# Waking up in the middle of the night problem



## Eagle (Jul 3, 2011)

Hello everyone..
I brought home a small male german shepherd dog he is 7 weeks old. 

He was found thrown in the road and someone took him in a dog shelter were i found him and adopted him.

He is a lovely and obedient dog, my only issue so far though is that he is waking up during night time and he was to go out, during the first days he was waking 2-3 times during night and he wanted to go out for a pee and play a bit too. Now he is waking up 1-2 times usually around 5am and then around 6.15am. Its a bit hard for me as I am working and i have to be at my work at 8am. A note if that can help, he is sleeping under my bed and always he is taking a shoe or slipper and using it as a pillow.

I am thinking to get a crate and have him sleeping there outside my house, I don't know if that would help or if he will cry all night and make things worse. I understand that he is a small puppy and he has been through a lot, he was thrown out in the streets,separeted from his mother and also he changed 2 places..he was living in a dog shop for 2 days then in a foster home for another 3 days before i got him

Any suggestions of how can i eliminate this frustrating problem? 

Also the people in the dog shelter named him Rudy but i want to name him something else something more common to a german shepherd dog..any suggestions for will be welcomed


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## sagelfn (Aug 13, 2009)

He is a BABY! it is NORMAL for him to pee at least every 2hrs. YOU CHOSE to take in this puppy. This is part of the responsibility. Buy a crate and keep him INSIDE your house.


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## cta (May 24, 2011)

it is going to be that way in the beginning until he grows up. he is most definitely a baby so you need to take that time to take care of his needs. think about a human baby...sometimes they wake up every 2 hours during the night to eat...you can't just move the baby further away and hope that they don't bother you anymore! same idea...this puppy's life is now your responsibility and the middle of the night stuff will not last forever. i never did this with my dog, but maybe limit his water before bed time and see if that helps? also, get him a crate.


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## SableHaus (Jul 1, 2011)

A puppy this young should be in a crate indoors. Provide plenty of water during the day, but don't allow your puppy to drink a large amount before you plan on going to bed for the night. Because he's so young, he's going to have to urinate in the middle of the night and this is completely normal. The best thing to do is take him out, let him urinate and bring him directly back to his crate without much stimulation to make him energetic. Go back to sleep, repeat as needed. EVENTUALLY, he will stop needing to go out as often. This did not take long with our current Shepherd puppy. It was a few weeks worth of this in and out business at night, and as he ages his bladder will mature. Does it suck when you're half asleep? Definitely!! I'd stumble outside half dressed looking like a zombie, but this is what it will take to get him trained.


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## Ruthie (Aug 25, 2009)

Yep. Normal. Basic rule of thumb formula is to take the number of months old they are then add one. This is the length of time they can go with out peeing. 

A crate is a good idea. Also, You might want to try taking him out on a leash at night. No play time, just potty then back to the crate. This can help prevent him fro getting you unjust to play.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

your pup doesn't have a problem your the
problem. if the pup needs to go in the middle of
the night so what, get up and take the pup out
as often as needed. i got my pup when he was
9 weeks old. the first week home (maybe longer)
he was out every 2 hours during the night.
during the day we took him out every 15 minutes.
every 15 minutes led to every 1/2 hour to every
45 minutes to every hour and so on. 

the pup should be in the house and crated when necessary.
Rudy is a nice name.


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

I'm with the others, crate him in your bedroom. It keeps him safe and speeds housebreaking. You're lucky you are only getting up once or twice a night, I've had puppies through here where I was setting an alarm to let them out every hour, every night for the first couple of weeks, in order to keep them dry in their crates.


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## xamtseeb (Aug 30, 2010)

Wow. Some people sounded so harsh and rude. 

Anyways, at least the puppy is needing to go. My puppies just went without a whine, and went where they stood. I had crates for them so I purchased puppy pads that soaked up their business. If you work hard, your puppy will be housebroken in no time.


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

crate inside. personally if you cant handle the housebreaking process, you shouldnt have gotten the puppy. Everyone has given you great advice on how to manage this. he's a baby. babies are not independent. they NEED someone to take care of them. and if he's really 7 weeks old, i find it hard to believe a shelter would adopt him out. crate train him, set an alarm for every two-3 hours to wake you up, take him out to potty on leash and bring him right back inside back to his crate and go to sleep and repeat again in a couple hours. Eventually he'll sleep through the night, just like a human baby and not need to potty so often. Crate training will be your best friend with potty training and in protecting your house while you're not home. Get into obedience classes once your pups got all his shots as well. it will help you more than you know.


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## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

One of the grwatest things to help the process of being able to go back to sleep is light. Get a couple of small nightlights, just bright enough to let you find your way to the door without breaking your neck. Pup whimpers, you take him out for h is couple of seconds, then he goes back in the crate and you fall back into bed.

If you make a production out of it and turn on the lights, hunt for your shoes/leash and then talk to the puppy BOTH of you will be fully awake and have a hard time falling asleep.
You also might temporarily alter your sleep schedule? Limit water after 7/8 pm. Stay up till 10,30 or so (or set an alarm to get up then). That will give you several hours of sleep time before the next potty break. You can also, if necessary just plan to get up a little earler to take the puppy out.


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## Anaz (Jul 6, 2011)

Wow, I didn't even think about the night light idea. Kira has been getting up about 2-3 times a night to go pee, which is totally fine, I'm actually thrilled with how the housebreaking is going (thank heaven for crates!), but we've been having trouble getting her to fall asleep after she goes out for a pee break. Now I see it's totally my fault...I always have my shoes, jacket, keys, leash ready to go so that there's no fussing about, but, I've been turning on the lights, talking to her, trying her to walk with me on the leash to her pee spot, when I should just leave it dark, pick her up, let her pee, bring her back into the crate. She's yelps like a banshee, understandably, but I'll give this a try tonight and hopefully bed time will get easier. 

I know all the issues I'm having (chewing, biting, etc.) are my fault not Kira's but I've been feeling stumped on the correct way to handle everything.

I love this forum, I just signed up and already you guys have given me hope!


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## Eagle (Jul 3, 2011)

Thank God we made a bit of a progress,the problem is me now ..i got used to waking up during night,so once i wake up let;s say around 1.30am i take the dog outside, he ALWAYS pee, then back in the house and back to sleep. Until 6-6.30am that his alarm ticks and he wakes up  ,,i can not complain though is much better than waking 2-3 times every night


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## rjThor (Mar 27, 2011)

Eagle said:


> Hello everyone..
> I brought home a small male german shepherd dog he is 7 weeks old.
> 
> He was found thrown in the road and someone took him in a dog shelter were i found him and adopted him.
> ...


Doesn't sound like a problem, sounds like you got a puppy that's house broken, not a bad thing. As far as waking up at them hrs., that's not going to go away, and it's normal for the puppy to sleep under your bed and grab a shoe or slipper, matter of fact if he's not chewing it up, you are lucky once again. Sounds like you got yourself a great puppy, and as far as the crate, not a good thing to keep him outside, kind of a cruel thing to do to a puppy that small. My puppy is almost 8 months, and he wakes me up at about 2am and 5am to go outside. I just take it as a good and not a bad thing. Good luck


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## Eagle (Jul 3, 2011)

*Finally an almost good night sleep*

I think finally Rudy understand the beauty of a good night sleep. For the last week he is not waking up during the middle of the night, he sleeps at around 10-10.30pm and wakes up at 6am, a bit frustrating to wake up that early but I can not complain since he stopped waking up in the middle of the night, When he wakes up at 6am though is a race to go outside,If i don't take him outside within about 2 minutes he can not hold it and he will pee...its a bit fun as i sometimes run outside with one sock since i do not have the time to get fully dress 

Thanks you all for your guide-responses :hug:


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

have your slippers or shoes next to the bed. sleep in something
that you can go outside in. wake up, slippers on and
out the door with the pup. i'm glad it's working out
for you. you had me worried in the begining.



Eagle said:


> its a bit fun as i sometimes run outside with one sock since i do not have the time to get fully dress
> 
> Thanks you all for your guide-responses :hug:


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## Esoteric (Jul 18, 2011)

i had the same problem as you it only took a 3 or 4 weeks for him to get a schedule i still miss the signs tho but im working on it


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## Riley3696 (Aug 24, 2011)

We are going through the same thing. Im just glad Riley is now waking me up. At first he would just go in his cage and sleep in his pee or poo. Mom didn't like waking up to the smell of poo and having to give a pup a bath at 3:00 am. I just use the excuse he kept me up all night to take a nap.


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