Potty training is not that simple. Right? Lots of stuff to know!
Raising a new puppy is no less than raising a newborn human and that includes “waking up several times a night”.
Should I wake my puppy up to pee at night? It depends upon the age of the puppy. You cannot wake up a very young puppy to pee at night. Wait until he is about 12 weeks old because at this time you should be consciously starting potty training. Don’t forget to set an alarm and if he wakes up on his own, give him a toilet break.
A less than 3 months old puppy would be sleeping all day with small “awake breaks” in-between. You can provide them with a toilet break right before they sleep and right after they wake up. At this age, your new friends need A LOT of sleep because their brains are developing so fast.
Puppy’s Night Time Potty Schedule Table (According To Age)
Here’s a quick overview of what to expect and what to do according to the age of the puppy.
We will get into the details after this table.
| Age | How often he pees | Recommendation about waking up to go potty |
|---|---|---|
| 1-8 weeks | Every 1-2 hour | * Sleeps all-day * Very weak bladder muscles * You can put on a diaper * No need to wake up to pee |
| 9-12 weeks | Every 2-3 hours | * Still very young (weak bladder muscles) * Aim for setting good potty habits by providing potty breaks * Give potty breaks right after he wakes up and right before bed * You can wake him up to pee if he sleeps for longer |
| 12-16 weeks | Every 3-4 hours | * The best time to start potty training * Enough control over bladder muscles * You should wake him up to pee at night * Give at least 2-3 potty breaks at night |
| 4-7 Months | Every 4-7 hours | * Continue with the potty training process * Bladder muscles are getting stronger and stronger * Dog will start sleeping overnight * You must wake him up to pee at night. * Give at least 1-2 Potty breaks |
| 7+ Months | 2-3 times a day | * By this age, the dog should be fully potty trained. * Dog will sleep overnight and will control bladder overnight too. * No need to wake him up to pee at night (unless he has a medical condition or he is regressing the training) |
| Very old | unknown | * A very old dog will have weaker bladder muscles. * He may develop medical conditions like diabetes. * Wake him up to pee at night according to his schedule. |
How to Potty Train a puppy at night?
Here’s your complete guide to nighttime potty training of your puppy.
For how long a puppy can control his bladder?
As a rule of thumb, a puppy can hold his bladder for one hour for every month of his age unless
- He is older than 7 months old (When he will be fully potty trained, he will hold it for longer)
- He is a small dog breed
- Any medical condition
- He is regressing potty training
- Urine marking
- He is just peeing without actually needing to go (like when he smell urine somewhere and went)
Should you wake up 1-8 weeks old puppy to pee at night?
At this age, the puppy is too young just like a newborn baby.
Most people don’t even adopt the puppy until he is 8 weeks old. but if you are the one whose dog gave birth then you have to take care of the things.
At this age, the puppy will pee almost every hour and you are not supposed to take care of the potty breaks all day and night.
So it is best to put a diaper on the puppy and change it every time.
The puppy will not develop a nighttime sleeping pattern. He will sleep all day long with short “awake breaks”.
As soon as he wakes up, he is more likely to pee.
Should you wake up 9-12 weeks old puppy to pee at night?
According to pet place, by the age of 8 weeks, the puppy is able to understand that what behaviors are allowed and what are not.
8+ weeks is the best age to start setting good potty habits, but remember that your goal should be “only to set good potty habits”. He won’t be potty trained any sooner.
We don’t recommend waking the puppy up to pee at night at this age. Put on a diaper (change it when he is up) and provide regular potty breaks when he is not sleeping.
He needs sleep more than anything.
If he sleeps for longer, you can wake him up to pee.
Should you wake up an 12-16 weeks old puppy to pee at night?
12 weeks is the best to consciously start potty training. The puppy is old enough to understand the potty commands and he is developing his bladder muscles at a fast pace.
Now is the time when you must wake him up to pee at night.
At around 16 weeks old, the puppy will start sleeping overnight and will spend more “awake time” in the day.
It will be easier for you at this time. He will need almost 2-4 potty breaks during the nighttime.
Related articles:
Why is my 12 week old puppy still not potty trained? (how to train him)
What is the right age to start potty training a puppy?
Should you wake up a 4-7 months old puppy to pee at night?
A 4 months old puppy should be able to hold his bladder for more than 4 hours.
You can wake him up 2-3 times at night for a potty break according to his age and schedule.
And by the time he is 7 months old, he should now be fully potty trained. He should be able to control his bladder overnight and you don’t need to wake him up to pee at night unless he is regressing his potty training (which is quite common in dogs less than 1 year of age.)
Here’s how to know that your puppy is now fully potty trained.
Should you wake up a 7+ months old puppy to pee at night?
You are not supposed to wake a 7+ months old puppy to pee at night. He must be fully potty trained by now and he should be controlling his bladder overnight.
But in case, your dog is much older and is now actually “old”, his muscles will start to weaken. And illnesses like diabetes will cause him to pee more often.
Then you can provide him with the potty breaks at night.
Old dogs are also prone to regress their potty training.
A puppy’s nighttime Potty schedule should look like this
- You must remove his water and food bowl at least 2 hours before bed.
- Take him outside to pee right before he is going to sleep.
- Don’t forget to give him a second chance to pee when you are out, to make sure that he empties his bladder completely.
- Set up the alarms according to the age of the puppy, like for a 12 weeks old puppy, set alarm every 2.5 -3 hours and wake him to pee at this time.
- The first potty break will be sooner (like after 2.5 hours) but on the other hand, the second and the third potty break can be more distant like after 3-3.5 hours.
- If you find out that he has peed before your alarm, you should adjust your alarm.
- When you are taking him outside to pee, DO NOT make it fun for him. Keep the things quick and silent and put him back to sleep as soon as possible.
- You must have a fixed potty command to signal the puppy that it’s time to pee. Without a command, when you will take him outside, how would he know that why you are here.
Where should you take your puppy to pee when you wake him up?
Now, when you are going to wake your puppy up to pee at night, where can you take the sleepy guy.
Take outside to pee
Always take the puppy outside to pee where you have designated the potty spot. Do not be lazy! You can’t just take him anywhere around and ask him to pee.
For successful potty training, you need to fix one potty command and one potty spot.
Carry him outside to pee
It is also a good idea to carry him to the pee spot. Because the puppy will be sleepy and he may pee right after waking up.
When you will pick him up, he will try to hold it and that could be beneficial.
Here’s some more information about carrying the puppy to pee outside.
Take him to the puppy pads
If you are training your puppy to use the outdoor bathroom, then we don’t recommend using pee pads at night.
Whatever potty spot you choose for your dog, STICK WITH IT.
Do not keep changing the places, your puppy will become confused and it will be much harder to achieve success in your puppy’s potty training.
So if you are using puppy pads during the daytime training, then use the same pads in the same place to take him to pee.
What to do if the puppy pees in the crate during the night?
You should put on the diapers on a very young puppy who would sleep all day. And change it frequently. (especially right after he wakes up).
While for the older puppy, who is going to pee on the spot at night too. If you find an accident somewhere in the crate, immediately take the puppy out and clean the crate properly with a suitable enzyme cleaner.
Change your alarm setting according to the current requirements.
Be more firm with the routine.
Is using a diaper a good idea?
Using a diaper for a puppy is not a good idea when he is able to follow the command and knows what is happening.
But for a very young puppy who doesn’t even know what is going on around him. He can’t properly balance and control his muscles, using a diaper can be a great tool to save you from “cleaning and cleaning and cleaning”.
A puppy older than 8-12 weeks should be going out to pee instead of wearing a diaper.
Do You need to wake up an older dog to pee at night?
Healthy dogs do not need to wake up to pee at night, because they have enough control over their bladder muscles.
At this age, they should be fully potty trained so if they will feel the urge to go, they will go.
But if you are potty training an older dog, (like if he is a stray dog or a puppy mill dog) who was not trained before, you should remove the water and food bowl 2-3 hours before bed so they don’t need to go during the night.
However, to be on the safe side, for the first few days, you can wake him up after 3-4 hours of going to bed. Take him to the potty spot and ask him to pee.
In the following cases, you must wake up your older dog to pee at night.
- He is regressing potty training.
- Any medical condition like UTI or diabetes is causing him to pee more often.
- He drank water before bed.
- He played right before bedtime.
Takeaway:
Should I wake my puppy up to pee at night? You cannot wake up a very young puppy (less than 8 weeks old) to pee at night. It doesn’t make sense. A puppy who is older than 8 weeks old starts understanding the commands so it depends upon you if you want to wake him up or not. However, 12 weeks is the perfect age to start potty training and now you should definitely wake him to pee at night. You don’t need to wake up an older than 7-9 months dog to pee at night, they should control it overnight.
