[rjalex]

Dear friends,
in 20 days our first Lab puppy will join home.
Reading and watching videos I'm sold to sacrifice some of my sleep and try using the crate to accelerate "toilet" training.

I'll put a comfy crate, large enough to be comfortable but not to invite releasing, near my living room window so that when the pup comes out of it I am already at the window on my little garden where I hope the doggo will relieve itself.

I am prepared to wake 2-3 times at night for the first weeks to help him of course. Will sleep on the couch not far from him so I can hear if he's in trouble.

Now the question How would you discriminate he he'll be crying because he needs to go versus just being bored and wanting to get out and have company/fun at 2 AM?

Thanks a lot.

 

[JohnW]

I normally go to bed at around 11pm, so last thing before going to bet I take my pup out and wait however long it takes for her to perform. Usually the first day or so I'll get up at 2am, again at 4am, just slip on a dressing gown and take pup out. I'll then get up and get dressed at around 6am.

Because I'm an old man and now retired I want to stretch getting dressed eventually to 8am, but how long that takes depends on the pup. If I find pup does not want to do anything on the 2am take out I'll change the schedule to 3am and 5am, getting dressed at 7am.

If that's going ok I'll move to 4am and up at 7am. Amy arrived here at 7 weeks old and was sleeping through to 8am within 4 nights, well before she was 8 weeks old! Chloe was 8 weeks old when she arrived and was took 5 nights to sleep through.

How would you discriminate he he'll be crying because he needs to go versus just being bored and wanting to get out and have company/fun at 2 AM?

Think, "Did he do all he needed when he went out? If so then he should not need to go out. (Thats not to say that he does not WANT to go out, but needing and wanting are two different things.) If he cries try to wait until he stops crying before getting up. What you dont want is for him to work out that he only needs to cry and you will come running! When you are taking him out, keep it low key. I never put the light on and I dont speak or touch my pup, I'm there for one thing, and one thing only. The only thing I do is to say "Good girl" (or boy) when they have done what they went out for. Dont allow it to become a game or it will start to be fun rather than a toilet break. Have a torch handy for when you take him out. Dont shine it on him and dazzle him. I always shine it behind, close enough that I can see if my pup is performing. When I take pup back in again no speaking, just pop him back in his crate and thats the end of it.

 

[rjalex]

Thanks a lot for your wise suggestions.
I'm oldish too but need to work another 8 years before I can retire
I usually go to bed "with the chickens" at 930 and wake up spontaneusly around 1230 - 1AM and then around 5AM ... need to wwake up my little child at 0730 to bring him to shcool.
We'll try to adapt
Have a great YE

 

[JohnW]

The timetable I gave is just my personal timetable at the moment. But we all have different needs and have to arrange things to fit in with our own schedule. The most difficult time for me was when I was a shift foreman, running a department which was working a 3 shift pattern. At that time I was working any hours of the day or night. Luckily at that time all my dogs were adult, and well able to adapt to the circumstances at any particular day. At that time I had somebody else who could feed or let the dogs of needed. A godsend at the times when I has to spend two or three days and nights without leaving the firm.

 

[rjalex]

Shift work is the hardest to cope with!!! Hope you can manage your time following more personal rythms now.

Be safe and take care and happy 2021!!!