Ability to Hold Urine – 12-week-old puppies can generally hold their urine for about 4 hours. This means you will need to take them out at least every 4 hours to get them “housebroken”.
You're not alone. In fact, puppies typically don't start sleeping through the night until they are about four months old. But don't worry, there are some things you can do to help get your puppy on a regular sleep schedule.
Gradually, your puppy will build bladder control and should be able to sleep through the night without needing to go to the bathroom as frequently. A good rule of thumb is that puppies can usually hold their urine for their age in months plus one, converted to hours.
Puppies can hold it a little longer while they are sleeping. You will still need to make (at least) one trip halfway through the night for puppies under 4 months old, and maybe a little after that for some pups. Remember to set a (gentle) alarm for 4-5 hours after your puppy's bedtime.
According to the Humane Society of the United States, most puppies can actually sleep for up to seven hours without relieving themselves—so it definitely is possible.
By the time your puppy is about 4 months old, they should be able to start sleeping through the night without needing the toilet. (Although small breeds take longer as their bladders are smaller.) If your puppy wakes up in the night needing the toilet, keep calm and don't give them too much attention.
Puppies generally have full bladder control between 4 and 6 months of age. This means that there is light at the end of the tunnel—with a little patience, you can teach a puppy to stop peeing in the house.
Some breeders suggest 5 minutes of exercise per month of age – so a maximum 15 minute walk outside for a 12 week old puppy. This timeframe doesn't include time spent playing and running around in the house. Overexercising your puppy can cause problems with your dog's joints as they grow.
According to the American Kennel Club, puppies younger than 10 weeks cannot be left alone for more than an hour. From 3-6 months, they should not be left longer than their age in months (for example, 3-month-old puppies cannot be alone for longer than 3 hours).
You need to teach your puppy how to behave one room at a time. Allow your puppy to learn potty behavior in only one or two rooms at first. Keep the rest of the house off limits. Then once your puppy is no longer having accidents in those first rooms, you can start giving them access to a few more places.
Listen out for them stirring or crying as signs that they want to go. Increase the time between night time toilet trips a little each night, dropping down to one toilet trip and eventually no night time toilet trips as your puppy grows.
In general, you should not need to wake your puppy up to pee or poop at night. Depending on their age, puppies can sleep through the night provided they received a potty break just before bedtime and they did not have access to food or water at least two hours before bedtime.
It is not uncommon for a puppy to defecate 5-6 times per day. Some will eliminate even more frequently. The good news is that the pace of pooping will slow down as the dog matures. Although a 2-week-old puppy may defecate at every feeding, by 12 weeks, they may be down to only 4 times per day.
But in all honesty, there's no 'right time' for a puppy to go to sleep, as long as it's the same every night. While this may be the case, do note that your puppy will need, on average, around 8-10 hours of sleep per night.
Their young bodies and brains are still developing, and leaving them alone for too long can lead to behavioral issues and conditions like separation anxiety. No dog should be left alone for a full 8-hour workday.
However, it's important to remember that it's not bad nor dangerous to leave your puppy home alone for safe periods of time. On the contrary, it's good for young puppies to learn how to self-soothe and be calm without their family constantly by their side.
There is nothing wrong with cuddling and playing with your new puppy, but try to limit picking them up. Continually holding your dog can make them begin to feel as though they are human and can encourage behavior that causes dominance struggles within your home.
A general guide for exercising puppies is to allow them one to two sessions of five minutes walking for each month of age, so for example, a four month old pup could enjoy walks of 20 minutes at a time, once or twice a day.
By the time your puppy is five (5) months old, your puppy should have: Experienced twelve (12) different surfaces – Wood, woodchips, grass, asphalt/cement, tile, wet grass, rocks, gravel, dirt, mud, puddles, grates, uneven surfaces, metal, on a table, on a chair, etc.
Create a nighttime routine: TV off, hallway light off, outside light off, etc. This will let them know that they have to go potty because you are headed to bed. Try to wake up before they do. If they can wake you to potty, then they will learn that waking you up gets a reward of a bladder release.
Remember, puppies can't control their bladder until they're about 16 weeks old. After that, in general they can only hold their bladder for the same number of hours as the number of months of their age plus one. So, a four-month-old puppy can only hold it for five hours.
Another built-in plus when it comes to housebreaking is our puppy's digestive tract, which is extremely quick and efficient. Five to 30 minutes after the puppy eats, she'll want to defecate. So with a consistent eating schedule, and your attention to the clock, your puppy can maintain regular trips outside.
AFTER MEALS
Most puppies eat three to four meals a day while they're growing and they'll have to pee and poop after each meal. For younger dogs, wait about 20 minutes after a meal to take him outside to potty. The younger the puppy, the sooner you should take him out after a meal.
Delaying their potty break by 15 minutes every night will teach them to wait a little longer to do their business, eventually turning it into a morning routine. Once your puppy is three or four months old, they will most likely be able to go the full night (7 to 8 hours) without a toilet break.