Dogs prefer frequent walks no matter what time of day it is. Mostly, it depends on the purpose for which he is going for a walk.
We want to take our dog out for walks no matter the day or night. So, let’s pay attention to night walks here. Actually, what time is best to take our dog out at night?
A dog should be taken out at night before the dog or the dog’s parents go to bed and 1-2 hours after the night meal. Puppies and the senior dogs with a lack of control over their bladder, or dogs with specific illnesses, including bladder issues, diarrhea may want to go out several times a night.
When talking about this, it is better to discuss when and how often we want to take our dog outside, the steps we can follow to teach him to stay inside without going out at night, and many other factors related to this topic. Actually, let’s see what they are.
Should you take your dog friend out at night?
Simply put, the answer is “yes” if you haven’t trained him to stay inside throughout the night. However, this may differ from time to time for different reasons.
For several reasons, we want to take our dog out with us. It may be for his exercise, potty needs, or whatever it is. At night, you may be wondering why your dog wants to go outside and what you can do about it.
Needing to pee, difficulty sleeping, hearing noises, a dietary issue, or old age are all possible reasons why your doggo wants to go outside at night. But it is somewhat hard for us to frequently take them out at night.
So, it is best to train him to be inside without going out at night, or else we can teach him to be on a schedule to go outside at night.
We all know it is not much better to take our puppies outside at infant age at night. Even very rarely, we take them in the daytime too.
They use potty pads for their peeing needs. As well the weather, the season, and the health of the dog are also some key considerations when taking our dog out at night.
Most dog owners usually take the dogs outside at night for potty breaks. If you are one of them, it doesn’t matter.
But it would be better if you could train your adult dog to go outside for a potty break at night before you sleep, and then the next turn would be when you wake up.
This is so beneficial because, actually, many of us are working people, and we cannot sacrifice our sleeping hours for our dogs’ potty breaks.
But this is only valid if you train the dog to adhere to it. Until then, you can use alarms.
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What time should your dog be taken out at night?
We know that we want to take our dog out at night, mainly for potty breaks. The time considerations for taking our dog out at night may vary mainly according to his age.
If you are training a puppy, he may need frequent outings. So we have to dedicate our sleeping hours from time to time while training.
With an older dog, the situation changes. So, it is better to train him for a specific outing routine at night. Let’s see if that will be the best time to take our dog out at night or train our dog to go out at night.
1. Before the dog sleeps
Like humans, dogs have no exact sleeping hours. Without the day-night difference, they used to sleep.
But we usually get about 8 hours of sleep. So, we can train him to sleep with us at night, or else we can notice his sleeping time at night, and thereafter, we want to take him outside at night before he gets ready for sleep.
2. Before we sleep
Sometimes our dog gets used to sleeping with us. In that case, we can take him outside with us at night before sleeping.
If we take the dog outside before we sleep, he may wait until the next morning to go out. But, be alert! If the dog wakes you up in the middle of the night, give him attention.
3. Just 1-2 hours after the night meal
Going outside just a few hours after a meal is normal for dogs. This holds true at night as well. So, we can take our dog just 1-2 hours after the night meal as a habit.
The time depends on you. But this will help our dog have a good sleep at night as well as you.
When should you take your dog out at night?
Sometimes, there may be instances where our dog wants to go out at night, including potty breaks too.
Probably you may be wondering why your dog wants to go out at night and what you can do about it. There are several probable causes, which could be caused by a combination of factors.
Let’s have a look when we want to take our dog out at night.
1. If the dog is a puppy
If we have a puppy, he may need to go out for potty breaks a few times a night.
We want to be patient because it’s unlikely that it’ll be able to entirely control its bladder right away, but it should gradually need to urinate less and less at night.
Suggested reading: Why do puppies try to play at night?
2. If the dog is so much older
Your dog’s desire to pee may have increased as it has gotten older.
This is particularly likely if it is old and has gradually become more reliant on going out at night as it has grown older.
Allowing it to pee right before bedtime would be beneficial in this scenario.
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3. If the dog suffers from an illness.
Sometimes the dog may be suffering from some illness, which tends to make him go outside frequently, even at night.
If it has been doing it suddenly and has been showing signs of illness, such as vomiting, this is more likely. In this instance, consulting a veterinarian is the best alternative.
4. If the dog is not out for a potty break for a few hours
No matter the age, if the dog is not out for a potty break for a few hours, it’s critical to keep letting it out to pee as soon as possible, even at night.
5. If dog hears an unusual sound from outside
This is more likely if it prefers to go outside when it can hear noises or when it knows there are animals in your garden.
You have to make him calm and take him inside before you sleep. If he became familiar with those noises, there wouldn’t be a need to go outside again.
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How often should dogs be let out at night?
Well-grown adult dogs need to go out once every 6–8 hours at least. So you can manage your sleeping hours well at night.
But if you are the owner of a puppy, this changes. A small dog really needs to go out, even at night, more than a grown one.
Just like our babies. We can use an alarm if we want to wake up in time for our puppy’s outing.
Perhaps a doggie door is also a great alternative for this. You can fix a doggie door, and then the dogs will go out when they need to.
But be sure of their safety. Not even the smallest puppies are recommended to go outside alone.
Can your dog be kept up all night without being taken out?
This is possible for young puppies if they are using a potty pad. Because they are unable to hold their bladder for an extended period of time. Likely, adult dogs can stay inside the whole night without being taken out after a proper outing.
Similar to those found in humans, certain hormones keep dogs from needing to go pee as frequently at night as dogs do during the day.
But nighttime waking in adult dogs without reason will be a problem.
Medical issues may cause our dogs to wake up and go out in the middle of the night. If so, it is wise to seek the advice of a veterinarian.
How to keep your dog inside without taking it outside at night?
Although puppies are troublesome, when they are growing little by little, we can train/teach them to stay inside without going outside using different techniques.
We want to convince our growing puppy that we are going to sleep and the outside breaks are over for the moment. Let’s see how we can do this.
1. Train him to a last-chance bathroom break just before going to bed.
We can give our pet dog a last-minute bathroom break just before bedtime. While continuing this, he may usually go for a last outside break at the end of the day.
This is more possible when you have a crate. Keep it inside your room.
2. When they wake up, give them another immediate outing.
Do allow your dog to go out first thing in the morning. If you can get them outside as soon as possible, they can learn to do it there rather than inside the house.
Then they’ll understand to go outside for their needs.
3. Can place a potty pad
Keeping a potty pad is more reliable when we have a small puppy. As he is not strong enough to hold his bladder, he may use the potty pad in an emergency. Heh!
Thereafter, we can gradually train him to increase the time between his potty breaks.
4. Can increase daytime outings
Increasing daytime outings, if you can also is an excellent way to reduce the number of outings at night. Let the dog relieve his energy, relieve his potty needs, and everything in the daytime.
Then the dog is free of everything at night. If so, we can take him to sleep with one last outing.
Things to be aware of
It seems now you are more than aware of the things associated with your dog’s night outings. What time is suitable for a night out? How to reduce night outings gradually?
Everything we discussed today. But there can be things we should be aware of and want to give more attention to. Here, let’s discuss those things.
- Never let newborn puppies out at night.
- It is not good for puppies to hold their bladder for a long periods of time. This is applicable to adult dogs as well as older dogs too.
- If you have a doggie door or have an idea of placing a doggie door, be concerned about the safety of the dogs.
- It is critical that your dog is never forced to eliminate.
- Be concerned about their health, if they are not getting proper sleep or always need to go on outings.
- Concern about the sanity of puppies, if you are using potty pads while training.
Conclusion
If you are the owner of a well-grown dog, you can take your dogs out for the last potty break at night before sleep and as the first duty after waking up in the morning. Then you and your dog can also have better sleeping hours. Apart from that, now we know why it is important to take the dog outside at night and the suitable time according to their needs, and how to manage that while avoiding risks. So, I hope this article clarifies some points for you, and I hope to see you again in another important article like this!
