# Crate training/house training



## Ann-Marie (Feb 5, 2014)

Hi
Our lovely cockapoo puppy, Dill, has been with us for less than a week. She is 9 weeks old. 
We are not using training pads as they didn't seem to attract her. Instead we are taking her outside at regular intervals and when she starts sniffing around in a way that you know she's about to pee or poo.
We've had lots of accidents but lots of success too-especially when she needs to poo, she has started to go to the door beforehand and we haven't has any poo accidents in the house for the last few days.
So, my dilemma is about sleep and crate training.
Like all new puppies she howled quite a bit when we put her in the crate on the first two nights. I didn't go back to her at all. She eventually slept but when she woke in the morning and started howling again, her crate was quite a mess. Pee, Poo, turned up water bowl and bed etc.
She is now going in to the crate with no protest and goes to sleep straight away. However, the last two nights she has woken at 2am on the first night and 5am on the second. Sensing that she needed to go out for a poo, I took her outside and she duly pooed and I put her back in the crate. (All without switching on lights or talking to her).
So my question is:
1. Am I making a rod for my own back by going to her in the middle of the night-albeit that she really did need to do something?
2. This morning after letting her out at 5am, it didn't look as though she was going to settle back down. She howled for half an hour. Slept again but only until 6.30am. I don't really want to start the day until 7am at the earliest. Would it be cruel to just tough it out and leave her in the crate, even if she cries, until it really is time to start the day?
There is a fine line between her getting distressed and me having a dog that wakes up too early!
As I am a novice dog owner, any advice would be very welcome.


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## Cat 53 (Aug 26, 2012)

I have never crate trained, so I can only tell you what I did. At night time I put down paper and then left them for the entire time. Phoebe, my puppy has been clean and dry from day one, but Max my 20 month old took a few weeks. No poo mind you, just pees. They go to bed about 9.30 when they have their last chance to go outside. They have fresh water at all times, they get a nighttime wheat free biscuit. I get them up between 7 & 8 am. This has been my method with all my dogs. Nit works for me cos I get a good nights sleep and so do they. I,d rather clean up than get up and not being in a crate means they can perform away from the bed.


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## Lottierachel (Mar 3, 2013)

We ultimately ditched the crate at about 7 months because Tilly never liked it. But during the first few weeks, I always got up in the middle of the night to let her out as I wanted her to associate the crate with somewhere that you shouldn't toilet, and not to become distressed by having to do so.

At 9 weeks, it is probable that your little puppy's bladder and bowel simply can't last all night, so she needs you to let her out.

Tilly could hold it all night from about 11 weeks. So maybe stick to the getting up in the night for another couple of weeks and then see if she can last. It sounds like she is doing really well so far 

Xx


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## Meredith (Mar 30, 2014)

Nado was crate trained and I did have to let him out in the middle of the night for the first several weeks. I would wake up when I heard him stir and take him to pee and then put him right back in the crate. I found at 8 week he needed to go out after about 3.5 hours and it seemed to increase weekly by about 1.5 hours. By 12 weeks he was easily making it through the night. Now at 9 months he'll sleep for 10 hours if that's how long I stay in bed. 

At about 10 weeks we did find it hard to get him settled back in to the crate so we started letting him sleep with us after his middle of the night pee. We felt confident he wouldn't have an accident on the bed since he'd already gone. That method worked out for us because we knew he would eventually be sleeping with us anyway. He was so happy to be in bed with us he would be very good and quiet. He didn't ever have an accident on the bed.


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## tessybear (May 1, 2011)

Dexter was house trained almost immediately, Bonnie took a while. Being a poor sleeper I couldn't bear the thought of getting up in the night to let them out of their crate. I went to bed as late as I could (midnight) and got up as early as I could (5 a.m) and they always had dry crates. 
The only thing that didn't work was that once they saw me in the morning they never settled back to sleep again and we never had lie-ins at weekends. I ended up bring their crate to our bedroom and never looked back. As long as they were with us they didn't wake up till we did and were just content to be with us. Now they both sleep on our bed and never disturb us or need to be let out and have never once had an accident.


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## Marzi (Sep 17, 2012)

I didn't use a crate with Inzi or Kiki - they were restricted to the kitchen and I put some newspaper down. Kiki was clean and dry from the 3rd night, although she took a while to settle, I used to sit with her on my knee in the dark until she was snoozy and then tip her into her bed - then she was fine, if I walked out while she was awake she'd cry at the gate to follow me. Inzi took a while longer. With both of them, like Tess it was late to bed, early to rise. 
Dot was crate trained and I used it until last month. If she cried I would go and let her out - I didn't want her messing in there, apart from the first night she didn't.
This early stage really doesn't last long. Grit your teeth and do what you need to do to get through it. Crate, no crate, kitchen, your room, your bed.... you'll find what works for you.
Can we have some more details (picture) of Dill. We love to hear about and see new puppies - it helps to exercise our broody muscles


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## Hfd (Aug 19, 2011)

We used a crate for Billy. It was big enough to put a bed in the back and a puppy pad/newspaper in the front. We never got up in the night with him.
On the first night he had a poo and wee on the pad, then just wee for around a week (they don't like to mess where their bed is so quickly get the hang of it).
Regarding timings, we put Billy to bed around 11pm and for 3 nights he cried for a while before sleeping. We got up with him around 5.30 - 6am. On the 4th night he cried for 5 mins then slept till 7am. He was fine after that. On a weekend we usually let Billy out for a wee then he comes into our bed and goes back to sleep! 
We are getting poo 2 in 3 weeks and will be using the same routine with her.
Billy is out of his crate now.
Good luck


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