Sleeping Overnight Troubles
 

Baloo and Belle, are almost 7 months old. They sleep together in a crate that is big enough for both of them to lay comfortably, but not run around in. Generally Belle, who is only 2lbs can hold it longer than Baloo who is 3.7 lbs, which is a big surprise for us. Both of them though, typically wake up 1-2 times a night to be let out, although the other night it was 3! I think that for their age, this is too much, and really, they should be on the verge of making it all night, instead of the 2-4 hours we're getting.

I do not know how to train them to "hold it".

Experiment 1: Last night, I put them in the crate, and I let them sleep 8 hours, and I didn't let them out, and they didn't make it. Pee'd on the towel, pushed that part on the edge, and slept in the middle. Now granted, they don't have much space at all to sleep in, but they curl up really tiny and lay on each other, so they aren't much bigger than a couple of softballs really in the crate (so it would be hard to make the living space much smaller).

Experiment 2: I figured that if I left them in the crate for 2 hours, then 2.5, then 3, ... on to a large number, it would teach them to hold it. It doesn't work, after about 2 hours or 2.5, Baloo decides he wants to go and will just go in the crate and push the towel out of the way or bury it with a toy or something. So that blew that theory. On on the other hand, if he's laying on my lap, or I keep him busy playing, or I basically force him not to go, he can hold it longer, I let him go after 4 hours today.

Experiment 3: The second time, I had him hold it on my lap 3 hours and 45 minutes, I put him in the crate so I could get something real quick, and 15 seconds after he hit the crate he pee'd on the towel. So he really has no self restraint, the only way he's made it past about 2 hours is if I physically keep him away. Usually he runs over to the pad every hour to 1.5 hours.

Any suggestions on how to teach my pups how to hold it???? My goal is to have them go less frequently in the day, maybe every 2-3 hours instead of every 1, and be able to hold it 7-8 hours at night for bed.

P.S. We feed only twice a day, and water comes up by 8:30.

No suggestions. But wanted to bump your thread.

You might try taking the water away by 7:00 PM and make sure they go potty within 30 min. or so of going to bed at night. Other than that, you might want to chat with the vet and they might have some physical reason for not being able to hold it.

Use a enzymatic cleaner made especially for pets accidents.Dogs like to eliminate where they have done it before, ordinary household cleaners may remove all the odors you can smell, but only an enzymatic leaner will remove everything your dog can smell.Do not put your dogs to bed until they had eliminated, be patient and calm.Make sure your dog has access to clean water at all times, Limiting the amount of water a dog drinks is not necessary for housetraining success and can be dangerous ( I never did with Pheobe she is now 10 month old and 100% potty train). A dog needs water to digest food, to maintain a proper body temperature and proper blood volume, and to clean his system of toxins and wastes. a puppy can hold his urine for only about as many hours as her age in months, and will move his/her bowels as many times a day as she eats.Pups vary somewhat in their rate of development, so this is not a hard and fast rule. It does however, present a realistic idea of how long a pup can be left without access to a potty place. Just like gracie2006 ck with your vet just to make sure that they no have any reason for not been able to hold it (like uti etc).:aimeeyork :aimeeyork