hi sure this is not the first thread on this topic ! We have a gorgeous black lab pup who has been with us for 8 nights now - She is 9 weeks old. Lots of fun during the day but crys/hollers/barks for much of the night. Typically we put her in her crate around 10.30pm after taking her to the loo - she is settled and has plenty of bedding, a toy, a hot water bottle and we put the radio on at low volume. She settles for about 30 mins and then starts whining loudly for typically 2 hours. We don't go to her and eventually she goes to sleep but wakes again anytime between 2am and 4am when we take her to the loo and put her back. she settles briefly but then starts crying again for 1 hour or so. Consequence she doesn't get a lot of sleep and we certainly don't. We seem to be doing the things suggested - any other thoughts or do we have to just be patient ? Thoughts welcome from a very tired household! Thanks
Welcome to you from Mags, Tatze and Mollie from Manchester UK Tatze is my pet dog, a black Lab and she's three years old. Tatze means 'paw' in German. Mollie is my fourth Guide Dog puppy, a black Lab who is five months old. Fear not, they all sleep through eventually! My pups have all cried when I put them back after a wee stop, so I sit quietly by the crate until they settle again (no talking, no eye contact and ignoring all shouting). I always have plans to bring the crate by my bed if needed - but so far we've been OK, touch wood! Here is an excellent article - http://www.thelabradorsite.com/how-to-cope-with-a-crying-labrador-puppy/ ,,,
With all my pups I have decided that they would sleep in their crate in the kitchen from the first night. Needless to say they have all ended up sleeping in their crate in the bedroom from the first night . One plaintive cry does it for me. I find that they settle very quickly as they have the reassurance of warm bodies close to them and it is far easier to reach out a hand from them to know you are close. A benefit of having them close is that you hear them start to fidget when they need to wee and can take them out before they cry. I give them a couple of weeks and if the nights are good move the crate back to the kitchen and have had no problems with the transition. Or you can gradually move the crate further away. Good luck and know that the sleepless nights don't last
I've had each of my three puppies in the bedroom with me to start with and they slept really well. I then moved them back downstairs after a few weeks. Molly then moved back up with me around 15months of age due to neighbour changing jobs and coming home in the early hours, but the previous two slept downstairs permanently after puppyhood.
