Question on crate and potty training

Arlo is 11 weeks old. We have had him two weeks and I just have some concerns and questions on his crate and potty habits. He's doing great in the crate as far as going in there, settling down and sleeping. It's at night. He goes to bed at 10 p.m. He goes out for a bathroom break right before. He's then up at 12:00, 2:00, 4:00, and then 6 a.m. For good. This seems like an awful lot of waking up. He will go pee maybe a few. The others he just wants to play on the backyard, picking up stuff, eating anything he can fin on the ground. I always have him on a leash and we go to the same spot for potty. He knows the command but not all his breaks in the middle of the night are to go. I just don't know so I take him out. I have a nine year old lab that I got at 8 weeks and I do not remember getting up every two hours. I'm exhausted as I have to work. Does anyone have modem pointers for me. One a night is fine but the 4 times is a bit much. Oh and he will go poop or pee in his crate still if he has too. I have him in only a small part of the crate just big enough for him to lay down. Thanks so much
Arlo's mom

It's tough with a young puppy, you don't want to miss it if they really need to go in the middle of the night but as you've learned, they don't always need to go. With my most recent 2, who I remember better than the puppies in the past, their crate was right beside my bed. If they were wire crates, I put a cover or something over most of it, leaving one end uncovered, so the puppy was in a more den-like enclosure. If they started to whimper and I knew they'd been outside pretty recently, I did not let them out, I shushed them, let them sniff my fingers, and they usually would settle down and go back to sleep. The next time they woke up I'd take them out but no playing. If they wouldn't settle and sounded desperate, I took them out- one of them had a round of diarrhea at about 14 weeks of age and her cries to go outside were pretty strident. I'd take them out on a leash, give them some time to pee, which at 2 am always seems to take hours(!) but I probably only gave them 5-10 minutes max, and take them straight back to the crate. Not much talking, cuddling and no playing, just all business. It's kind of a game of roulette, you don't want them to go in the crate but he seems to have shown that he doesn't need to pee every time. Make sure he's gone both pee and poop just before putting him in his crate at 10 pm. I'm not sure these are any "modern" techniques, just the usual.

As for peeing and pooping in his crate, what is his schedule during the day when you're working?

Thank you for the reply. Always take him out for his last bathroom break before bed. He seems to now be on schedule for his pooping patterns. During the day I come home at lunch and my daughter is home by 4:00 late afternoon. I may have my neighbor take him out about 10 a.m. In the morning for a few weeks I know they are all different, my now 9 year old never went in the crate. But, I was home with him. Nor did he wake us up 3 times a night. I never talk to him when I take him out in the midd of the night. I just say potty and right back to crate after. We're a work in progress for sure.
Attachment 6927

I would just take him out. Put it on a time limit and keep it boring. If he doesn't go, put him back in the crate and go back to bed. He'll grow out of it in a few weeks. You might consider giving him something to do in there so if he doesn't have to go and just wants to play around for a few minutes, he can do it on his own. For some puppies, something like a bully stick works, but if he chows it down just because he can, it might now work for him. Meanwhile, get serious about teaching him to potty on command during the day so he's more likely to get down to business when you take him out at night. The first four months are the hardest and it gets easier from there. Good luck!

Thank you. It's getting better for sure. It's been awhile so this is certainly a refresher course.