how often to let my 10wk pup out to potty?

    • Silver

    how often to let my 10wk pup out to potty?

    i been taking the crate into my room lately, and leave his food/water bowl downstairs... i ended up sleeping for 6 hrs, and he urinated and pooped in his cage, i had to clean it, and him, since it got all over him, and change out the newspaper, i was wondering if theres a rule of thumb on the amount of time i am suppose to let him out to go potty? i havent got much sleep at all ever since i got the puppy, and im extremely exhausted... :(

    When its asleep, i try noto to wake it up, but sometimes it gets up at the slightest noises, and thats when i guess he needs to potty... theres a few times where he's extremely tired and wont even wake up to anything... but most of the time he gets up at the littlest noises/movements... and i dont have time to get up everytime that happens...

    can someone please help me out on what a good way to do this is? so that i can get some decent rest too...

    its a 10wk chihuahua/maltese mix...
    • Gold Top Dog
    Does it have a gender?

    The general rule of thumb is that pups can "hold it" for one hour for every month in age plus one, so at 10 weeks, about 3.5 hours.  Now honestly, I don't set an alarm to get up and take a pup outside, but I am not a sound sleeper when I have an infant nearby and I hear EVERYTHING.  What I do is to put the crate RIGHT beside my bed.  When pup whimpers, I'll reach out my fingers and speak soothingly...if he settles, great, if not, he's gotta go and I get up and take him to his potty place.  If you sleep too hard to do that, I'd suggest setting an alarm for every 3 hours and getting up and taking him out.  In a week or so, stretch it to 3 hours 15 minutes and gradually increase the time.

    Having a young pup is like bringing home a new human baby.  Sleep goes by the wayside for the first several weeks.  You get used to function with less, and it doesn't last forever.