Another Sleepless Night!

[J & Mary]

We gave in on the crate idea!

Our puppy Rocky (now 7months old) we put in a crate at night only..
He was on put in the crate during the day but at night in the crate he
cried so awful most of the time for two weeks. We did not sleep and we were seriously worried about his health and ours. We gave in and put newspaper down on the floor and at night we first let him fall asleep on the bed and then put him down next to the bed on a soft doggie bed with extra blankets and he slept all night from then on... For the last 3 months he loves to sleep
on the Lazy boy chair or couch in the front room and comes in at around 6:30am and wakes us up to let us know he has to go out to potty. The is now potty trained and is doing good, exept we have a problem with not wanting to leave him alone for very long. We take him to Pet Smart to socialize him with other people and pets on the week ends.
He is our first boxer, and we would not trade him for anything..We will
be starting school with him in April. He just wants to be with us at all times and I know that is not always possible. We do have another dog at home
that he plays with so he does have company. We know what your going
through and we wish you the best with your new puppy..J&Mary

 

[gmacleod]

Do you really think that me sleeping on the kitchen floor will solve the problem?

Actually, for some people sleeping on the floor beside their pup for a couple of nights has indeed worked
Not sure if it's purely comfort in having you there that makes the difference, or if it is realisation that you're still not letting him out the crate, or some mixture of those and other factors - but it is something that has worked for some people.

Just a little more clarification though... I understand that he is barking from about 5.30am or so, until you get up. But I'm not so clear on what other barking he's doing. You said you've got an alarm for roughly every three hours but are awake before that. Is is because he's barking? *If* that's the case, I'd give a night or two on the floor with him a try. Right now he could be learning that if he barks long enough, eventually you'll come. If you're right there all night though, then he has less reason to bark in the first place - but he also won't have you responding to him the same way. Only take him out for scheduled potty stops, and preferably at a time he isn't barking. That could be enough to make the difference in his outlook. As mentioned, that technique has worked for some people, even if not all.

Not sure it will necessarily help with the early rising though. When a baby thinks it's morning, it is pretty difficult to pursuade them that it isn't. I suspect that is an area where he will gradually adjust to fit in with the rest of your family - over the course of several months, most likely.

 

[rrrmarie]

another sleepless night

Here's what I did. I would wrap him up in a blanket or towel, hold him like a baby and when he's asleep in my arms, I place him in his crate. I would wake up every 2 hours to let him go potty. When we return from potty break, I wrapped him back up again in a blanket/towel and do the process all over again. It worked for me. Now, he likes his crate. He knows someone will be there to let him go potty during the night.

I don't know if that will help. But, I just wanted to let you know what I did.

rrrmarie

 

[Bers]

Just wanted to add my 2 cents! When I first got my puppy he howled and cried and yelped every time he went in the crate, whether it was night or day. He hated it! Just to put it in perspective for you, you have it a bit better than we did. Toby is only just a tiny baby, and wants to be with you all the time. It's your job to show him that being alone is okay, too. You do that in small steps, and right now "being alone" might mean inside the crate with the door shut, even if you're right there. So you start with whatever he can stand without much fuss. When Koda was tiny I would sleep on the floor next to the crate and put my hand inside for him to cuddle with. Of course we went outside in the middle of the night, and then he went right back in the crate and my hand went in there with him. It only took a couple nights and I could get up and go back to bed after he fell asleep. The best thing is to be able to hear him as soon as he wakes up for his potty break, BEFORE he gets going with the howling/barking. That way when you go to him, you're reinforcing him for waking up to go outside, but not for howling. So maybe you start out on the floor next to him, then after a night or two you'll be able to move to the couch, then after that back to bed with the baby monitor there to alert you as soon as he wakes up. Keep in mind every puppy is different and you may find he turns out nothing like the family dog you had as a child. Please be patient and give him some more time and in a few short weeks he'll be able to sleep through the night without needing to go out (although he may still want to get up at the butt crack of dawn ) and if you play your cards right, he won't mind if he wakes up by himself in the middle of the night. Be patient and have faith, we've all been there. Good luck!

 

[BZ MomMom]

Toby's Momma

Try putting a blanket over the crate at bed time. This makes it dark like a den. Hope it helps.

 

[Laila/Cujo]

When we got Laila she cried through the night as well. She also would cry on and off, she would sleep for an hour or two and then would cry. Now the difference is she does sleep in her crate, but in our bedroom. Which if you don't want Toby in your room that is fine. What worked for us, was putting a blanket on top of her crate helped a bit. We also took an old towel and wrapped it around us so that our scent was on it. And my husband would take his shirt and put it in her crate at night. As soon as we did this the crying stopped. She just wanted us close and our scent was enough to please her. Just what we did, try it if you like, hope whatever you try works for you. Good Luck!!!!!!

 

[Toby's Momma]

A Better Night!!

Yeah! We did much better last night!! The best night so far, I'd have to say. He only cried for about 5-10 minutes each time, and calmed himself back to sleep. I've been very careful all along to wait until he has stopped howling/crying/barking to go get him. I'd stand at the bottom of the stairs until he was quiet for at least a minute or two if he was making noise when it was time for me to take him out. I took him out at midnight, he cried for about 10 minutes afterwards (although I had him asleep when I left him), woke up at 1:45 crying/howling for about 5 minutes, I took him out at 3am, and he woke up at 4am for only about 5 minutes crying, then at 5:30 and made noise for about 10 minutes, and went back to sleep until around 6:15, at which point I heard him moving, so my husband took off down there to take him out and feed him breakfast before he got to barking.
I did put my nightshirt in with him, too, so maybe that is what made the difference??
The crate is up against 2 walls, and I have the 3rd side/top covered with a blanket at night to keep him warm. It is off during the day. I was actually wondering if that was bothering him.
Thanks for all of the advice!!

 

[manna81]

hello

I have always had dogs growing up. We always would turn on the radio so you can barely hear it and always have a blanket to cover it just like a den. I give Dozer a couple milk bones give him something to do for a bit so you can get up the stairs. I always did it like a reward that he went in his cage. Hope you can get some sleep!! Good luck!!

 

[Bers]

YAY! It sounds like you're making progress! Keep up the good work and before long it will all just be part of his routine. Congratulations on getting some sleep!

 

[Laila/Cujo]

Congrats on the progress, sounds like your well on your way to getting a full night of sleep!!!!!!!