Hi,
I am in need of HELP/ADVICE please. I picked my Bichon 'Molly' up on friday evening, she's 7weeks & a real cutey but what a busy weekend walking round like a zombie at present. I have decided to use a crate, never used one before, doing all the things people have recommended on CD but i am confused about what to do at night. Put Molly in crate at bedtime, about 11.30, she cryed for about 20mins, settled until 1.30, cryed but we left her, crying again at 3am I went to take her out, back into crate again cryed for 20mins, she woke at 5am hubby got up to take her out & stayed up. Are we doing things right? could she last longer before really needing to wee? or should we get up & take her out when she crys because she is telling us she needs to go or is she really trying it on? its all so confusing but I really dont want her getting used to us keep getting up. Any help appreciated. Regards Pauline.

Pauline,

Sounds like you are doing it just fine. At 7 weeks old, she will only be able to hold her bladder for 1 1/2-2 hours at most. As she gets older, gradually increase the length of time she is expected to "hold it". By 4 months you can expect her to go all night <about 8 hours>. She sounds like a real doll, and you are doing what you should. Also, after a few days she will quit complaining when you put her in her crate, and she will learn to love it and view it as a "safe place". I have 11 dogs inside, they all have crates that they sleep in at night, and many times they nap in them during the day. Just stick with it, you are doing great.

Sherita

Hi Sherita
Thanks for the encouragement, so should I continue to get up each time she crys through the night & slowly start ignoring the odd cry until she is able to go right through till morning? Also, I am taking Molly out very regularly through the day, does the 'penny just drop & does the puppy suddenly start going to the door, its so long since I had a puppy I have forgotten. Thanks Pauline.

Pauline:

The first few days with a new puppy can be very hectic. One thing I always did in the evening after their supper meal was to make sure my puppy had a good drink of water, but then I picked up the water dish for the night. Just before I go to bed I take the puppy out to potty. I always go out with it so that when it accomplishes what you want, it can be praised for doing that. In fact I even keep a treat which is of a soft variety to give the puppy for being a Good Dog. Since puppies don't have full control of their bladders until they are 16 weeks old (4 months) you need to be more on a routine to put the puppy out than waiting for them to show you a sign. Some can be trained to ring a set of bells hung on your back door to ask out but this does not always work for every dog.

A book that I have used extensively with a lot of my novice owners of Wire Haired Fox Terriers is "How to Housebreak Your Dog in Seven Days" by Shirlee Kalstone. You can get it in Canada from Chapters or their on-line store IndigoChapters.com but I bet you could also get it from Amazon.com. If you are in England I would just check with one of your big bookstore chains. They probably could order it for you. I used this book myself for any of the litter that I ran-on for show prospects or a puppy that didn't sell right away. It sets out schedules whether you are home all day or away all day. It works because of the routine not that your puppy actually is "water-tight" at the end of seven days.

Margaret :) Canada

Hi Pauline

All sounds perfectly normal to me. I have had my new GSD puppy for 3 weeks now and am using the crate for the first time (and a wonderful thing it is too!). Logan was initially following almost exactly the same schedule as your pup and I was beginning to think I would never sleep again! Now that he is 11 weeks he is starting to go longer and longer without getting me up so don't worry, your baby will get there!

Good luck and have fun!

Lisa
xx

Hi Lisa
So there is sleep at the end of the tunnel! I have noticed an improvement, she is now only taking 20mins to settle, waking about 4.30 - 4.45, I get up then somtimes she has had wee/poo. I have been staying up mainly because she is so excited to see me even though I dont speak to her shes like she hasnt seen me for days, I know if I put her back in her crate that we will have another 20min of sreaming, will she just start sleeping in later & later? also I am finding the toilet training is slow but maybe at 71/2 weeks I am expecting to much to soon, I have always used paper in the past but decided to just keep taking her out regularly? How are you doing? Regards Pauline.

I Read with the night time crate waking that if you leave her for an extra 5-10 mins a night before letting her out you finally get to the point where they go through. Our lab pup is 17 weeks old now and sleeps through , he started off like your pup too was not happy about it , i used to put doggy buiscuits in there before putting him to bed and around a week later success.
She will get used to it and as she gets older they instantly go to there den when there ready for bed.
All the best to you and your pup.

P.S not using paper for toilet training is the best way to go we used paper and delayed things alot , leave your back door open all day if you can and take out every half hour on the dot and say "go toilet or some command" , after all our woes of toilet training we did this consistently for 3 days and we have not looked back since. Good luck

Hi Thanks for the advice, did you leave your pup the extra 5-10min a night even though she was crying. last night was a little better, she went to bed at 10.30 & only cryed about 20mins, slept till 6 & woke up & started crying so things are getting better slowly, only had one puddle in the crate. I would leave the back door open but the steps are to high for her at present so I just keep taking her out. I will keep plodding on, its a good job I love her so much.