Should I put food and water in my 8-week-old puppy's crate overnight?

Congrats on the new puppy! I think it is fine to leave him alone as long as he is in a crate so he can’t harm himself or get into any trouble. At this age he is likely going to need to be let outside at least once or twice in the middle of the night until he is able to hold it all night. You can play a low volume radio/music or put a ticking clock near him to help soothe him at night. I would not give him any water after an hour before he goes to bed. This way he has plenty of time to process that water and pee before bed. I hope this helps! https://www.google.com/amp/s/mobile.petcoach.co/amp/article/how-to-crate-train-your-dog

You can try warming his puppy food slightly or mixing in some warm water. This could stimulate his appetite. Depending on his age, he may still need to go out in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. The rule of thumb regarding maximum crate time before a potty break is 1 hour for each month of age plus 1 hour. So, if he is 3 months old, that would be a maximum of 4 hours crated before having a break.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I would highly advice that you leave water available for Toby at all times, including overnight. This is always true for dogs as it is hard to know when exactly they will feel the need of drinking water but it is especially true for puppies as they are a bit harder to predict. Water will prevent dehydration. Have a good evening!

Thanks for your question. There is no "right" amount of time for a dog to spend in the crate. A general rule we tend to follow is that puppies can go without a potty break for 1 hour for the age in months plus 1. So an 8 week old puppy is about 2 months, so if you add 1, that is 3 hours. During the day you really don't want to make Jasper wait much longer than this at a time, or he is likely to have accidents. Some puppies can hold it longer, and some more active puppies need to go more frequently. They can typically hold it much longer overnight while they are asleep. If you are crate training your puppy, I recommend they sleep in the crate at night, and some practice during the day is good. Occasional crating while you are home can be beneficial so they don't always assume crating means you are leaving. The length of time doesn't matter. Even 30 minutes is a good "practice" length of time. Then of course, keeping them in the crate when you are gone is the important part, so they stay out of trouble. I hope this answers your questions. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Congrats on your new puppy! Take Maximus's water away 2-3 hours before bedtime, and have him go potty right before he goes to sleep. When he is fully house trained when he is older, you can leave water out all night. Best of luck.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Yes, personally I think you can. That is part of training. As long as you can sleep that is what I would do if he was mine. But since he is only 6 weeks old he may not be able to hold it all night. So set your alarm to get up twice overnight to take him out and to check on him. If he starts chewing up the blankets or pee pads then you will have to take them out. Part of house training is getting up overnight until they can hold it that long. Most people remove the water before bedtime to prevent urinating overnight. I wish you the best!

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. You need to get her wet food for large breed puppy, it may be one of the premium brands (Hill's, Royal, Eucanuba), but you can find something cheaper. If you use any of these food, you should not given any additional food supplements. Alternatively, you can cook food for the puppy. Mixture of cooked lean meat with rice, pasta and vegetables will be a good choice. In that case, you should add food supplements (from a pet shop or your vets) containing calcium and phosphorus. You can crate her if you have big enough cage.