puppie sleeping

Question
Hello,  
We have a schnoodle puppie that is now 12 weeks old.  We have had her for
almost 4 weeks and are having some trouble with the night-time routine.  We
have her sleeping in our room in her crate and she cries when she needs to
go out to go to void ( which was usually at 3:00 and 6:00 with last night pee
at 11:00).  We found that our sleep was suffering and our friend suggested
that we leave her kennel open and confine her in a small area in our bedroom
and leave paper out for her so she wouldn't have to wake us in the night (she
is very good about using the paper in the daytime).  We have been trying this
for almost 2 weeks with very limited success - she doesn't use the paper and
cries for us to take her out.  We are now very tired as we both work and have
2 children and we are thinking of putting her in another room to sleep in a
confined area with her crate and paper to use in the night.  My concern is that
we don't leave her alone in the day - the longest is 1-2 hours and that is very
rare.  I feel that it is very important for puppies to not be alone as they are
pack animals but if we put her in another room for the night we will be
leaving her alone for 8-9 hours and I am worried about how that will affect
her.  I think that it may be okay because she will be sleeping most of that
time but I am not sure if that is just as bad as leaving her alone all day every
day.  Do you have any suggestions?  We just can't keep getting up every
night.  I would appreciate any advice that you have.

Answer
It shouldn't be much longer before she is able to go all night without needing to be let out, Haely. Personally, I would not recommend putting paper down for her, because then you're encouraging her to potty in the house, when you've spent the last 4 weeks teaching her to let you know she needs to go outside. Just stick it out for another few weeks. Some puppies are already going all night without a break, at 12 weeks, but most puppies can go all night by the time they are 4-5 months old. She's almost there!

To help, though, I would recommend that you do not feed her or give her access to water past 7:00pm. Take her out at least once between 7:00 and bedtime, and make SURE she pees and poops just before you put her in her crate for the night. I'm going to assume that will be around 11:00pm. At 12 weeks of age, she ought to be able to sleep for at *least* 4 hours, and especially if she hasn't had anything to eat or drink since 7:00, and went to the bathroom before you went to bed! When you get up to take her out during the night, do not make a fuss over her. Simply take her out, calmly praise her for pottying outside, and put her back in her crate. That way, she does not learn that if she cries, you will let her out and give her attention! Do not pet her, or talk to her other than praising her for 'going' outside.

Leaving her in another room at night will not hurt her, but I'd just crate her; I would not give her the opportunity to potty on papers or in a litterbox, etc.