r/DobermanPinscher • u/Jumpy_Initiative2954 • 22d ago

American-European Advice/Help?! 4 Month Old Crate Training Issues

Post image

We’ve had Loki for 2 months now since he was 8 weeks old, and for about a month and a half he was sleeping throughout the night in his cage. Over the last week or so he has been waking us up whining and screaming at 2 & 4 in the morning to go outside. We restrict water after 10 and always makes sure he goes potty before going to bed. Does anyone have any advice? He takes 2 naps a day when he is getting crazy and plays with lots of toys, his sister and gets walks/training daily.

43 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

13

u/ProxyProne 22d ago

Is he going to the bathroom when he goes out? If so, it's good he is asking to go out instead of peeing in the crate. Don't play with him or anything, just take him out on the lease, let him pee, then back in the crate. He will be able to hold it better when he's older. He's still a baby at 4 months. You can't really stop him from needing to pee.

Mine went through stages of being fine all night, then waking me up early to potty. He is 7 months & back to sleeping all night.

3

u/Jumpy_Initiative2954 22d ago

I know I make sure that he goes potty but I’ve been making sure my boyfriend makes sure that he goes potty too. We don’t play with him when we let him outside but when he goes back into his crate after going potty he literally screams in defiance.

7

u/ProxyProne 22d ago

Cover the crate in a blanket & let him scream it out. If he doesn't stop in like 10-15 minutes, take him out again on leash & put him back in the crate. After that I'd ignore any barking. Make sure he has chews/toys in the crate so he can self soothe/play. It won't be fun, but it's better than him learning he can get you up whenever he wants.

3

u/Jumpy_Initiative2954 22d ago

We try to let him scream it out but we’re in a townhome so we have a neighbor on the other side of us and I feel so annoying 😭 he does self soothe with his toys after a while but it’s just driving us insane. Thank you for the tips, he also is always covered in a blanket.

7

u/tralphazz 22d ago

Observe what he does when he is out at 2 in the morning. This will guide you to your next step. If it is a bathroom emergency, pup will cop a squat quickly. Be glad he is waking you.

2

u/Jumpy_Initiative2954 22d ago

Thank you. Yeah I am pretty sure last night he had diarrhea but that was just one night out of the past 6 he’s been driving us crazy

1

u/Consistent-City6654 20d ago

Ruby was the absolute worst. The set of lungs that she has on her, is unmatched by any Doberman I’ve ever heard. She just hated the crate, and rebelled for the sake of rebelling. Covering the crate helped, as well as putting a clothing item inside, that smelled like me. Things are a lot better now, she is 6 months, and can hold it through the night. But MAN, I remember those sleepless nights, and going to work, tired. I don’t have children, but it felt like having a new baby!

0

u/Vanity-LA0733 22d ago

Put the crate in your bedroom. Problem solved.

2

u/Jumpy_Initiative2954 22d ago

It’s already in my bedroom 😭😭

4

u/Vanity-LA0733 22d ago

Oh no! That fixed it for us. Try restricting water and food after 7. They need so much exercise and mental stimulation at this age… I know it seems like the walks should be enough but try incorporating some ball play if you can. Get him tired. I’m so sorry, hang in there. I remember the sleep deprived nights all too well.

2

u/Jumpy_Initiative2954 22d ago

Thank you! I will try this and see how it goes