# Crate training at night for 8 week old



## FrancoD13 (Aug 9, 2012)

Hypothetical question here...I know you are never supposed to let your puppy out of his/her crate when they are whining and not settled. But how does this work at night for a real young pup? They whine and such to let you know they have to go potty (presumably), so is it ok to let them out to go potty at this time? And...any tricks to know when they can get through the whole night without needing to go potty but they are just whining because they know you will let them out?


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## FrancoD13 (Aug 9, 2012)

I'm going to answer my own question...as I thought about this. Is it as simple as setting my alarm clock and waking the puppy up before he whines?


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

There is a time for "tough love". 8 weeks old is not that time.
With all my puppies, I laid a mat down next to their crate, covered at night, and essentially slept on the floor. 
If they would cry, or whine, I would gently tap on the crate door and in a low tone of voice, reassure them that they are not alone. If they cried out out, or were moving about whining, I got them immediately out the door to go to the bathroom.
I've personally never set an alarm. I just spend the first week, or two sleeping next to their crate.


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## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

Franco, at 8 weeks i would set the alarm, yes. 
also if puppy whines, you pick them up, take them out, keep giving clues, like `potty hurry`, if they do, praise, pick them up, back to house and crate. no extra fuss or playing (hence the picking up also on the way back). they are smart and will learn that unless they have to go, there is no reason to whimper, as there won`t be any `extras` added to the crate release.


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## Frida010 (Apr 24, 2020)

Hey there! We had a very successful crate training so I’m a big advocate of crating, because later it will give you so much peace of mind, and your dog a place to relax.

When we just got Fred, I did not have her crated in our bedroom, but in the other room next to our bedroom. I slept next to her crate on a mat for the first 4-5 days and the first 2 days she was allowed to sleep next to me from early in the morning. We bonded quickly by doing that. Then I moved to my own bed and after 3-4 weeks she was fully trained and we moved the crate downstairs.


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## Huggytree (Apr 21, 2020)

I’m currently crate training my 7 week old. What worked well on my last pup was . Stop water at 6pm. Crate at 9pm. I set my alarm for 1:30. I ignore everything he does. At 1:30am I take him out for bathroom. Every week I add 30-60 minutes if he continues to stay dry at night. My alarm wakes him up. Not his whining. Yes he wakes up and whine several times during the night. I ignore it. I set my final alarm at 6am for the night. Alarm goes off at 6am I take him out of the cage. If he starts whining at 5am I ignore it.

I decide what my dog does. Within reason for his age. If I let my dog decide then a 7 month old is training me vs me training my 7 month old


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## FrancoD13 (Aug 9, 2012)

So it has been 10 days or so now with the puppy, figured i’d send an update on how it went at night.
I limited water and food after 6:30 at night and took him out before bedtime ~10:30 or so. Put the crate right near my bed...no alarm set. He made it through until 6:00am with no issues. Slight whining at 3:00 but he was still lying down and head down so I kept him in. He now stays in with no issues until 6:35ish and that is only because I get up. So it has been great and pretty easy!!!


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