We have had Casper, our rescue Weim for about 3 months and although he is usually pretty good going out for a wee in the day when we are in, he just doesn't seem to be able to cross his legs overnight.  He is 2 years old and was kept in a shed, so I guess he is used to going whenever and wherever he wants.  How do you train an adult dog to go through the night?  We get up some mornings and have to paddle our way to the back door.  It doesn't get the day off to a very good start!

If he's already learnt it's permissible to not have to hold it, you're going to have to teach him how to.  It won't be easy though.......  Puppies learnt by being given rewards for going outside and having frequent opportunities to get that reward, so the best thing I can suggest if that you get up every couple of hours to start with to try and catch him BEFORE he feels the need to wee.  His bladder just hasn't learnt that he has the capacity to hold on, because he's never had to :(

Is it just wee that you get at night?

Casper poos at night as well!  He just sees the floor as one big toilet If we hear him wake up in the night we go and take him out, but perhaps actually setting the alarm and getting up at regular intervals will work as we don't always hear his claws clicking around downstairs - we will give it a try!

hi there

i had the same problem with my five month old lab.  She was very good in the day but would wee in the kitchen at night.  Shes had a crate from day one but i didnt lock it.  About 4 weeks ago i decided that enough was enough and that she was old enough to hold her wee.  She did it in the daytime if I had to leave her for a couple of hours.  I make sure she goes in the garden about 10.30pm, her water is taken away at 9pm (her last feed is at 6pm) and she is then locked in her cage from 11pm till 6.30am ish.  She has no problems at all holding it and isnt even rushing to the door after we've let her out.  I did also used to leave her water out all night, maybe that made a difference.

Hello
I have Weimaraners and I can say that if they are outside or kennel dogs it is very difficult to house train them.
If he has been used to going in the shed, he just simply has to learn that he has to hold it.  But that may take quite a while.  Sometimes a house cage can stop dogs going to the toilet, especially if they are large and you can put a plastic basket in, just for over night.
Its not something that you wont ever teach him.  IT may be one of the reasons his owner let him go in the first place, may be he is a difficult boy in that respect.  That may be why he was put in the shed in the first place.  Dont give up on him yet, as he could learn, with lots of love and patience.  YOu need to let him out as late in the evening as possible.  Weimaraners tend to get up with the crack of dawn as well, they seem to wake up at 4am and will have a wee. So try to get up at 3:30am to let him out, just until he has got used to things. Also he is going to take a long while to settle, he may seem at home, but you will notice a bigger difference one year down the track.
Rachel

Hi Rachel

Casper is already a totaly different dog to when we got him a few months ago - we 'rescued' him from a lady who had put him on Ebay Can you believe that!  I saw the add and called my husband to look.  In just a few minutes the ad had been removed but I managed to find her email address and contact her.  She said she wanted a loving home for him as she couldn't cope with him anymore, but if a loving home is what you want, you don't put your pet on Ebay do you! I know live animals aren't allowed on there anyway.  We jumped in the car the next day with our Weim bitch and went to fetch him.  He is a huge dog, not castrated, and was very stressed when we brought him home.  He spent the first week attention seeking, was very distressed and aggressive - he bit my husband almost daily, breaking the skin on two occasions.  He has gradually improved, is no longer aggressive, appears very happy and has put weight on.  He still occasionly steals things - attention seeking behaviour - but we ignore him and he soon loses interest.  The only problem now is the weeing (and pooing!) at night.  We are moving house shortly and will be able to 'contain' all 3 dogs in the utility room at night, so there won't be much space to wee.  Perhaps that will stop him

Hi louisechris1,

Unfortunately this is a common problem with outdoor raised dogs, but it is very easy to solve.  If you are prepared for 2 weeks of broken sleep, you can break him in very quickly.

Step 1  -  Take him for his last evening walk before 8pm.

Step 2  -  Before you go to bed take him into the garden with the command word wee wee/toilet whatever your chosen word is stay out there with him until he goes, when he finally does, great big fuss and a treat if you wish, just make sure that he knows he has done good.

Step 3  -  Wake up at 4am (yes I really did say that! :-D) go downstairs and take him out into the garden, give your command, when he has gone make a great big fuss.

Step 4  -  After 3 nights wake up at 5am, after 3 more 5.30am, after 3 more 6am, then 6.30am, then 7am.

If he has an accident in the meantime ignore it, do not get cross (even though you are tired) just clean it up and ignore him completely, he only gets praise when he goes outside.

I have done this method with all my pups and dogs and they have all been fully trained in 2 weeks. You need to treat him as a beginner as this is all new to him.  Keep newspaper by your back door for him to use if he has an accident or upset stomach one night as he will get used to going outside, so is more likely to go at the door if he can't get out.

Good luck!  And persevere.