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I need some help with my 5 month old Bichon. I've had him close to a month now and I've been trying different things with his crate training. Lately he has peed in his crate every night. I take him out about every 30 minutes or so in the evening before bed, sometimes he goes sometimes he doesn't and I've also been restricting his water after 8pm because I know he has a small bladder. I guess what I wanted to ask about was two things I have been doing which may be counterproductive. One was that I started taking him out in the middle of the night when I would wake up to him pacing in the crate(which is pretty much all night). At first he would go and do his business right away, now I wake up about 12:45am (earlier than when I used to take him out before!) after he has only been in the crate two hours and I'm already too late. Now I'm thinking I probably wasn't doing him any favors by taking him out and interrupting my sleep because half the time now he just walks around and does nothing even with prodding.

The other thing I've been doing is putting a towel in the crate at night but not during the day. This was to dampen the sound of his nails. the first week I had him he was dry nearly every night with no midnight walks, now like I said he is peeing on the towel i put down for him every night. Should I take out the towel put in some earplugs and hope for the best?

Thanks

Well, I'm not a fan of water restriction overall in order to control when/where a dog goes. That's just me though.

I guess once your dog has decided it's ok to pee in the crate, that's a hard habit to break. A 5 month old should be able to get through the night, but it may not be a full 8 or 9 hour night.

So, take your dog out for it's final outting right before you go to sleep. Make 100% sure he's relieved himself. If he's outside and not on task, bring him back in, wait a few minutes and do it again. Potty breaks are different from walks. Don't play with, give much attention to, or do much talking unless your puppy does what yo uwant. Then praise lavishly, reward, and possibly then play for a bit outside. Many dogs like being outside and going potty signals they have to go inside so they prolong it. If you make play the reward then they hurry up and do their business so they can play.

Once inside, put puppy into the crate and do not open until 7 hours later. Yes, get ear plugs if you need to. Also, there are some waterproof puppy pads you can put in the crate that will make your puppy more comfortable in the crate, but make cleaning up messes easier. I'd investigate getting two of those so you can rotate if there are any accidents. I prefer my dogs to have comfortable crate mats. They seem to sleep better and I too don't like the noise.

See if that works. IF not, maybe someone else has a few ideas.
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Chelle and the rest of the crew including, but not limited to Kita and Taiko (the shiba inu wrestle maniacs), Adi (reserved and dignified tabby cat), and all 28 reptiles

Hi Chelle,

Thanks for your response. We actually had a dry night last night! When my husband got home he had pooped in the crate during the day, but he took him out right away like he always does and then we've been setting a timer for 15 minute intervals for the first hour or so that we are home to get him "empty". After an hour or so of that we slow it down to every 30 minutes until bed. He was being really stubborn in not going right before bed but at the last minute I decided to take him one more time and he finally did go. My husband also feeds him first thing when he gets home so he has the whole evening to "process" it and doesn't go to bed with an overly full tummy. Lastly I am using training treats for when he goes potty and making a big deal out of it. Now he's so funny because after he pees or poops he turns around and jumps up at me like "hey I did it!" I love him so much he's so cute.

One question I wanted to ask is where can I get those pads you were talking about? is this something washable? I would definitely be interested.

When he does have an accident in the crate and we don't see him like when we are gone or sleeping, there's nothing I can do to reprimand him, right? Just trying to figure out how to get him to think that's a bad idea since he doesn't seem terribly bothered by stepping in it.

Thanks!

Good job! Keep it up!

AS for the crate pads, well, there are disposable ones that are called 'piddle pads' that you can buy at any pet store. There are also dog beds that have waterproof/resistent liners that you can buy covers for and change the covers. I just found mine at a local pet store as well.
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Chelle and the rest of the crew including, but not limited to Kita and Taiko (the shiba inu wrestle maniacs), Adi (reserved and dignified tabby cat), and all 28 reptiles

>>I need some help with my 5 month old Bichon. I've had him close to a month now and I've been trying different things with his crate training. Lately he has peed in his crate every night. I take him out about every 30 minutes or so in the evening before bed, sometimes he goes sometimes he doesn't and I've also been restricting his water after 8pm because I know he has a small bladder. I guess what I wanted to ask about was two things I have been doing which may be counterproductive. One was that I started taking him out in the middle of the night when I would wake up to him pacing in the crate(which is pretty much all night). At first he would go and do his business right away, now I wake up about 12:45am (earlier than when I used to take him out before!) after he has only been in the crate two hours and I'm already too late. Now I'm thinking I probably wasn't doing him any favors by taking him out and interrupting my sleep because half the time now he just walks around and does nothing even with prodding.
>>
>>The other thing I've been doing is putting a towel in the crate at night but not during the day. This was to dampen the sound of his nails. the first week I had him he was dry nearly every night with no midnight walks, now like I said he is peeing on the towel i put down for him every night. Should I take out the towel put in some earplugs and hope for the best?
>>
>>Thanks

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Small dogs have less holding capacity, and they need their water so restricting it is not recommended. That goes especially for a Bichon, because they seem to be especially weak in the kidney/bladder area. They need access to water.

A dog who has been confined in a crate with his own urine has had his ability to stay dry in there compromised. He needs to be confined elsewhere than a crate for now, and also evaluated by the veterinarian. Instead of a crate, use a small room with a baby gate on the door, and provide him with papers or pads to relieve himself. Also have water and chew toys in there for him, at the opposite end.

For a large dog, the rule of thumb is not to ask him to hold it for longer than his age in months plus one, so a 5 month old BIG pup would not be asked to hold it longer than 6 hours. The maximum to ask any dog to hold it at any age is 8 hours. Some will manage it longer, but you risk problems such as separation anxiety, the complete loss of ability safely stay in a crate, and physical illness.

A small dog cannot hold it as long as a larger one, and small male dogs take longer to housetrain, plus they usually must be neutered in order to become reliable loose in the house after puberty. Housetraining a male Bichon is not like housetraining a larger dog. They truly have special needs and special limitations. At the link below my signature you'll find an article on Housetraining Small Dogs that should help.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

I'm not really understanding why a dog with a small bladder would have problems with restricted access to water when I am about to leave or crate him. I have bladder problems myself and because I know what my holding capacity is I don't drink any fluids while on road trips or when I know I won't have access to a bathroom. I wouldn't see why this is any different. He drinks all the water he wants when we are home and can be there to let him outside to relieve himself. Also I have a jack russell who is six years old and has never had any bladder or kidney issues due to holding it. He stays in a crate while we are at work and is loose the rest of the time including nighttime with no accidents. he gets about 3 walks a day. I don't expect the puppy to be accident free or to hold it nearly as long as my jack, but when he is older then I don't see why he would have problems with holding 8 or 9 hours. The jack lasts longer than that of course, but he is 6.

Last night we had a dry night, yippee!