# Leave Doggy door at night?



## spartan031792 (Jun 5, 2016)

So my puppy is 13 weeks old, and I get up at 330 am every morning for a bathroom break. He's been really good about not going potty in the house. 

My parents proposed leaving the doggy door open at night so he can go whenever he wants instead of me getting up everyday. He sleeps right next to the doggy door and always sleeps on the cements because its cooler than the bed we have for him. I don't mind getting up and taking him but it would be nice to sleep 8 hrs without getting up. 

My concern is that he might stay out all night and get sick, instead of coming back inside to the garage. But he really likes the cold. On top of that, the doggy door is located on the other side of the house so he would have to travel in the dark to the other side to go potty. He's very smart and I know he's capable of this, I just dont him getting sick or something. What do you guys think?


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## cookieface (Jul 6, 2011)

At 13 weeks, I wouldn't rely on him to take himself out or to be trustworthy in the yard alone. I'd wait until he's at least past the puppy stage to give him that much freedom and responsibility.


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## spartan031792 (Jun 5, 2016)

What do you mean rely on him? 
Throughout the day, there are moments where he is inside and travels outside to go to the bathroom. He has freedom all day pretty much and has yet to demonstrate to me that he isn't capable. How old is considered past puppy stage? 


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## Kyllobernese (Feb 5, 2008)

I wouldn't feel comfortable letting a puppy that young be outside alone at night but I do live in the country and there are wild animals like bear and cougar roaming around. In a city I would be more worried about two legged trouble as a cute puppy is easily picked up and taken. It also could lead to your puppy starting to bark during the night when out alone.

If your puppy is 13 weeks, it should almost be old enough to sleep through the night if crated. My Doberman slept through the night by then and even my small dogs were not much older. The reason I mention crated is that when they are in a crate and not wandering around, they are more inclined to just sleep till you get up in the morning.


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## BKaymuttleycrew (Feb 2, 2015)

At that age, I would definitely recommend continuing to take him out for the necessary middle of the night potty breaks. 

Actually, at any age, I would recommend locking the dog door during the night - and here's my story as to why:

When we first moved to a very rural area & felt comfortable having a dog door I thought it would be wonderful to allow the (fully housebroken, adult) dogs 'bathroom' access 24/7. (They sleep in the sun room, which has the dog door, at the opposite end of the house from my bedroom.) Yeah - then one morning I woke up, walked out of my bedroom & the overwhelming odor of SKUNK hit my nostrils. I made my way to the sun room & there were both dogs laying in their crates, however Charlie stunk to high heaven!! Apparently he had run outside in the wee hours of the morning, 'tangled' with a skunk, then returned to his bed (pretending that nothing unusual had transpired) and waited for me to discover what had gone down.

Yeah - moral of the story: My dog door is LOCKED at sundown & not reopened until I get up in the morning. I would rather clean up a dog 'accident' than have to do 'skunk baths' before I've had my first cup of coffee!


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## PatriciafromCO (Oct 7, 2012)

BK lol... also have an exact same skunk story from my friends who had 3 adult dogs in the city with a solid fenced in backyard... and brand new carpet through out the house. The dogs came in after being sprayed and rolled and rubbed every inch of the new carpet in the house they had to replace it.

Lost alot of my barn cats to Owls and friends loosing her smaller breeds to owls.. How long does it take a dog who never digs to dig out and under a fence once time? Honestly if you feel comfortable that stuff unexpectedly happens, that you can't predict, hey why not give your pup a chance to have access to the dog door by their self.. 

The only reason to stay with you getting up and going with your pup who is successful with your assistance now.. is to continue to reinforce training with your direct support and guidance for the pup to go outside to potty.


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## SnarkHunter66 (Apr 30, 2016)

Where is the dog door? Is it direct access to the house? I guess I'm not understanding where the garage comes into this, unless puppy stays in the garage? If the dog door is direct access from the outside into the house, I'd lock it, if only to keep critters from coming in (raccoons can be pretty darned fearless, especially if there's a chance for a free meal). More predators roam at night, so I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving a young pup out to fend for itself, but that's just me.


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## spartan031792 (Jun 5, 2016)

So he sleeps in the garage. 
The doggy door is in the garage. 
That leads outside 
He weighs 17lbs 



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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

It won't be that much longer that he will need a middle of the night pee break. Maybe 4 or 6 weeks, probably no more than 8 more weeks. You getting up and taking him out serves two important purposes-- one is safety as dogs of any age but especially young puppies can get into trouble alone outdoors in the dark. The other is that you are able to reinforce the training of peeing outside by praising and rewarding him when you take him out.

But mainly, safety. There is just way too much that a young pup can do in a yard alone at night-- at risk from wild animals, digging out of the yard, eating something he shouldn't, going out in dangerous weather and similar.


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