We are crate training our 8 wk old silver lab. We just got him Saturday so he has only had 3 nights in his new place and in a crate. We have his crate in the living room and when we are home the door is open so he can and does go in and out to sleep, play and that is where we feed him. At night he sleeps around 3 31/2 hours (last night was first for this time) before waking. I take him out to potty then return him to his crate and sit by it till he falls back to sleep. He will whimper a bit before he goes back to sleep. My question is should I keep getting up as often to take him out or let him whimper it out a bit and try to extend his sleep time, or let him extend it out gradually on his terms? I don't want him to get spoiled thinking every time he whimpers I will come let him out. But don't want him to pee in his crate either just because i don't take him out. I left a radio on for him today and might try it on softer tonight to see if it helps any. Any helpful tips, suggestions or things have tried that work? Before you suggest we are not letting him sleep in the bed with us. first it is to high and he might fall out or try to jump off. second we have a miniature schnauzer and she already sleeps with us.
They are all a bit different when it comes to night time crying. This is a good article on the subject - https://www.thelabradorsite.com/how-to-cope-with-a-crying-labrador-puppy/ I raise Guide Dog pups and some have settled much quicker at night than others. I tend to go straight to them, make sure I’m very boring and put them straight to bed after they potty. Then, if they cry, I wait by the crate until they stop. This has worked well. My present pup, Keir, didn’t cry at night at all.
I have the crate near the bed so I can hear puppy fidgeting and take them out to toilet and pop them back in the crate with little inter action. I prefer not to have to rely on a puppy whimpering in time and being heard from a different room in the house to prevent soiling in the crate. When a puppy wants to go, he/she wants to go .
I am a light sleeper and I hear him fine. i take him out and put him back with little interaction. then wait near crate till he settles and falls asleep.
I’m also a very light sleeper and hear their every shuffle! I find they soon start to not need the night time wee but start to wake early. I judge 6am ‘morning’ (‘tho it’s too early for me and I look forward to them sleeping longer!) but any earlier and they go back to bed. Whatever time they wake up I still feed at 7:30am so that they don’t start waking for food.
yes i agree. Oliver woke up at 5 this morning. i let him cuddle and play in my bed a bit then he went back to sleep a few minutes. i don't feed till 7 no mater what time he gets up. what time do you feed in the evening and what time do you put to bed?
thanks. i have heard the last feeding should b 3-4 hours before bedtime? The breeder we got him from was only feeding him 1 cup once a day at mid afternoon. i have also read you should not give them their full feeding all at one time no matter what their age is. not healthy or good for digestion to eat it all at one time which labs will. Do you agree?
I would say, think about how you feel if you eat a really big meal. It's not comfortable, and it often leads to less than ideal "output", too. Same with our dogs. It's far better to split it between at least two meals. I feed three "meals" a day (even with my three-year-old dogs) but they get the majority of their food spread throughout the day as training rewards, enrichment activities etc.
The general advice is that a young pup should be fed 4 times a day scaled down to 3 at around 4 months or so and then down to 2 if you prefer. If feeding dried food in particular, and in line with manufacturer guidance , you should always feed a minimum of 2 meals a day.
Our pup is now 14 weeks. We have always hand fed him at 7 am, 12 noon, and 5 pm. He now up to about 3 cups of kibble in about 3/4 cup of water and growing like a weed on 4Health puppy food. His coat is very shiny, usually an indicator of good diet. He started by pooing about 6 times a day, but now its down to 4(6:45 AM, Noon, 5 pm, and 10:30 PM). The first week he went to bed at midnight and I got up at 3:30 to take him out. Then it moved to about 5:00 AM. Then it was 5:30, and then 6:30. Now he goes to bed about 10:30 PM and sleeps to 6:45 AM. If I don't get him to bed by 10:30(meaning the last outside trip which is always a pee/poo) he starts harassing me: licking me, whining, going to his crate in the living room and staring at me. The first night he whined and barked for 15 minutes. The second night it was 10 minutes. The third is was 5 minutes. After two weeks, it was nothing. And now, like I say, I get harassed if I don't take him to bed in his crate.
