Night time potty training

Question
Hi.  I have a 1 year old toy poodle and he finally does well with potty training during the evenings, but not at night.  At night, he is up 3-4 times a night to go outside and if I don't hear him he will go potty on a specific rug in my house.  (I've tried the vinegar/water thing and it only works for a couple of days) I started picking up his food at 8 p.m. and he potties right before bed to avoid this, but it only worked for a couple of days.  He is in a crate all day while I'm working so I don't like to put him in a crate at night.  On rare occasion he'll sleep through the night.  Any ideas on how I can get him to stop getting up so much at night to go potty?  I desperately need a good night sleep.

Answer
Hello Donna,
There are a couple of things that you might try with your dog to help him make it through the night.  
He is old enough that he should be able to hold it all night, but for some reason has trained his bladder to go throughout the night.  

Try taking his water up 2 hours before he goes to bed rather than his food.  You weren't specific about whether he pees or poos during the night, but I assume its pee.  If he still seems to go as frequently, remove it 3 hours early.  

Give him more exercise during the day, or at least when you get home from work.  This can include maybe a quick walk in the morning, if you could run home during a lunch break that would be great, but if not a nice game of fetch or a jog around the block in the evening will help tire him out.  This will cause him to want to drink more early so he can empty his bladder early.  It also helps everything move through him better, and hopefully tires him out some so he sleeps better.  
Depending on your schedule, you might give some thought to Obedience classes with him.  This will give him an out for his energy, and will be something that is fun for both of you.  Check your local Pet Stores (some PetCo or PetSmart stores conduct classes in their shops) or Vet to see where there are classes in your area.  
Poodles love to please and excel at Obedience classes.  It also helps socalize them and teaches them to be better behaved dogs.  

If your dog won't potty in his crate, you might think about crating him for just a short time to help retrain his bladder to go through the night.  
It may take a couple of weeks, but once you teach him to hold it, he could go back to sleeping with you.  
Start by having him stay in the crate for half the evening.  Pull his water up 3 hours before going to bed.  Play with him for awhile during that 3 hours to help him empty his bladder better.  Have him potty just before he goes into the crate.  Take him outside only once during the night (about the middle of the night), then be sure to take him outside as soon as you get up.  You may want to put the crate in your room so he doesn't feel so far away from you and maybe sleep with an old tee shirt for a day or two to get your smell on it and then give it to him for comfort.  

If he still wants to potty on the rug, try putting Potty Pads there where he goes and see if he will just go on the pads when he needs to go.  They even have urine smell to attract the dog to go in one paticular spot.  
Also, when you clean his messes up, you need to use a product made for cleaning up dog messes.  These products should contain in the ingredients, enzymes that will "eat" the odor out of your carpet.  Wal-Mart carries a couple of products that work well.  Both Kids N' Pets and OUT are great products that will get rid of the stains and odors of most pet accidents.  Using Vinegar will only cover the smell and the dog can still smell the scent, therefore he comes back to his same spots.  

One last resort would be a type of doggie diaper called the Belly Band.  Its solely for male dogs and they wear it around their middle.  It uses a standard sanitary pad and when they pee, its caught in the pad.  You can find them at http://www.bellyband.com or type in Belly Bands for male dogs in your search engine.  Different places have them for different prices, anywhere from $4.00-$12.00
If your an ebay shopper, they carry them.  

I know this is a long answer, but I hope one or more of these suggestions helps you and your dog sleep through the night.  If you need other suggestions though, or have other questions for me, please feel free to ask.

Thanks for using AllExperts.com,
Kim