Busby is doing quite well with his house training, but can't hold it all night yet(he's just 7 and a half weeks now). He isn't asking to go out as such, but is starting to go to the back door, and will usually go outside when we tell him. The first night, he woke me up in the middle of the night because he needed to go out to poo, but since then he hasn't done this. Each morning though, I am finding that he has wet his bedding. It's always cold (sorry to be so graphic) as if it's old wee from the middle of the night, and he always wees when I first let him out, so it's not the morning one that I'm just missing. 
He is in a crate, and I've tried putting a bed in, covering the whole floor with a piece of vet bed (wet in the morning in the corner where he lies), covering half the crate with vet bed and half with newspaper (newspaper dry, vetbed wet, or rather, wet underneath where it's dripped through). We are fairly light sleepers, have always woken up for Sparky in the past, especially my eldest daughter, whose room is right above where the dogs sleep, so I don't think he's asking to go out. It's as if he's weeing in his sleep.
Spoke to the vet about it and he has given me a 5 day course of tablets for cystitis; (urine sample was clear) but two days into taking them it's still happening. Do you think he could just be too lazy to get up, or perhaps he's not seeing the crate as his bed? He sleeps in it during the day, eats in it, and has accepted it quite happily. I've washed all the vet bed pieces with biological powder on a 95 wash, so there shouldn't be any scent in them at all.
Any ideas?
Tracy

Had to read this twice. :(

my Answer is he is a baby puppy ,when they sleep they relax and when relaxed they cant control their bladder you may be  expecting too much at this age ,   he will only have been away from Mum several  weeks she will have cleaned up after him.
I am amazed the Vet didnt tell you this .

Hi,

Firstly i'm gobsmacked,this is a little puppy what do you expect?

Secondly change your vet and fast, can't beilieve hes given antibiotics for a urine tsst that is negative  and its obvious his bladder is immature as yet to control himself which comes later and develops at different times indifferent puppies.
I think the vet saw you comming and was rubbing his hands together in your ignorance and made money out of you,or he doesn't deserve his vet qualification.

Would you expect a baby to be out of nappies under 6 months old??

Sorry for sounding harsh ,i'm just amazed with some people.

Briony

Maybe he is asking out put not very loudly, have you thought of trying a baby monitor so you will definitely hear him. On the other hand 71/2 weeks is young to go all night so may just ned time
      Anne

At 7 and a half weeks he is way too young to hold it all night. Where is his crate? If you expect him to wake you I would suggest you have his crate in your room so you can hear him when he stirs. If he isn't making enough noise to wake you, all being crated is teaching him is that he has to wee in his bed. If he can get out of it he will probably wee away from it.

I have never crated a dog, but instead simply put their bed in the kitchen and mopped up in the morning. They've all been clean and dry overnight by 3 months.

Hope this helps.
:)

I did use a crate for my last puppy and it worked great.  We got a divider so that the crate wasnt too huge for him.  Putting newspaper in is just encouraging him to have a wee.  Our pup was upstairs next to our bed and as soon as he woke up I did and would let him outside.  It did mean getting up once during the night.  But if you just take them out dont speak to them at all so that they dont think it is playtime and put them out and then when they perform big praise it works a treat.  Clean very quickly.  But like everyone says 7 1/2 weeks is very young and accidents will happen and are only to be expected. 

Claire

Ouch! Good job I'm not easily offended! When you're new to something you think the advice of professionals is right unless you can find out otherwise, I simply don't have the knowledge to question the vet's opinion, and I think you have a point, Briony, I need to change him. I've spent a fortune there over the past year with Sparky, and this episode is making me wonder if some of that was unnecessary.

Thanks for all your comments so far though, everyone, as there is plenty of food for thought there, not least as to my choice of vet. Can I just defend myself a bit here - I don't think my first post made it clear.
First of all, I really didn't expect Busby to be dry overnight at all, and fully expected to have to mop up for a few weeks yet. I might well have misinterpreted some of the information I've read on here and elsewhere, though, as I was under the impression that a pup, even this young, will not wee in its own bed. In Gwen Bailey's book she says they leave the nest to wee at 3 - 4 weeks when with the litter. I just thought if Busby had wet, that he would have been upset by it and shouted out, that's all, but I'm happy to accept that I was wrong. I've used Champdogs so much for help, both with Sparky, (who we got at 12 weeks so didn't have these early puppy days), and now again with Busby. Try doing a search on crate training or overnight on here, and you will see that nearly every thread comes up with the same information - that a pup will not wee in its bed.

As far as the vet's involvement is concerned, this is the story. It certainly wasn't a case of me going running there just because Busby had wet his bed.

I went to the puppy class on Saturday morning which is in the church hall next to the vets, and run by the vet nurse. During the session, she was asking how we were getting on with housetraining, and I said I was pleased so far, and that he was just weeing in bed. I didn't expect any reaction, was just making conversation, but she immediately showed great concern and said we'd have to get the vet to look at him. As soon as class finished, she whisked me next door to the front of the queue at the vets and the vet looked him over. Tablets given straight away, sample requested - which I took back that afternoon. Nothing at all was said as far as this is perfectly normal, and when I've read your post, Briony, I have to agree that they must have been rubbing their hands together, as they even suggested it might be a behavioural thing if the tablets don't work, and that they could book me an appointment with the behaviourist! (alarm bells beginning to ring).
JG - I'm going to try leaving the crate door open tonight and see if he leaves it as I agree, he is learning that it's OK to wee in there.
Claire - I did wonder about the newspaper - thanks for that point, we'll just leave some paper down for him outside the crate and cover the floor of the crate with his vet bed.

Finally, in view of what you are all saying, do you think should I stop the tablets? I don't want to give them to him if he doesn't need them - might do more harm than good.

Hi,

I did apologise for sounding harsh,and some vets do make me mad :-)

I hope you enjoy your pup :-)

Briony

Thanks Briony
What do you reckon about these tablets then? Should I give them a miss?
Tracy
:)

Must be a terrible dog owner I never bother about what my pup does at night, just clear it up in the morning. Give the pup a large cage with the bed up one end or a pen with a bed in the corner, pup leaves it's bed to eliminate and except sometimes in the morning when it greets you does not walk or roll in it. They are usually poo clean first followed within a couple of weeks by being dry, but I could not tell you at what age but it is not that long. Know some people get up in the night to let the pup out but I would rather sleep and deal with it in the morning, at 7 weeks most pups are still in the nest and personally I would not bother about night time accidents and concentrate on taking him out during the day so that when he does have control he know where it is he is supposed to go. Will refrain from making comment on the vet but if he were mine I would be looking elsewhere.

HI,

If he was mine I would phone another vet ,explain you been given the tablets your not 100% happy about giving them as urine test was neg may have been given in haste see what he advises.

Because they are antibiotics and you have started the course he may well say finish the course anyway now as it wont do any harm as such, but by not finishing the course next time use this type of antbiotic if your dog develops bladder problem or other condition which requires the same tablets the antibiotics may not be as effective in the body as any bacteria lurking may become resistant to this type of antibiotics.

But seek another vets opinion :-)

Briony

I would just keep puppy and crate in your room, this way (since your light sleepers) you can here your pup stir and scoop pup up and straight outside. Pup will learn as he gets older and will hold thro the night then you can put pup and crate back to where you have it now. I had my first pup in bed with me, the 2nd (both boston's) one I kept in a kennel in my room got up maybe 2-3 times at night. The other two I had in a big cage we made for whelping with bedding, food, water at one end, play area, and paper at the other. They slept in that till they were dry all night then I moved them to a kennel that was about 4 months for T-Bone and 6 months for Dozer (he still has problems, long story with him). Puppies don't start to feel their bladder till about 3 months old...Good luck :)