[LabbyDaddy]

Alfie is 12 weeks old and is great! However we typically wake up in the morning to a liberal measure of poos and wees, which is not the most pleasant thing to behold before breakfast!

We let him do his business in the garden at midnight before we go to bed, and return at 7:00AM. Is this too long for a dog his age? Also, we leave a full bowl of water, which is invariably gone in the morning. Is this a mistake?

I was also a little concerned that his food (a mixture of tinned Chum puppy food and dry Chum puppy food with a little water added) was causing him some diarrhea.

When he first arrived we tried using a crate but he created so much fuss that we relented and allowed him the riegn of the kitchen/utility room, which is a safe area.

Any tips please?

 

[Karen_theArtist]

Hi there

Our choc pup is also 12 weeks old and full of mischief!

First of all we started him in just a bed where he had free-reign of the kitchen... mistake, found the oven gloves, teatowel in his bed one morning as well as going to toilet on the floor instead of the newspaper!

We had been given a crate so used that 3 days later (was worried he wouldn't like being in it after having the kitchen to himself) and put it up during the day. He wandered in and out of it all day and even had some snoozes in it without us even having to encourage him in there, having his bedding in it probably helped. He seemed happy enough to go to bed in it as well.

At night we go to bed around 10pm and he'll sleep through until 6.30am quite happily with no noise or mess. He'll then get let out in the garden as soon as we're up and wee and poop out there. We don't put water in with him, I make sure he has his last drink before he goes to bed, ideally half an hour before but sometimes he will drink just before his bedtime, but he still stays dry. I've now taken out the newspaper from his crate (had half that and half his bedding) as he never uses it. Hopefully this will continue! :lol:

I used to put some toys in there for him, so he felt it was his little place. Try and encourage him to go in it during the day without closing the door on it, but don't shut him in it if he's been naughty. Also if he's in it at night and starts to whinge, ignore him. Corbie did it one night which he hadn't before so I thought something was wrong, but he was trying it on. When he did it the same time the next night I left him and he went back to sleep.

 

[LabMad]

Hi guys,
Our 8 week old Beau has got the run of the dinning room over night at the moment. she does have a crate which she sleeps in during the day with the door open. We did try to shut the door on her at first in the crate overnight. she would be OK for three hours maybe and then she would howl and bark. we tried it for a week but it got to the point where we had to wear ear plugs so that we could sleep. When we got up to her in the morning, she has pee'd and pooped in her cage. we gave in eventualy and she now has the crate door open. I think we will try again when she is a bit older and can controll her bladder a bit better.
Matt. :razz:

 

[jibber]

We introduced Molly to her crate as soon as she came home, for the first 2 nights she was put to bed at 10:00ish. (with no water after 9:00pm) having had a last "pit stop" just before bed, then there was a 3am wake up.
After the 2 nights she happily slept throught until between 6-7 with no noise, and no need to go out.
we have only had about 3 pee accidents so far (17 weeks old now), and mostly they were our fault for failing to read the signs that she needed to go out!..
We were pretty religous for the first few weeks in taking her outside every hour, after food, after water, after play etc etc etc, It seemed she never associated inside with going to the toilet!..
Now she will come and "get" us if we haven't noticed her go to the back door!...she will trot ober, whine at us, and then trot away towards the door...
Maybe we should rename her Lassie.....

 

[LabbyDaddy]

Looks like we might be making a mistake leaving a full bowl of water (approx 1 pint) overnight, because the water is making its natural journey starting with Alfie and ending with the kitchen floor :lol:

We will try removing the water bowl overnight and see if this makes a difference.

Thanks for your help and I'll let you know in the morning whether it worked!