Re: Still getting up at 3:30 a.m. to take my JRT out

In Reply to: Still getting up at 3:30 a.m. to take my JRT out
Category:   House Breaking
Posted by:  Melanie
Posted on:  June 26, 2002 at 10:36:24

: My JRT, Bart, is now 5 months old and I am still getting up every night at 3:30 to take him outside to pee. How do I know when to stop doing this? (the lack of sleep is killing me!) He still pees in his crate sometimes even with the middle of the night break. Otherwise he is doing well with housetraining and generally its our own fault if he has an accident for not watching him closely enough.

: Thanks.

Response:

Dear Melanie,

A 5 month old puppy generally needs to be let outside at least once during the night. Having to pee twice in one night is unusual; that is, unless he's consuming a lot of water up until bedtime! I think it's better to be safe then sorry so I would have him checked out by the vet to make sure he doesn't have an infection or other health problem that is causing him to have to pee so often.

I'm sorry but there really is no set age when a pup is able to make it through the night. One of the reasons I suggest putting the crate in the bedroom next to the bed is because sometimes a whimper/whine at 3:00AM is for comfort, not potty. A gentle touch and a soothing "go back to sleep" is enough to quiet a lonely pup. If, after several minutes, the pup doesn't go back to sleep then he definitely needs to go potty. (I can't tell you how many times I woke up with my fingers still inside the puppy's crate -- LOL!)

You can always tell a puppy owner by the slightly dazed expression on their faces caused by sleep deprivation...I assure you we've all worn that expression! And I hope knowing that we've been there brings YOU some comfort. :-)