It's not "no big deal" to me. Waking up sucks. But the alternative is a big puddle on the floor (and I mean big!). Loki has a condition that causes him to have to pee like 4 times as much as the average dog. Medication has him to where he can sleep most nights, but if he drinks too much or we go to bed early he's whining to go out. It's not his fault. Every dog is different. All I'm saying is that IF Logan needs to go out, you have to let him out. It's only fair. If you think there is another problem then you need to talk to the vet about that. If you used pee pads in a different location he will still not know to use them. Dogs learn that it's OK to potty in a certain spot. Crating him is fine if it's working. We crated Loki until he learned how to wake us up to let him out rather than peeing in his crate. Then as he only needed to go out one time and knew to go outside, we let him sleep with us and he would jump off the bed and scratch at the bedroom door. That worked well with Sammy when we got her too (we have a bell upstairs and downstairs). Now we don't have to sleep with the door closed because they just run downstairs and ring their bell. I know you said you don't want him to sleep with you, but we went from 2 trips outside to 1 once we let Loki start sleeping with us. He also slept a little longer in the morning.
Also, 2 walks and playtime is not the same as daycare. Seriously the first time my dogs went to daycare they slept for 3 days straight. Loki couldn't be bothered to do more than eat and pee for a week. Just once a week will make a difference. |