Any Ideas

My Chihuahua Heidi is 2 and she is still urinating at
night,even though she is let out before I go to bed,
she does'nt do it every night,I've never had this before
with any of my other dogs,unless they were ill,Heidi
certainly is'nt ill.
Has anyone any ideas as to why and how to stop her?,
she did this for a while after I got her,but I put it down
to being in a new home which is fair enough,but she's
been with me for well over a yr now,so that is not the
problem,it is'nt regular like every night,but I think at
her age she should not be doing this.
I would be grateful if anyone can come up with some
answers.

Hi Cally,

I'm no expert by ay means but you say she's not ill - hav e you taken her to the vet for a physical check up? There may be an underlying cause they can pick up on that you've not yet thought of. Or maybe a mild water infection? Although if it's only at night and sometimes it's doubtful.

Maybe it's just a habit she's got into. Where does she sleep? Is she able to get to you for you to let her out in the night if need be?

Or maybe there have been sublt changes you may not have noticed - time of feeding? Walking? Time of coming home from work? etc ALl these can add up to be enough of aa change to the routine to stress out a dog (particularly GSDs anyway).

Maybe it's worth going back to basic with her at night time ie take her out a bit later, let her out in the morning a little earlier and I'd put some paper down in the kitchen (for example) too. I know it's not ideal for her to relearn to pee on the floor in the house but if it's at least on the paper you put down for her you won't have so much cleaning up.

Maybe CC could advise better than me and others who have Chis.

Laura xx

Hi Cally rather than letting Heidi out you need to take her out then you can be sure she is 'empty' when going to bed.
I have always taken my dogs for a short walk at 10:30 -11 pm every night. Sniffing around other scents and a bit of exercise will usually stimulate a dog to relieve itself then it should be clean until morning.

Having Chis, I suppose I should be able to advise but I've really never had this problem. Mine have all been clean, day and night, by about 14 weeks, some a lot earlier. I put this down to crating or penning them at night/when I go out. It's the old thing of they don't like toileting where they sleep and I give them an area with their beds, which just leaves space for a water bowl and a pee mat (I put it there in case they are caught short but it is never used - peepads last me forever - haha).

You don't say whether you crate her or not. If you don't, then you might want to start. Failing that, I'd say that maybe (I think Mini said this too) she is not relieving herself before bed. When I put my lot out before bed, I go out there with them and clean up as they go. Sometimes, I'm out the garden for 20 mins at around midnight! They don't get to go into their beds until they've "performed"

Good luck. I'm sure she's okay. It might, however, be an idea for the Vet to check her over, maybe a urine sample check, if she continues to do this.

Having said that, my Mum's Yorkie has always pee'd during the night and she's 10. My Mum leaves newspaper for her at the back door though and she has the run of the flat, so really my Mum's fault, not the dog Sometimes Mums don't listen to their kids (even when their kids are 44 ). My Mum puts the paper down each night, then moans that her Yorkie uses it

Heidi has been clean,it's just recently that she's
started,I got up at 5 this morning,to find she had just
weed,I'm wondering if she has got a problem,but she
seems ok when she does wee no straining or crying,
that would indicate pain on passig urine,or perhaps she's
not relieving herself when let out last thing,I really don't know.

Exercise has a huge effect on elimination. Minihaha is right, make sure she walks some that last trip out.

Then put her in a small crate for the night. It is only natural that a puppy resists its crate at first. What the puppy wants more than anything else is to be others, you, anyone else in the household, and any other pets. In our modern society, even if we are home, other things distract us from the attention an uncrated puppy must have. The only real solution is to crate the dog when you aren't around. The dog may be happier in its den than loose in the house. It relaxes, it feels safe in its den. It rests, the body slows down reducing the need for water and relieving its self. Dogs that have been crated all along do very well. Many of them will rest in their crates even when the door is open. I think the plastic ones give the dog more of a safe, enclosed den feeling. Metal ones can be put in a corner or covered with something the dog can't pull in and chew. Select a crate just big enough for the full grown dog to stretch out in.

Leave it some toys. Perhaps a Kong filled with peanut butter. Don't leave anything in the crate the dog might chew up. It will do fine without even any bedding. You will come home to a safe dog and a house you can enjoy.

A dog that has not been crated since it was little, may take some work. Start out just putting its toys and treats in the crate. Praise it for going in. Feed it in the crate. This is also an easy way to maintain order at feeding time for more than one dog.

The "shut the puppy in a safe room" is a fallacy. Very few houses even have a safe room. How many of us have a room with a hard surfaced floor and nothing else? Most rooms have electrical cords to chew if nothing else. In addition to destroying anything a bored puppy finds to chew, it may choke or have intestinal blockage from the pieces. I had a friend that left her dog in a "safe" room. It ate a hole in the floor covering. The safe rooms fail to give the dog the comfort of the enclosed space their instinct requires. Nor do they restrict activity extending the time the dog can go without relieving itself.

So does drinking and eating. Leaving water in a crate overnight defeats the purpose. You might be able to skip the crate just by taking the water dish up at bedtime, or even a few hours before.

No bedding, no water. Jeez, I'd hate to be a dog that is crate trained in your home

Must say I'd never restrict water

Hi Cally, if you took Heidi out as advised previously you would know whether or not she had relieved herself.

Is Heidi spayed? If not and the behaviour has recently started she may be due in season, this can affect a bitches ability to hold urine.

I would not advise restricting water, doing so can irritate the bladder and can lead to urinary tract infections and bladder stones (as well as being unpleasant for the dog).

Has there been any change in her routine/feeding/ circumstances recently, these things can influence when a dog need to relieve itself.

I did take Heidi out last night but she did'nt releive herself
on the walk,she waited until we got home to go
into the garden,where I watched her,she took 5 mins
before she did urinate,this morning no wet,so I think
that idea paid dividends,will keep it up,cheers.