# Overnight House training - Indoor Potty or Scheduled Trips Outside??



## BParrott (Jan 20, 2012)

We are getting an 8 week old female golden puppy in 2 weeks. I have been reading myself silly about crate and house training. We are going to crate train. I am a stay at home mom and, for the most part, I can come and go to accommodate her house training schedule during the day. It's the nighttime that I am confused about. 

I have read differing opinions from dog trainers/books suggesting a "long term confinement area" for puppy that is walled off from the rest of the house (xpen or gated area - we plan to use our tiled laundry room for this purpose). This area would contain her crate and a separate "indoor potty" for accidents. I have a couple friends who used this method overnight. They would take puppy out at 11pm and 5am but in between that the crate door was open and the "indoor potty" was available for puppy. Along these lines, this same setup has been suggested for the daytime if I would have to be away from the house longer than usual.

MY QUESTION: Am I setting myself up for a longer house training period by having the indoor potty there? In the beginning is it better just to get up more at night to take her outside?


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## Mosby's Mom (Oct 19, 2011)

I think every puppy is a little different. We crated our boy from day 1 (a little over 7 weeks old) at night, and he never once woke up and whined to go out; he just always slept and held it through the night. We also never used pee pads or put paper down or anything like that, so he never had a place to go potty inside. 

But I would say do what you're comfortable with!


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

I think indoor potty training (encouraging the pup to go potty in the house) is a mistake. 

Your puppy will go through a growth spurt and will be able to hold a bit longer so you can adjust your night potty schedules. But that first week is the one where you will be rushing pups out every 3 hours or so.

And during the day - you need to figure out a potty schedule that involves outings every 1-2 hours. More often if the puppy is active, running, playing, eating treats.

And they have to go out for potty within 30 minutes of eating.


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## darbysdad (Dec 23, 2011)

In my opinion, no potty indoors at all. Darby came home at 8 weeks too. We crated her at 11:00 and I would get up at 2:00am and 5:00am to let her out. I only did this for the first 5 nights and then waited till 5:00 to let her out. She sleeps through the night no problem and does the big potty in the morning. It's imperative to make sure that the crate only has enough room to lay down and turn around for the first couple of weeks. Even more important is NO water after 9:00. Also if the first nights of crating involve a lot of howling that continue for more than 40 minutes, wait till the pup stops for a minute and let her back outside for a quick potty, then right back to the crate. The reason for this is that when they work themselves up with too much crying and howling, they can easily soil the crate out of frustration. Most important though is to place the crate where she is very near you. Mine is next to the sofa, and that is where I have been sleeping since we got Darby. Stay strong during the complaining. If you give in, your right back at square one, and the puppy knows that you will uncrate her with enough complaining. DONT DO IT! Darby howled for an hour straight one night, but finally tired herself out. We are very proud of her that she has had NO accidents in the house at all, and sleeps through the night like her dad does. Only you can set up your puppy for success


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## inge (Sep 20, 2009)

I have never used an indoor potty facility. I am also a stay at home mom, and during daytime I had Tess near me all the time, so when she would start to whine, I could take her out. The only time I put her in her crate, was when I went shopping or when I did things around the house where she would be in the way. During nighttime she slept downstairs, in het crate. Tess slept through the night from day 1, so I didn't have to take her out. Usually she would sleep from 11.00 to 5.30, when my youngest son has to get up for school.
I have always taken her outside to potty. I think if it is your intention that your pup in the end has to go outside, and you have the time and stamina for it (Tess came home in the middle of December, snow and wind...!), one potty area is less confusing than one inside and one outside.


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## MikaTallulah (Jul 19, 2006)

I say NO to "indoor potty.". If you are able to set your schedule around puppy I would. All of mine have slept though by 4 or 5 months of age from 11p to 6 a. No accidents overnight. Puppy fussed out I took them. Even my Yorkies are outside trained only.

I know people who have tried this set up as you mentioned with their dogs. It seemed to me housebreaking took them much longer than it took me.


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## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

I have read many times that indoor potty is a mistake. My dog growing up, we did that, and he was never 100 percent housebroken to go outside. I have often thought it was because we papertrained him too.

The trips in the middle of the night are for such a small amount of time. I think with Brady and MacKenzie it only lasted a couple weeks, and then once in a while in the middle of the night. They now know if that in the winter time, 9:00 is the last time to go outdoors.

At night, you are better off keeping him locked in his crate. I have had young puppies climb over the gate, me waking up, and them having full run of the house.


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## Cora the golden (Jan 2, 2012)

I agree with what everyone else is saying. No indoor potty training. If the puppy wakes up in the middle of the night and whines take it out and then put the puppy back in the crate. This is what we did with Cora and the middle of the night potty session only lasted a week or so.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

I should probably add that having a crate may give you more leeway as far as nightly outings. I'm not sure? 

My last two puppies (I should correct myself here, the first two goldens were kept in our tiled kitchen at night - they'd sleep in the pantry, actually) have always slept on my bed with me or under the bed. The last one we kept to a specific schedule and it wasn't just one person running him outside. If I was at work or not home, my mom (an angel) would hook him on the long line in our backyard and send him out. 

One thing I wanted to throw out there - have a "go potty" command. It's a huge lifesaver if you have a winter puppy (Jacks was our first winter puppy, the other guys came home in late spring).

Somebody on GRF sent me a funny message i/regards to obedience training that totally cracked me up... I wish I could remember what exactly he said. I think he joked about my dogs being trained to poop on command? And the way he said it sounded like he didn't believe that could be done.

My returning comment was - uhm, actually "Go pee" or "go potty" means #1 to my dog. When I say "go poopy", he knows he has to go on a circling mission for #2. And all that ASAP and then we rush inside for a treat reward.

Most important obedience training of all, I must say.


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## Womn2Blame (Jan 8, 2012)

I apologize in advance for butting in on this thread with my own question, but it does involve housetraining. 

Our Golden puppy, Nugget, is 13 weeks old today. We are crate-training her. We put her to bed around 10:30. I got up with her at 3 a.m. for a couple of weeks, then tried stretching out the time. As of last night, if she isn't taken out by 3:00., she wets in the crate. And, even then, she may wet again before my husband gets up at 7:00. 

Obviously, we should be taking her out more often, but at what age can we expect her to be able to hold it better? 

We take away her water at 8:00, and she potties several times before bed. 

Thanks! 
Cindy


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## Casey and Samson's Mom (Sep 24, 2011)

Womn2Blame said:


> I apologize in advance for butting in on this thread with my own question, but it does involve housetraining.
> 
> Our Golden puppy, Nugget, is 13 weeks old today. We are crate-training her. We put her to bed around 10:30. I got up with her at 3 a.m. for a couple of weeks, then tried stretching out the time. As of last night, if she isn't taken out by 3:00., she wets in the crate. And, even then, she may wet again before my husband gets up at 7:00.
> 
> ...


Is the crate too big for her right now? Most puppies will not soil a crate unless it is big enough for a sleeping and potty area. You can block off a section with wood etc if you need to...some wire crate come with a divider that can be moved as they grow.
Is her crate located where you are able to hear her if she needs to get up in the night...I have always had crates in the bedroom for the first while.

and to the original question...an 8 week old will need to go out at least once during the night. I count on that for the first month...with Sam I got lucky and he slept through after 2 weeks...sleeping through meaning from 11-530.


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## rhondas (Sep 10, 2010)

I will reiterate what everyone else is saying: NO INDOOR POTTY AREA.
Everyone else has given you ideas etc. It is setting you up for a long training period.


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## rhondas (Sep 10, 2010)

@womn2blame

At what time do you take water away? You really should take water away by around 7pm. If Nugget appears thirsty let him suck on ice cubes. By 13 weeks puppies should be able to hold it overnight based on my experiences.

My now 4.5 year old came home from the breeder at 10 weeks old and slept through the night from the beginning.

I have a puppy who turned 16 weeks old today (came home at 9 weeks) and has been sleeping through the night since the third night home which means approximately 7 hours.

For both I took water away by 7pm.


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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

Count me as another that feels any indoor house training is a mistake. I'm a firm believer that puppy should learn from day 1 that all toileting is done outdoors.

Hank was 5.5 weeks when he came home. I put his crate in the bedroom so I could hear if he needed to go out. The first few nights he went out maybe twice, then for a week or so, once. After that he slept through the night. He never pooped or peed in his crate.


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## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

I am a night owl, so I would have my puppies last potty run at 11:30 to midnight, that would usually get me to 5:30 in the morning before they started crying.

I would actually wake them up for the last potty break. If they fell asleep at 9:00 or so that would guarantee a 3:00 wake up cry if they didn't have the midnight break.

Brady was a winter puppy during a very bad winter. When you take the puppy out in the middle of the night, make it all business. No patting, no puppy talk, just bring him outside and use your potty command "Go Potty" or "Hurry Up" (this is what they taught us to use ) and then through a party when he goes, then straight in the house. Because it is cold, he will learn really quick he wants get back in the house too.


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## iforget (Jun 26, 2009)

I too had my Golden that just passed away in Sept. trained to do both duties on command. It can be done. 
I totally agree that leaving room for potty outside the crate is setting yourself up for housebreaking failure.
As far as a pup going in the crate, do you have it blocked off so there is just enough room for a puppy? We concocted a false wall in our full size crate when we got a puppy. This false wall was able to be adjusted as she grew. Putting a puppy in a full size crate gives too much room.
We limited water at night before bed and mine always lasted through the night without having to be taken out at 3am. But I did get up earlier than I do now to take them out.


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## SWGoldenmom (Oct 25, 2011)

Our last golden, Tess, was also trained to go on command. For peeing, it was "go potty", and for pooping, it was "potty somemore". Everyone that ever came over to let her out for me if I was gone for an extended time was amazed to have a dog that would go on command. I hope I have that much luck with our new one!


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## ozzy'smom (Jun 18, 2011)

inge said:


> I have never used an indoor potty facility. I am also a stay at home mom, and during daytime I had Tess near me all the time, so when she would start to whine, I could take her out. The only time I put her in her crate, was when I went shopping or when I did things around the house where she would be in the way. During nighttime she slept downstairs, in het crate. Tess slept through the night from day 1, so I didn't have to take her out. Usually she would sleep from 11.00 to 5.30, when my youngest son has to get up for school.
> I have always taken her outside to potty. I think if it is your intention that your pup in the end has to go outside, and you have the time and stamina for it (Tess came home in the middle of December, snow and wind...!), one potty area is less confusing than one inside and one outside.


 
I'm did the same with Ozzy. I work from home so he was with me most of the day. I took him out on a regular basis to avoid accidents. He really only went in his crate at night or when I left the house. 

The one difference is we had a crate in our room. Our first Golden didn't do well the first few night but once we moved her crate in our room she was better so we didn't even bother to start elsewhere this time.

We picked up Ozzy's water early and then let him out right at bedtime. For a night or two he'd wake up and have to go out but then that stopped. He did wake up REALLY early for awhile though but then grew out of that too. 

One piece of advice I have is to pick your pup up early in the day if you can and give him a chance to settle in and also so that you can introduce the crate in a positive way. With our first dog we got her in the evening and didn't really have a lot of time to get him used to us and the crate before bedtime. I'm sure it was a shock for her to then get locked in for the night.


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## Calistar (Dec 13, 2011)

Let me add that I agree with not potty training indoors no matter what method you try. Raising pups for over 25 years I just set the alarm to take them out every three hours until they are about ten weeks old. By that age they have been close enough to where I sleep that I let them wake me up. Sometimes that meant sleeping on the couch. Our fourteen week old puppy goes from midnight to 9:00 am without needing to go. The other rule I have is that any time I have had the puppy in the crate during the day or night, we immediately go out to potty when I take him out of the crate.


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

rhondas said:


> @womn2blame
> 
> At what time do you take water away? You really should take water away by around 7pm. If Nugget appears thirsty let him suck on ice cubes. By 13 weeks puppies should be able to hold it overnight based on my experiences.
> 
> ...


I had a similar experience. My pup came home at 9 weeks. I picked up her water by about 7 or 8pm, and she had a last out at probably 11pm. The earliest she ever woke was 6am, and that was only for the first 2 days. After that, she slept through til 7 or 8. I never woke her up to go out - I followed her lead.

Also agree fully with the all business when you go out. No playing. Use you command - and teach it by saying it as your pup pees. The minute the dog starts to squat, use your prompt - and then throw a party. It'll catch on really soon. My dog's pee command is "quick quick!" I never taught a poo one, but recently realized that if she's taking too long, and I say, "are you done?" she goes, "oh, no, wait a minute!" and she poos.


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## Jean_NJ (Dec 15, 2010)

Crate training is the only way to go in my opinion. Also I gate off a puppy-proofed area of my house. Each dog is unique, but they need to "earn privileges" to other rooms. A golden puppy I think you have two items to consider 1)housebreaking 2) chewing/ingesting items. 

What seems to work for me is no eating after 6pm no water after 7pm. Last walk is about midnight and they usually seem ok until about 5:30. While they are still little, when they come out of the crate they never hit the floor, but rather get their collar and leash on and get carried outside. I go to the same spot and allow no investigating beyond that leash length area until business is done. High amount of praise with the command you use to "go" when they do the act, some people give treats (I don't). Once they do their business it is is time to play, investigate. When we are in the gated off play area we play and just try to act normal, correcting improper chewing.

When the puppy starts getting sleepy, or I have to leave the room, it is crate time with a toy. Every time they go in the crate, they need to go out so I repeat the process. Over time they go less frequently and you will learn their cues. As they learn the rules, the terrain in the house increases. Golden puppies like to chew and chew. Socks were always a favorite with our duncan, and i actually caught him opening hampers to get at them~

Establishing a schedule based on your household activity really helps. Tethering the dog to you helps too, so that you always have an eye on them as you go through your day. I like having a safe area though you can put them in as they grow and get a bit wild for a bit. 

We always keep the crate not in our bedroom, some people will have an opposite opinion, but this is what works best for us. Good Luck with your puppy!


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## MikaTallulah (Jul 19, 2006)

I have never restricted access to water after a certain time of night. Mine never peed or pooped in their crates/playpens. Last out is around 11pm but my 9 pm by puppies were always in sleep mood and did not really go to the water bowl. If they were thirty they could drink.


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