Crate Training and Overnights

[MissyC]

I was reading the crate training was a good way to get the puppy house trained, now I was also reading that the puppy can NOT hold it all night. So what happens let's say around 4am if they have to go? do you put a pee pad in the crate? do you take them out? sorry, I am still learning, thanks for the info!! :)

[Gempress]

If your puppy has to go at night, take him out of the crate and to his normal "potty spot". The pup needs to see the crate as being a potty-free zone. And nope, a young pup definately cannot hold it all night. With my last pup, I just set my alarm clock and took him out every 3-4 hours. It's similar to caring for a human baby at this age. As he gets older, he can hold it longer.

[Mordy]

it really depends on the individual puppy whether they sleep thrugh the night or not.

when my ellie was just a little 8 week old puppy, she slept through the night, between 7 and 9 hours. i had her in bed with me, so i'd wake up whenever she had to go.

quigley i got much older, at 12 weeks, and he slept in a (closed) crate for the first year and a half, mainly because of the cats. he also never had to get up during the night. once in a while he'd wake up an hour earlier than usual and have to go outside.

individual preferences differ, but 'm not a big fan at all of training puppies to pee on pee pads or papers and then having to retrain them to go outside.

[gaddylovesdogs]

It depends on the dog, but it's a good idea to get up every couple of hours to let the dog out. The basic rule is, a dog can hold it an hour longer than it's age - so if a puppy is 3 months, he/she should be able to hold it for about four hours.