# pooping at 4am



## kiddie (Oct 12, 2010)

hi, my family recently adopted a 9 week old puppy. everything was fine until 4-5AM in the morning where it continuously whines. i read that i was to ignore the whining. it turns out that it needed to go poop which it happily does in the back yard. it needed to poop for the past 2 days at 4 and 5 am. will this continue and force me to wake up at this time to let it potty?


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## Cracker (May 25, 2009)

For a while it may be, yes. 
Like infant humans their schedule and body cannot allow long long periods without going to the bathroom. 
What time is his last meal of the day? Does he get an evening playtime or training session (movement MOVES THINGS) so you may be able to get the poo and pee out in the late evening before bed. 

What I usually recommend is you setting an alarm for the middle of the night, get up take him out, reward him for going and then go back to bed. This will likely only happen for a couple of weeks. He's a baby, it's part of the job of housetraining to anticipate his needs. Make sure it is only go out for business and then right back into the crate. No play time, or you may inadvertently train him to demand to get up and play. It's a fine line, but the fact that he is telling you he needs to go is a GREAT thing!


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## kiddie (Oct 12, 2010)

thanks for the reply. i try to get her to drink water an hour before we sleep and play with her for 30 min right before we sleep. can she really go without water from 10pm till 7am? i guess ill try to wake up in the middle of yhe night to give her more water and encourage potty time. 
i wish i can tell when her whining means potty and when it means play time.


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## Cracker (May 25, 2009)

kiddie said:


> thanks for the reply. i try to get her to drink water an hour before we sleep and play with her for 30 min right before we sleep. can she really go without water from 10pm till 7am? i guess ill try to wake up in the middle of yhe night to give her more water and encourage potty time.
> i wish i can tell when her whining means potty and when it means play time.


Yes, she can go without water til potty time. As for telling which is which with the whining, if you are consistent that the middle of the night walks are ALL BUSINESS, ie out pee, treat, back to the crate, you can pretty much be sure that eventually the whining will only be "i need to go" whining. She may also, being very new to you and the home, be a bit scared at night when she first wakes up...baby newly separated from littermates and mom.


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## sulla88bc (Jul 27, 2010)

Part of this might the time of her last feed. I found the smae problem until I moved his final feed from 6 pm to 8pm...then I could sleep til 6am (luxury). this stage passes quite fast and one minute you are wondering how on earth you are going to cope with the lack of sleep and before you know it they can go a full 7-8 hours overnight. Mine is 5 months now and he has been pee and poop free overnight for about 5 weeks.


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## kiddie (Oct 12, 2010)

thanks for all your input.
my solution for now is to let it out of crate to pee and poop when it wakes me up. then leave her outside of the crate. she likes sleeping on top of my dirty laundry, and is quiet until 7am and thats when she whines to go outside to pee again.


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