crate issues

[itspolo]

Hi all,

background: adopted Chewy a week ago from a household that didnt want him and was going to take him to a shelter. (not sure what trauma he went through)

hes a good puppy during the day. he just turned 7 months and during the day he sleeps alot (normal?)
when its time to get him to his crate for the night is when the problems begin. Loud scratching, pawing at the crate and crying. he really dislikes bieng in there, i looked around and found that perhaps an old t-shirt would help,, tried that last night and it didnt.

I put him in around 11pm and he whines for a good half hour and stops, then around 1:30 -2 am every night he starts to whine, i jump out of bed and take him out where he does #1 and #2...at 2AM he decides to do #2????? i take him out before 11pm bedtime several times where he does #1 and #2...so why more at 2 am? wheres it coming from

last night we did the 2 am routine, struggled to get him back in his crate, and stayed up with him till he stopped whining and finally calmed down...then at 4:30 whining again! he cant possible need to go the bathroom avery couple hours during the night can he? well i took him out again and he did #1

i think he is just realizing that every whine will get him out of the crate...any ideas tips please help...i am getting no sleep and am like a zombie at work...and worse of all my girlfriend is 7 months pregnant and her sleep is bieng interupted.....

the posts i have looked through talk about puppys that are only a few months old...isnt 7 months old too old to whine at night?

 

[itspolo]

well last night 2 am diarea in the crate....nice

 

[tasillo]

I would suggest to keep him awake more during the day as well as maybe a couple of walks so he can do #1 and #2 more during the day
I think you have to give him more opportunity outside during the day....and even if he is sleeping...wake him up and take him out.

 

[itspolo]

i work during the day..i get home around 5:30 and keep him up till bedtime tossing a tennis ball around (his fav toy)
while im at work , my gf says he sleeps on a pile of my dirty clothes practically all day.

is it common for 7 month old puppies to get diarea in the middle of the night?
I have not changed his food or given him anything different...this morning his #2 seemed normal...and he was really thirsty

 

[alidansma]

I have one that is 9 months old that I just got last week also....I know it is irritating to take them to the vet for every little thing (especially when it seems so silly) but since you have only had him for a short time, and you don't know what kind of situation he was in before, it might be a good idea to get him looked over. I am saving up some money and going the take mine in at the end of the month. Not because he is sick or anything, but just to rule out anything I might not notice.
What time are you feeding him? maybe if you moved his feeding to a little earlier it would help get things through his system faster. Diarrhea could be from stress at beign locked up, or being in a new place, or from something he ate when no one is looking. If it was one time though I woul dlean toward stress....maybe he was crying and no one came to see what was going on and he got nervous.
Is he in the crate when he sleeps during the day? If you only crate him at night, and the crate is the only time he is isolated, then I imagine that is why he doesn't like the crate. wish I could help more.

Oh PS my 9 month old cries all the time, so I guess 7 months isn't too old.

 

[punkin]

Where do you have his crate positioned in the house? When we first got our baby he was about 6 months, and fussed quite a bit in the crate. He settled down at night when we put it in the bedroom. He would wake up and I could talk to him until he settled. I also give him a treat (Kong with peanut butter) every time he goes in the crate, and we use one of our blankets on top of his crate pad. If your pup is new to your household, you can expect it will take a few weeks for him to adjust. Our baby had diarrhea for about the first 2-3 weeks (excitement and stress). We moved to a new home about 6 months later, and he started the stress thing all over again. We just kept giving him a treat in his crate and had him sleep in the bedroom. During the day, we moved the crate to the main floor in front of the window so he could look out and he is much happier. Try moving the crate around to find a place that your baby feels secure. Make the crate a nice, positive place for him to be with nice bedding and a treat. It will also help to regulate the times he eats and goes out to do his business. We never leave food or water in our baby's crate except for the treat. Good Luck! Your baby will learn to like his crate and you will get some sleep eventually!

 

[itspolo]

i think i am going to take him next week too. When i got him i was concerned about his weight...seems awfully skinny. I thought it was probably due to bouncing around for a few days, but i have not seen any weight gain in a week, I think i should have by now, so i think the best thing is get him checked out just in case.

I am feeding him at 5pm or the latest 5:30 if my gf is not home. His crate is positioned in an adjacent bedroom thats acroos the hall from ours. i positioned it so that he can see us from his crate and we leave the door open. I tried making the crate nice for him but am running out of spare t-shirts :P I put a blanket on top of his crate and he pulled it in, so that got dirty too.
i am going to go to the pet store today to get one of those kongs i keep hearing about. The funny thing is that Chewy dislikes the crate so much that when i put him in it he refuses to take a treat! he turns his head away and shuns my offering ....funny puppy...but on the other hand during the day if i give him a rawhide and he doesnt feel like eating it he will go and hide it in his crate and get it out later.

what good puppy treats can anyone recommend? (besides the kong of course that i will get today) something he cant refuse when hes in the crate.
Also is peanut butter a good idea? i dont want to get my puppy hooked on human food or upset his stomach more than it already is.

 

[Laila63139]

what good puppy treats can anyone recommend? (besides the kong of course that i will get today) something he cant refuse when hes in the crate.
Also is peanut butter a good idea? i dont want to get my puppy hooked on human food or upset his stomach more than it already is.

We like to give our baby (9 mos) raw carrots as treats, as they are very healthy.. But the fiber content may not help with your current diahrea issues, though.

I wouldn't give reqular peanut butter, but the company that makes KONGs make an peanut butter to spray into the KONG. Laila loves this stuff! We put it in her kong or her hollow bone when she goes "night-night" and it pacifies her until we go to bed.

Your puppy probably won't confuse this for human food unless you have it on your plate when you give it to him, or unless he sees you eating it!

Best of luck to you! I hope everything's OK with your new baby!