I have just gotten a puppy 2 weeks ago. He is now 10 weeks old. This is my first time crate training. At first he screamed. After a few days he quit, but now he starts to scream when he wants out in the night. When he hears me walking to him he will stop. I take him outside he goes and then I put him back in. A couple of hours later he will start whining again. Again I take him outside. He always goes to the bathroom. My question is, is it okay to let him out this way and not enforce the fact that his whining is what gets him his way. Also we take his food and water away at 5:30 pm but if he hears the water running he will sit behind me staring at me and whining. He will also start to whine when he gets to the end of his leash and we will not let him go any farther. Anything to do about this or is he just being a little puppy. He is a mastiff so I want to control him while he is still a little guy. Thanks, Ron

 Quote: Ronald Friesen

I have just gotten a puppy 2 weeks ago. He is now 10 weeks old. This is my first time crate training. At first he screamed. After a few days he quit, but now he starts to scream when he wants out in the night. When he hears me walking to him he will stop. I take him outside he goes and then I put him back in. A couple of hours later he will start whining again. Again I take him outside. He always goes to the bathroom. My question is, is it okay to let him out this way and not enforce the fact that his whining is what gets him his way. Also we take his food and water away at 5:30 pm but if he hears the water running he will sit behind me staring at me and whining. He will also start to whine when he gets to the end of his leash and we will not let him go any farther. Anything to do about this or is he just being a little puppy. He is a mastiff so I want to control him while he is still a little guy. Thanks, Ron

Ron

This is normal puppy behavior. He is going when you take him out so very soon he understand the routine.

Put your earplugs in, ignore the screaming and keep doing what your doing.

Lee

Hi Ron,

If he's actually going to the bathroom when you bring him out, I wouldn't say it's him getting his way. He obviously needs to go to the bathroom and has learned that when he needs to go out he needs to let you know. He is only 10 weeks old, so he will need to urinate during the middle of the night.
some pups can hold it longer than others, unfortunately it sounds like your little guy can't hold it for long, at least at this point in time.
Now, if he was whining to be let out and you took him out and he DIDN"T go to the bathroom thats a different story.

Sounds to me that he's just being a puppy right now with the whining at the end of the leash. I personally don't see that as being a problem with a 10 week old puppy. He might be frustrated with not being able to move ahead further and is vocalizing that with whining.

It's been a long time since' i've had a pup to contend with, and I haven't really fully read the puppy articles on here. So I have to ask if you read on here to stop the water & food at 5:30, or is that just your personal preference? What time does the little guy get put in his crate at night and what time does he get up in the morning? I can understand stopping the food early, but to me (and this is just my opinion) stopping water at 5:30 pm is a bit too soon. Especially if he doesn't get anymore until the next morning.
Again, thats just my thought about the water and like i said, I haven't had to deal with a puppy for a few years now.

Wendy

He is only a baby. An infant really. If a baby is crying in the night, you don't ignore it in order to not reward the crying.

This dog is telling you he needs to go out, you take him out, and he goes. Sounds like everything is going perfectly.

You have a problem only if he cries constantly or if he cries and when you take him out, he doesn't have to go but rather he wants to play.

At this age he is not old enough to hold it through the night. Myself I never withhold water from my dogs (especially puppies). I would not withhold it from a child, so why a baby dog. I know Ed recommends it, but I could never bring myself to do it. I already know they are going to have to go out at night. A two month old puppy can be expected to hold it for 3 hours, a 3 month old puppy for four hours and a 4 month old for 5 hours. I belive at 4 months my puppies could go almost the whole night.

At the age your dog is, I was feeding my pups 4 times a day (morning, noon, late afternoon and evening). At 12 weeks I fed them 3 times a day, then at 6 months changed to two times a day. 5:30 PM until morning is an awful long time for a 10 week old to go without food and water. He could be crying because he's hungry/thirsty.

It sounds to me like he is settling well when his needs are being met (he is taken outside and allowed to go to the bathroom, for instance). This is why he stops when he hears you walking to him, because he knows you are coming to take care of him. He sounds like a good puppy.

As far as leash walking, if he gets to the end of the leash, turn around and go the other way, so he never gets to be the leader. Distract him with toys and show him that you are more fun.

Edited to add: others posted while I was typing! it seems we all agree.

be patient. he IS an infant as stated above. be glad that he isnt just letting loose IN the crate and then you have a MESS to clean up at 2am. as he grows and his bladder capacity increases, so will the tiem between potties. it is a very difficult time with all the interrupted sleep, but it WILL pass. when he potties be sure to rpaise but not overly excited b/c you wnat him to stay sleepy and not fire up. once you know he is on "E", when you put him back in his crate THEN any whiining you could safely ignore (till the nxt go-round).
when he is an adult and views his crate as "his place" you will be SO glad you trained him this way.


be sure to monitor the length of time between "last call" for food/water and breakfast. if you are picking up at 5:30 then you should be giving it back prior to 5:30am. depending on the time you get up with him, dont pick up water too early. and food should be 3 meals a day right now, on a consistent schedule.

jen

With my puppies, who are crate trained from the day I bring them home, I watch for patterns like you describe. So, if he starts to whine or cry at 2 hours and 15 minutes to go out. then I get up at 2 hours and 5 minutes and take them out.

If I get up and the pup is still sleeping, I sit and wait for them to start to wake up but let them out before any noise starts. They get a treat when coming out, a BIG party for going potty, and a small treat when they go back in the crate. I always have a small dish of treats (m&m sized) on top of the crate so I do not forget.

This way, there is no chance that I am making the mistake of rewarding the negative behavior.

Does that make sense?

Thank you for all the help, it all makes good sense. I get up at 5:00 every morning but I'll try and extend the water a little longer and see what happens. Ron