Hello,
We bought our puppy at 6 weeks, from a friend whose dog had a litter of 8 puppies. Our Bailey girl has always slept with us, in our bed, at night. The problem is that she wakes at least 2 and sometimes up to 4 times a night. She doesn't whine or bark. She just gets up, shakes her head and waits patiently until I get up (AGAIN !) to let her out. She goes to the back yard and does her business and jumps right back into bed, curls up and falls asleep until 2 or 3 hours later and it starts all over again. I work 5 days a week (days) and my husband work shift work. I go for a half hour walk every morning at 6:30 before work and when my husband is off work he takes her for a 1 hour walk in the woods in the afternoon. She always gets a walk in the evening and on weekends I take her to a doggy park and she has many play dates with my friends' dogs. She is a very active dog. She is a very fussy eater. Does not eat much and I have to change her food often because she gets bored very easily. I just wish she would sleep all night! Please help! Thank you!

Honestly, you have set this bad behavior up yourselves.

Dog gets up at 1am, you let it out, dog thinks it's great and starts doing it every night.

You need to stop getting up and letting her out. Even if she whines, wanders or barks, just tell her to be quiet and do not get up and let her out.
She needs to learn that once she is in that bedroom and once you are in bed, she is not to get up and ask to go outside.

Yes it will probably take a few nights of not being able to sleep but it's a sacrifice you will have to make to have a good nights sleep in the long run.

You other alternative is to invest in a crate. Crates are not instruments of torture as some people believe.
One of mine doesn't like sleeping on the bed, she would much rather curl up in her nice, secure crate.
Dogs like having their own space, in the wild wolves lived in dens, small, dark places underground... these days our small, dark places we give our dogs are made of wire, but the basic idea is still the same.

Thank you so much. This is our first dog and the whole thing is quite the learning process. I honestly never thought that refusing to get up for her during the night was an option. I will definitely start working on that. Thanks again.

Shazzy is right on the money with her answer.

Think of it this way. Your dog is not human. When you brought her into your home she had to learn what you expected, and what you'd accept. She learned to go potty outside, she learned that she'll get walks in the morning and night. She probably learned that chewing your shoes is not a good thing.

Everything she's been taught she learned from you, because as a dog she had no idea what we humans expect until she was taught.

Well, somewhere along the way you taught her (by getting up to let her out) that going potty in the middle of the night is okay. To her it's not defiance. It's not wrong. She whines, you get up. She thinks it's okay. She's been taught that this behavior is acceptable.

I just have one thing to add to all of this. Do you have a water dish standing out all day, or do you remove it after a certain time? Same with food. Does she have a set schedule for food or is the food dish left out so she can eat at her leisure?

This may be what's causing the need for night time potty breaks. Putting the water up on a table around 1 -2 hours before you want to go to bed, same with the food, should help. If she's allowed to eat and drink 24/7 as she sees fit, than it stands to reason that she'll have to pee or poo 24/7 as well.

It's a learning process. You'll get there. Just remember, she learns what you teach, so you do have to think about what behaviors you're instilling.

Good luck with your pup. :)

Thank you. We do have a water dish standing out all day but she does not drink much at any given time. Also, I put out some food at 7am. She barely touches it. I refill her dish at 4 or 5pm and she eats a little of that and then I remove it.

I would try removing the water dish before bed, around 1 or 2 hours before you want her to settle for the night. Make sure she has the chance for a last potty break right before bed, and a good walk would be a great idea too, should wear her out and get her empty. ;)

See if that makes a difference.

We have a 15 1/2 year old lab. We do leave the water dish out all night simply because he's so old, and he doesn't always eat or drink the way he should during the day. We pay for it though. I'm up a few times a night letting him out because he does get up frequently to have a few laps of water and then needs to go out to relieve himself. He can't hold it because of his age. Your pup is young enough that she should be able to go the night, if she's not drinking during the night.

Thankfully my other two dogs are lazy little buggers and can't be bothered to get up in the middle of the night unless they really have to go. :)

Your pup will learn. You're still at that wonderful age were new behaviors are fairly easy to instill. They do take time, patience, and sometimes a lot of hair pulling, but be consistent and she'll learn.

We love pictures. Hint, hint. :)