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Originally Posted by Erin  Ideally, if the crate does what it is supposed to, she will cry or whine to be let out in the middle of the night, rather than soil the crate. If she does that you should get up and let her out. That middle of the night potty break should only be needed for a few weeks, but it helps tremendously with potty breaks. They are learning to tell you when they need to go out.
I would wait outside with her that last trip out at night. Make sure she is empty before bed. Work on a potty cue so she learns to go when you tell her. Mine are 3&4 and if they get distracted outside I just yell for them to hurry up and they pee and come back in. |
I agree. Ella should not use the bathroom somewhere she barely has room to turn around in. Dogs wish to be clean, and will not soil their livingspace. I always took Ollie out right before I laid down to bed. And for a while, when we kept him in his crate, he'd cry aroud 3 or 4 in the morning to go pee, but would always pee and go back to sleep. Crate training is a great thing if you can do it, that is, live with keeping your new baby up for a bigger part of the day! It doesn't take long if you do it correctly, and there is a lot of info in the internet on how to do it right.
Unfortunately every dog is different. Ollie had no problem pooping in the morning, but refused to poop in the evening. I would be outside all day, and he would not go. But as soon as I would bring him in, he would poop in the floor. I even used to walk him at a local park and bring him home to poop in our yard (he is a bit of a shy pooper) and he still wouldn't go. So, even if none of this helps, keep asking, someone will give you an idea that you haven't heard of or tried.
Good luck!