most dogs and pups can drink during the night without needing to pee during the night.


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## Sarah H (Jan 18, 2014)

I agree that it sounds like it could be medical. Make an appt with your vet to check, he may have a UTI or something. Even a puppy can usually hold it in overnight so unless his previous owners were letting him out in the middle of the night I'd assume it's medical, especially as it's a whole bladder full. 

Also if he's peeing on bedding it will soak in and make it more likely that he'll pee there again due to the fact it smells like a toilet (I'm sure you're washing his blankets but the amount of scent he needs in order to smell it is parts-per-trillion so will be able to smell any trace left that you've missed). 

Give all the bedding a really good hot wash and clean the soft crate and the areas around it to get rid of all traces and go to a vet to check for any bladder problems. Good luck


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## Lurcherlad (Jan 5, 2013)

Is it possible that he is asking to go out and you aren't hearing him? It may be that he is being woken by cats or foxes outside, which is unsettling him.

Apart from the other suggestions of checking for anything medical, I would set the alarm for say, 5am and let him out for a wee, and gradually make it later by 5 mins or so each day and see if you can stretch him to your getting up time.

4 months is still quite soon for a re-homed dog and they can sometimes take a step or two backwards in their training/settling.

Also, you need to make sure everything is washed with biological powder to there is no lingering scent - which can encourage more soiling in that area.


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## Steve 182 (Jan 31, 2014)

Thank-you all for your replies.

I think I do need to have the vet check him out so that will be next step. What is curios though is that on 2 occations in the past month we have stayed in a hotel (with the dog in our room) and on neither occation, much to our relief did he pee on the floor. This is despite having to hold his bladder until about 7AM. At home he sleeps downstairs away from us and pees most nights now.


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## Steve 182 (Jan 31, 2014)

Thank-you all for your replies

I think my next step needs to be to take him to the vet to try to establish if its a medical condition.


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## Steve 182 (Jan 31, 2014)

Unfortunately it looks like I'm going to have to admit defeat and give up the dog. 

He has had negative urine test, been on a course of antibiotics (of a variety geared for bladder infections) but to no avail.

Dog spent 3 nights at my parents last month with my father taking him out at 4am for a pee each morning but he pooped in the house on 2 nights between 4 and 7!

3 or 4 months of getting up around 3-4AM every night to take dog to toilet is bad enough for me but today he peed on his bed in the back of car 5 mins after getting in so my wife has told me thats the last straw and the dog has to go. I've drawn the conclusion that he has behavoural issues and is untrainable (at least untrainable by me if he pees in his bed). 

I'm very upset but now I think I'm out of options.


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