Hi everyone, I have a 12 week old puppy and have had him for 3 weeks. He was great to start with, was sleeping through the night, I would go to bed at 12 and he would wake up at 6, sometimes he only wakes if he can hear us get up. I’ve gradually gone to bed earlier which was fine but the last few nights I’m at the end of my tether, I let him out and get him to go to his bed, I usually settle him and stroke him then I go up, he has been absolutely fine with this until the last few nights, he’s crying when he can hear me go upstairs so I’m having to go back down and settle him, when I go down he just jumps on the sofa and settles there which isn’t what we want, partly our fault for allowing him on there, then he’s waking up at 4.45. Can anyone help me and why has he started doing this now? I feel so sleep deprived that I’m loosing patience and feel guilty for it. I’m unsure if it’s because we have allowed him to be on the sofa, we also gave up on crate training as this was hard going and he just cried and cried.
Hi @Laura Perks i suggest you read the thread entitled Toilet breaks during the night with 13 week old puppy located under thie labrador puppy folder. The information is relevant to you. Puppies cannot sleep through the night without the need to empty their bladder. I suspect from your description that you've inadvertently reinforced him crying out. In the thread pay particular attention to @Jo Laurens excellent advice.
Laura, you need to train your dog - and at the moment, your dog is training you... You need to think a lot more about the behaviours you are reinforcing. If your puppy cries, and you return to the puppy when he makes noise, you are reinforcing the noise-making. Instead, making noise simply doesn't work. If you have taken your puppy out to toilet, and you know he is empty, then simply don't respond to the noise. It may go on a while, but it will eventually stop. The puppy will learn that making noise doesn't work. This is all assuming that the noise is NOT about being separated from you (fear or separation distress) but is instead coming from frustration or anger about being ignored. If this is the case, then you need to return to what (by now) should be earlier stages of training the puppy to be ok left alone - see next point... There are no shortcuts, in owning a dog. Avoidance of training is never the answer. What will you do when your puppy goes through a chewing stage, or destroys your house, or gets big enough to jump on kitchen counters (let alone the sofa). The crate is - in my opinion - really pretty essential to successfully raising a puppy. Yes, I'm sure people have managed without one - but take it from me, once you have raised a puppy with one, you will not want to go back... You need to return to crate training really quite urgently and to persevere with it. The very first stage of crate training - after hiding treats in the crate and playing games coming in and out of the crate - is to be sure the puppy has just toileted and has a Kong and then to close the door AND SIT NEXT TO THE CRATE with a book or working on your laptop. Since you are right there, you can be sure that any noise is NOT about separation from you - it is angry noise about being shut in the crate - and as such, is perfectly safe to ignore. Sitting next to the crate removes separation distress as a variable. You can rule it out and be sure that noise is about being shut in the crate or frustrated. You don't leave the dog in the crate, until they are 150% ok in the crate with you sitting next to it. And when you first start to leave the pup, it's just to walk in and out of the room - maybe to do something noisy like cleaning or cooking in another room. Have you achieved sitting by the crate with the door shut yet...? Meanwhile, at night, I recommend having the pup by your bed in a cardboard box or small crate, so he is not separated from you - whilst you are working on crate training in the main crate, during the day. Giving in and accommodating your puppy at every step of raising him, is really going to raise a dog without boundaries - a dog which is out of control and just tries to get what he wants, when he wants it. This is what 'positive reinforcement' trainers are accused of creating, but the thing is - positive reinforcement training doesn't lead to this, IF DONE WELL: Positive doesn't mean permissive.
My little man is 12 weeks old today I got him on 22nd Sept at almost 11 weeks due to us being on holiday. The first week was terrible at night time. Would out him in his crate with a kong, which he has no issues about going into, then he just cried & cried & cried. Would eventually settle after sitting next to the crate till he fell asleep, then would wake around 1 am for a wee and would start over again, before we would give up and let him out anywhere from 2am to 5am. I live with my sister & she was conscious of the fact I had work & needed to sleep. Last weekend when I had no work we decided to bite the bullet & let him cry it out as we knew he just wanted our attention. That Saturday was horrendous he went from pitiful crying noises to all out screaming, when that didn't work he then went to growling & barking. I have to admit I couldn't cope with the crying & got up after 45mins and sat next to him, then we had it again for his 1am wee, then we let him get out at 5am. Sunday night I was stronger & didn't give in and he cried & whined for about 30 mins before going to sleep, then again at 1am & I gave up at 5am and slept on the couch with him. We wracked our brains on what to do & decided to wake him at about quarter past 10 and do a training session with him, just tricks really, then out for a quick walk to empty his bladder & see if he needed a poo. Last 2 nights he has cried for only 10 mins before getting off to sleep, about 15mins at his 1am wee, and lo and behold we have heard him wake at 6 both days but he hasn't made a peep & just played with his toys till we get up around 6.30. Hoping that he'll soon be in there without any crying as he knows we will come back for him. He also starts daycare tomorrow (only half a day to start), as we found he is already very very attached to us and follows us everywhere we go, so hoping he'll be used to us being away. All things considered he's an absolute joy, very little biting & chewing & loves a cuddle & kisses.
