puppy training to stop night time wakings

Our 10mo.old minature poodle who sleeps with us in bed has recently developed the habit of waking me up about 3am when I then take him outside of our apt. to go to the bathroom.

There has been no change in our norms including feeding, walking in the evening etc. I am becoming a senior citizen walking zombie so any thoughts you have would be welcome.

Jerry




Hi Jerry
I know how disruptive this can be and you have my sympathies!

If there's been no change in your household, activities or routine that could account for his change in behavior then it's either being caused by something physical, or has simply become a habit.

It's possible that a urinary tract infection is causing him to need to urinate more frequently. If this is the case you would probably also see that he needs to 'go' more often during the day too, and he may only pass a few drops sometimes. He may also be more thirsty than usual.

UTI's are fairly easy to diagnose and treat and your vet would be able to take care of this for you.

If your vet rules this out then it could be that this behavior has simply become a habit. Perhaps your pup actually DID need to urinate at 3am one night, and then the next night woke up at the same time and decided to 'go' again..... within a short space of time this can turn into a habit even though he doesn't really need to go.

The best thing to do is to ignore his complaining, and wait a bit longer each night (or is that morning!) before taking him outside. Gradually he will be going longer and longer, and eventually he will not wake you until morning. This advice does work, but it is more difficult to do when the pup is jumping on you at 3am! If he's been crate trained, or is familiar with a crate, I would suggest using that for a couple of weeks at night time as it is easier to follow this advice if the pup is crated.

Also, make sure you are not unintentionally 'rewarding' your pup for waking up. Keep these night time potty breaks quick and quiet - no eye contact, talking, playing, petting, treats etc. Just up - out - back to bed. Your little guy loves to spend time with you, so if a night time waking results in some attention, it will reinforce his behavior.

Basically you just need to break your little guy of this habit, and although you may end up more tired for a few days (sorry!), if you're patient and consistent you should be able to put an end to this fairly quickly. Best of luck.