8 week Golden Retriever help with potty training and night time

My husband and I just got an 8 week old golden retriever puppy, and
decided to try crate training with her, we have had her about a week,
and she is occasionally going to the bathroom in the crate. also

Janet B...

Where did you get her? When is she going to the bathroom in the
crate? Where is the crate? When is it happening? Urination?
Defecation? Any bedding in there?

sometimes after we take her outside for 10 or 15 minutes she will not
go to the bathroom and then as soon as we come inside she goes. We take
her out every hour, and when she pee's we always say "go potty" and then
give her a treat. We also reward her with a treat when she poop's. The

Janet B...

Give her 5 minutes, no fun until she eliminates. If she doesn't, she
comes back in but must be IMMEDIATELY supervised, tethered to you. or
crated for 5-10 minutes, and try again. Freedom is her reward for
eliminating on command (are you using a phrase?).

two big problems we are having is one she will not stop eating her
poop, and ever since we brought her home her poop has been very soft
and she has had diarrhea a few times. Our second problem is at

Janet B...

Ok - so you have a phrase. I stick to verbal praise, but a very small
treat is ok. What are you feeding her? Has she been wormed, etc?
What does the vet say about the diarrhea?

diddy...

Pick up her poop and dispose of it where she can't get it. She's a
puppy.They put anything and everything in their mouths. At her age,
everything is supervised, to insure "breaks" don't happen. So you are there
when she poops..so pick it up! Don't let her DO that!

Our second problem is at

nightime. We keep her crate in our bedroom and when she barks in the
night I let her out to go potty, an immediately bring her back in an
put her in the crate. The problem at night is that, one night she will
only wake us up once or twice and the next night 3 or 4 times. We

Janet B...

I wouldn't be getting up more than once. I'd tell her to go back to
sleep.

restrict her food and water at the same time everynight before bed, and
are not sure why this is happening?

Janet B...

Her dinner should ideally be finished by no later than 6:00. I don't
restrict water at all, until actual bedtime, but there's a last outing
then too.

diddy...

She's 8 weeks old. Comes with the territory. Sounds like a NORMAL puppy.

Right now we have a divider in the crate, would it be a bad idea at
night to take the divider out, put her in another room (out of our
bedroom), and allow her to go in the crate? Or would this teach her it

Janet B...

No. That's a really bad idea.

diddy...

bad idea

Or would this teach her it

is ok to go inside? would it be better to block her off in the kitchen
or bathroom and put newspaper or a puppy pad down? My husband and I

Janet B...

She needs to learn that the ONLY place to go is OUTSIDE. Forget paper
or pads or a large crate.

diddy...

NO!! Keep her in the bedroom so you know to wake up. You are establishing
correct behaviors now. Why go ruin it? You only have 4-6 more weeks to go.
She'sd a puppy. This was the deal that was a part of the bargain when you

Rocky...

While I don't switch my dogs' food anywhere near as often as
you, my experience is the same.

opted to get a puppy instead of adopting an older dog.

My husband and I

both work and waking up in the night mutiple times is taking its toll
on us. If we could get her to only have to get up once in the night it

Janet B...

What is her daytime schedule like?

would be better, but she is unpredictable. Any suggestions to help her

diddy...

She's not the problem. If you can't take the 2-3 months of puppy training
to a reliable lifetime. I suggest you don't have kids. They take YEARS out
of your night sleep time. You need a realistic grip on just what
housebreaking a puppy _is_. From your description, so far you are doing
everything right. You are just impatient about your baby still being a
baby. Your puppy sounds VERY normal.

Any suggestions to help her

and us sleep better would be greatly appreciated!
Could someone please also tell me how long she should be able to hold
it for? I have heard so many different times.

Janet B...

Age in months +1 is a general rule, but I think an 8 week old Golden
puppy should be able to go 4 hours just fine (and I've never gotten up
overnight).

Neither my husband or I have ever raised an 8 week old puppy and any
info or good ways to train would be greatly appreciated. Also if anyone
knows of any good books on potty training please let me know.

Janet B...

Mother Knows Best by Carol Lea Benjamin.

diddy...

The monks of New Skete have an excellentbook on potty training.

It's absolutely the most comprehensive puppy housebreaking book ever.