14 week old puppy crying at night

Dave is 14 weeks old and we brought him home on Sunday - clearly he is not used to being alone as he has constant company throughout the day (and did at his breeders home).

At night he whines, a lot.

So I have been laying on the sofa with him on the floor next to me . . . . which works well, he sleeps. I don't.

I am afraid I have now set a precedent and I won't ever see my bed again.

Am I concerned for no reason - will there be a point soon when he will be fine to leave without whining - have I done something really stupid??

Any advice is appreciated.

 

Suggest getting back into your bed and bite the bullet for a couple of weeks......puppy will adapt ...ear plugs work well!! LOL

Utilize a crate or gated area to keep your new puppy out of danger while you are in your nice comfy bed.

Todays habits can become tomorrows standards......so you have a valid concern.............

14 weeks and away from the litter ...yepper that would make any of us cry. Puppies (just like human babies) do well with an established routine. Some folks really hate the idea of a dog being in a crate ........others .....encourage use of crates .......whatever it takes .......important for us to protect the puppy from hurting themselves or getting into trouble (eating socks or whatever) Nowadays they also have a big variety of gates that allow us to coral them so to speak versus crates.......here is a simple rule......dogs will do just about anything....IF IT'S WORTH IT.......so my friend make sleeping without you worth it......

Suggestion ....at beddy time.........good time to give pup a kong full of his daily food that he only gets to eat in his designated bedtime area.

Before you know it pup will want you to hit the sack......so he can get his daily Kong full of food.

Do yourself a favor and use the same food he eats daily as your Kong filler. I make doggie sickles.......take an ice tray......fill with dry kibble.....then add water and freeze. You can stuff 1 ice cube into the Kong........sometimes different food will give them the you know whats.........do not want that......!!! LOL

 

I always sleep with mine until they stop crying and sleep through some take a few days some a few weeks. You can do whatever suits you and you don't have to leave your pup to cry it out if you don't want to. .some of us have moved the crate into the bedroom and got the pup used to sleeping through.

 

Thanks - he sleeps well when he has my snoring next to him, so I might take a risk and try him in the bedroom with us. If I wake up and put my foot into a poop instead of a slipper I'll let you know.

 

Hi Gavin and welcome to the forum. It's normal for new puppies to be upset when left alone at night in a brand new home full of strangers. We usually recommend that new puppy owners have a crate next to your bed for the first few nights. You can move the crate out of your bedroom once 'homesickness' has worn off. The chances are you'll get more sleep that way. And you'll probably hear him get restless if he needs a wee, long before he needs to whine for your attention. So that helps to avoid a whining habit getting established.

The puppy may not settle if he is not crated, and there is definitely a risk of him pooping or leaving a puddle for you to step in so I wouldn't leave him loose in your bedroom at this point.

 

Thanks Pippa, I appreciate your reply. The issue I have is we have a crate in the kitchen that he isn't so keen on and we are not that disciplined with. The crate is too large for our bedroom so I cant move the crate into the bedroom. He has been really good at laying on his bed in the lounge with me on the sofa, so I assume he would do the same in our bedroom. I am so uncomfortable on the sofa though I have been getting up to let him out during the night without any messes . . . but if I get in my comfy bed I will probably go into a coma for several days and wouldn't hear him. Maybe we just take a punt and see how it goes, if he messes it won't be his fault - and I may get at least one good night sleep out of 7

 

I would suggest you just get either a big cardboard box that fits next to your bed, or buy a small crate - crates (small ones anyway) are not that expensive.

You need to set your alarm clock to wake you up about 30mins before he usually needs to go out. You don't want to rely on him making noise to wake you up, or you will only reinforce the noise-making and can end up with a puppy that just barks because they feel like getting out the crate and having a wander and play in the garden at 3am..... So set your alarm clock and take him out before he wakes you up. After a few nights, set the alarm clock 30mins later - and so on, until you are going through the night.

Well, you need to work on that one. Crates are pretty vital for lots of reasons: Toilet training, alone training, stopping the puppy from biting when they go through crazy time, and stopping the house from getting ruined when you are out. There are lots of structured crate training guides online to follow - here's just one - http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/dogs/tips/crate_training.html - but you do need to implement it. You should be working on this crate in the kitchen during the day, whilst he is sleeping by your bed at night - so that after about a week, he will be able to go in the crate in the kitchen at night too....

 

And here's another https://thehappypuppysite.com/crate-training-a-puppy/ It's very good!

 

I put a large cardboard box beside my bed and dangled my hand in it so pup knew I was there, when he woke I took him for a pee (I did not use alarm clocks). some mornings I might be sitting in the garden in my nightie at 6.30 am, but in no time at all he was sleeping until 8am. Meantime I trained him to see the crate downstairs as a safe place and gradually left him in the crate at night.

 

Ah, yes!! I couldn't find the link!

 

thanks for the advice above everyone . . . I just wanted to let you know I bit the bullet and allowed him upstairs to sleep in our bedroom (running the toilet gauntlet) and have had two nights of success. He literally comes and lays on his bed - and sleeps all night without evacuating all over our bedroom floor. What a star!!

I do make sure he doesn't eat too near bedtime and that he is as 'emptied' as possible before sleep time. Also - if I get up for the loo I have let him out also. It works well!

I have another walking problem that I will start a new post about, but thanks for your help on this issue. It's so good to have some knowledgeable support at the end of a keyboard.

 

Great to hear....

 

We have two crates. One is the nighttime crate in our bedroom and one is the day time crate - where we live.

The first nights home, the downstairs "day" crate is close to the couch where I sleep next to them. They go in with a frozen Kong or a small milk bone (they only get treats during training or in the crate). The crate is covered with a blanket; when puppy whines, I stick my finger through and wiggle them with a "shush". Each night the crate is moved a bit further away from the couch until it is near the door they will use to go out to potty and where it will stay during the daytime from that point on.

Once the puppy is on a night time schedule (for us this is 11 p.m. outside potty, back in crate with a small milk bone; 4 a.m. with my husband since he gets up for work at this time and back in with a small milk bone), we both move upstairs. This usually takes 3 nights but with a 14 week old who just left his litter and Mama, it may take a bit longer.

Good luck and Congrats on your new puppy!