What started as a one time request has developed into a very bad habit and we need your help.
Every night at 2am Cooper gets out of bed and scratches the bedroom door. I take him outside, he pees, grabs a toy and goes right back to bed.
He started doing this a few months ago. After about a week I refused to get up as I was afraid he was developing a habit of getting up and he peed at the door!
This is the only accident I can remember in the last 2 years. There were 2 times that I picked him up after I heard the scratching, put him back on the bad and he went back to bed.
For the past few nights Cooper has also been getting up around 4:30 am. Again, I take him out but this time he poops, grabs a toy and goes right back to bed.
I don't want to ignore his requests because he goes to the bathroom each time. It's not as though he wants to run around the yard.
Cooper is 3 years old and 11 pounds so I assume he can hold his bladder fairly well. I feed him at 9am and 6pm. He does drink water later into the night because he and Max play hard in the evening. He doesn't really get any treats. He goes potty before bed every night. I have noticed that if he's had a day out at the park or plays in the pool he is a little more tired and may sleep through the night. I will work on exercising him a bit more, but I figure throwing a ball for 3 hours a day and 2 walks would be enough
What is your advice? Do I ignore him? Do I take him potty?