Need some advice!

[David1105]

So I have an 18 month old yorkie and currently we take him out at night after about 5 hours of sleep. He sleeps in a crate and then after he goes outside we bring him in and he sleeps at the foot of our bed for the rest of the night. So he goes at around 10pm, then 3am then again at around 6:30am. No accidents thus far. I come home from work at 12:15pm and let him out again then I get home at 5:30 etc. My question is at about what age do yorkies seem like they can hold their stuff in through the night without me having to wake up and take him out? Also, is it possible to train them to hold it in for 10 hours? He is doing very well in the crate and I was also wondering at what point might it be wise to let him wonder around the house without having to be stuck in the crate during the workday. Any advice will be appreciated!

Thanks!

[Ellie May]

Welcome to YorkieTalk! I don't think you can ever expect a Yorkie to hold it for ten hours. The most I would ever expect (some can go longer though) is four hours. Maybe that could be pushed to 5 or 6. I don't know at what age they can hold it longer though...

[Ladylavender]

I can tell you that Millie is 2 1/2 years old and still wakes up in the middle of the night to be taken out. She sleeps with my husband and I and she will climb on me and whimper/chirp until I wake up to take her out. I know she can hold it for much longer, because when we have take her to the boarders, she stays in her cage from 10pm to 7am. and she never wets the cage. (So I think she prefers to empty her bladder but won't if she is in a situation where she cannot).

I think that before I try the house thing, I would try him in the crate for 10 hours for a couple of days and see if he can hold it for that long. Or keep him in a confined area (very small, but bigger than the crate) and see if he holds it that way. Then I would make the space bigger and bigger and if he continues to do good, I would try one room of the house and work my way up to the whole house.

[LuvtheCooper]

I agree, I think how long they can go varies from one to the next. My Cooper can hold it for around 8 hours, he can go through the entire night with no problems. Carley, on the other hand, has a max of about 5 hours and she never sleeps through all night, she "chirps" at us at least once a night to take her out. Mine are both a year and a half old and been potty trained for a long time...that is just the maximum time for each of them. They are also around the same size, so I don't think size always makes a difference either.
Good luck!!

[alexbnieto]

it depends from dog to dog. my Bruin can hold it from 11pm-7am and he is 1.5 yrs. little Nico goes about every 3 hours during the night and he is 6 months

[David1105]

Thanks for the replies so far...this is a great forum. My inlaws own a yorkie (now 15 years old!) and he is pretty good about holding it for 10 hours. He also makes it through the night easily though I don't know at what age he started being able to do this. My little Brady doesn't even chirp at us. I just assume he can only hold it for about 5 hours now and take him out of the crate and he goes outside. He might be able to hold it longer but I don't want him to go in the crate by accident. I've never heard of a dog that can only hold it 3 or 4 hours max even as an adult?!? Also since we want him to go outside it would be far better since we have to get up to take him out whereas if we used pee pads this won't matter.

[Yorkiekids]

WELCOME TO YT. I think being that he's doing really good in the crate, you might want to give him a little more freedom. The key is a little at a time. Best wishes with your training.

[Sharonandtink]

I have found that my furbaby can hold it for about 6 hours. So I put down a pee pad and she uses that when I am not there to let her out. This could be an option if he can't hold it for long periods of time. I hope this helps.

[PANAMA69]

to yt is nice to have you here, I only crate my girls at night when they are pup, we use the pee pads and outside, after she was potty train she start sleeping with us she wil wake up some times ones at night and go and use her pee pad, sometimes she sleep through the night, but because I have the pee pad and she is potty train I don't have to get up with her, now I have her little sister she is a pup (18 weeks) and so far potty train she sleep in her crate next to my bed on top of my treasure chest so I can hear and keep the eye on her, she wake up ones and put her in the pee pad and she go. I have xpen that I use sometimes but for any reasons I need to leave them alone I use a clear baby gate in the kitchen I hope I help you somehow

[Tammyh]

We got Bella at 3 months and she was able to hold it all night from day one (about 6 hours cuz hubby gets up early). She's 6 month old now and I know she can hold it for 8 to 10 hours depending on the day because she's in the x-pen during the day while we're at work and rarely has an accident even in that. I've actually been quite surprised with how long she'll hold it.

[a_jgonzalez]

Well does the crate stay in the room with you or in a different part of the house? Because maybe he doesn't have to go so often in the night....
You should try to extend the number of times you take him out at night, so you can get some sleep. If the crate is in your room you'll be able to hear if he whimpers because he has to go.
My yorkie goes the WHOLE night without waking up, but I do have to let him out at 6am.

[MikaTallulah]

Cozy was able from the time I got her at 4 months to hold her bladder overnight from 11pm to roughly 7 am every night. During the day she can hold it for eight or so hours as well probably. But I have never left her unsupervised during the day for that long. I think that 8 hours is probably her limit. She is roughly 18months now. I have a golden retriever that I know could easily hold his bladder for +16hours.

Good luck with your baby.

[Beckyhebert]

My babies , ages 6months and 9 months can sleep with us all night from 10pm til about 5 am . They are excellent as long as we go out right before bed.

[Charlene1963]

Mine can go for 10 hours through the night. He is now 9 months old and he puts himself to bed (crate) at 10:30 and gets up any time from 6:30-8:00 a.m. Maybe it is related to the size of the dog. My guy is an 11 lb bruiser so he likely has a bigger bladder.

Charlene

[myboy]

Deiter does good if sleeping with me. Goes to bed at 10:00 and gets up at 6:00. But if he is sleeping in his xpen he wakes up at 5:00 to out to potty. I don't understand why.