Hi everyone! I'm Stacey and I have a 10 week old female lab named Mia. We brought her home at 8 weeks. I'll be honest, I never thought it would be this hard. We've never had a Lab before and I guess I was crazy to think this would be like my last dog, which was a miniature schnauzer. COMPLETE OPPOSITES! It has been an exhausting 2 weeks to say the least. Although, I thought we were kind of blessed, being that Mia started sleeping through the night, in her crate, on night 3. We were so HAPPY!!! I actually woke up several times during the night to make sure she was still alive. And she was sleeping peacefully. Fast forward to 2 nights ago and everything changed. We go to bed around 10pm. She started waking up crying and barking around midnight and every 2 hours or less after that. We'd let her go out to handle her business and then put her back in her crate. Sometimes, she doesn't even have to pee or poo, she just barks at me at the door when I let her out. When I go to her crate to tend to her, she's just laying there, not even acting like she wants out. We live in an apartment, so we can't really let her cry/bark it out as we would like to. We play/train/exercise with her in the evenings. We are at work during the day and she stays in her crate during that time. She has never messed her crate, so we know she can hold her bladder/bowels. Normally, I have come home for lunch break, but this week I haven't been able to. Could she be confusing her days with nights? Separation anxiety? Loneliness? Her crate is in the living room, which is right next to our bedroom door (she's not that far from us, just on the other side of the wall). My husband thinks she may be hungry or not getting enough exercise, but I don't believe this to be the case. How do we stop this from becoming a habit (without annoying our neighbors)? Lack of sleep does not look good on me Any help would be great!
Hey. Firstly - puppies are exhausting, especially at that age. I remember when we brought our pup home (now 19 weeks) he trotted happily into his crate and crashed out because he was knackered. Then he decided his crate was no fun and wanted to be with us. Things ebb and flow with a puppy and rarely stay static. How long is he being left for during the day? How has crate training gone in general?
Hi! Typically, I come home during my lunch break for about an hour, but Tuesday through today, I haven't been able to. So normally, she'll be in the crate from 8:15am-1:10pm and then again from 1:50pm-5:45pm, and then not again until bed time around 10pm. On the weekends, she'll even go into her crate by herself to relax. Crate training has been great, she's adapted very well to it, I believe. Her bowel movements seem to be pretty normal as well, so I've ruled out a tummy issues. She's not acting unwell or anything like that either. We even keep the crate covered to avoid any visual distractions. Not sure what the deal is, but hopefully the weekend won't be as bad as the last two nights. I don't expect it to be, as we'll be able to spend all day with her.
Hi @Mia's_Mom you have to change your expectations, and what you are currently doing. I apologise if the following seems abrupt. You can't expect her to stay in a crate all day and then apart from evening training, sleep all night too. Not fair on your puppy. You either have to get someone to come to your abode and play with and train her during the day or find a good day care facility. I would opt for the former. If she is tired as a result of the activities during the day, then you'll be able to get the night time desire to play with you under control. The comparison to your other dog is not helpful because it encourages you to think that your puppy should behave precisely the same way. That your training techniques need not change. Dogs are individuals. Train the dog in front of you. I am also really concerned that you don't mention socialisation. You have 2 more weeks to introduce her to new things. If I interpret your account correctly, she is locked away all day in a crate. You must socialise her without sensitising her to new things now, otherwise life with your dog later on will be a nightmare.
It's completely inhumane to leave a puppy crated throughout an entire working day and at night. Of course she wants your attention at night, you have been gone throughout the day. If you can't afford a dog walker or a pet sitter or day care, please don't take on a puppy. Dogs need human companionship and a lot of input from people. Heck, I am already working out a way to not be away from the house for longer than an hour when I raise our pup next year.
I'm lucky with Kyko as he belongs to both me & my sister & she can't work due to health issues so always someone with him. I take him to work with me 2 days a week, then we have one day in day care & 2 days at home with sister. I doubt I would've got a puppy if our situation was different. Probably next time (many years in the future) I will look at adopting an older dog, as it's pretty exhausting raising a puppy & don't think I would cope 15 years down the line
She's not in her crate the whole working day. I go home for lunch every day, and if I can't make it home for lunch, I leave early at the end of the day. It seems like people on this thread assume before asking questions to clarify their assumptions. It's quite rude. People come to this site for help, not to be bashed. Our puppy gets a lot of attention, every day and not just from us, but from people in the community and places we take her. She's very well socialized.
I clearly stated that I was wrong about thinking the two dogs would be the same when it came to training. I didn't continue with how I trained my other dog, I adapted and changed things to work well for Mia immediately. Just because I didn't mention anything about socialization in my initial post, didn't mean she wasn't being socialized. She gets lots of interaction with neighborhood kids and adults, even other vaccinated dogs. We've even taken her to the beach, which she loves. Socialization is not an issue with our pup. Unfortunately, our schedule was a little off last week, which is probably what led to the two sleepless nights, but this week it is back to normal (me coming home at lunch). Also, we have only had those two sleepless nights to which I made this post about. She has gone back to sleeping through the night without any issues.
No one is "bashing" you. Looking below it appears that your puppy is being left from 8.15am until 5.45pm on a typical day, with a half hour break in the middle. Forum members are simply explaining the reasons why this is not so great, and offering some alternative options. I understand that Mia is getting a fair bit of time with other dogs, people. You also need to consider habituation to various different sights, sounds, environments, men in funny hats for example, and this needs to be managed in a fairly structured and calm manner anytime up to around 14/16 weeks.
Hi @Beanwood , I appreciate your response. My lunch break with Mia is roughly 40-45 minutes. Also, Mia gets exposure to many different sounds, sights, environments, etc. We don't throw these things at her, as we don't want to scare her. We always ease her into something new. This may be our first lab, but not our first dog... and that aspect applies to all dogs, I believe.
It's really important to factor in travelling time, when assessing breaks. When I've been vetting new homes for a litter, and I ask how long people are out of the house, they tell me how long their lunch break is... But - Whatever they say, doesn't translate to that amount of quality time with the puppy. Because it takes time to travel back to the house - even if near enough to walk there - then you do actually need to make and eat your lunch, yourself, and then you need to travel back again. So a 40 minute lunch break really is nothing at all, especially when a pup has been crated for hours before and after that. Heck, a 40min lunch break is nothing even if it is 40 solid minutes of quality time interacting with the pup, if it is preceded and followed by hours of crating 5 days a week... You can't compensate by providing more at other times, it doesn't work like that. You can't crate a pup for 8 hours (with a 30 min break in the middle) and then cram everything enriching and amazing into the remaining few hours of the day. It's just not possible to meet her needs in that way. No, they respond to exactly what you said: I'm sorry, but I don't think it is possible to meet a dog's needs when they are locked in a crate for 8 hours a day with a 30min break at lunch time - ANY dog's needs, but especially not a young puppy. You might not want to hear that and might prefer to accuse me of "bashing" you, but I stand by it.
Hi Stacey, sorry if you’ve felt a little bashed. The experienced trainers/owners on this forum are very passionate about a dogs upbringing, and, may sometimes, by the very nature of forums, sound like they are having a go at you, but it is not without good reason. I am a new dog owner, and this forum has been invaluable. Sometimes it might mean taking a little criticism, certainly for me as I have never owned a dog before, and I’d be very naive not to take it on board. I know you say you’ve had dogs before but something isn’t working for you right now. But here is what I find happens..... someone posts something for advice, they get that advice, albeit sometimes it may come across a little harsh, then they defend what they are doing, it’s human nature and we all love our pups. But there is a problem, otherwise we wouldn’t be asking for advice. But 99 times out of 100 the source of the problem is blindingly obvious, and wouldn’t take a great deal to fix, and give a puppy what they desperately need. I wonder if perhaps some people read their opening post as if they hadn’t written it themselves, and then decide what advice you would give to them? The answer would probably be staring you in the face, and tie in with what others are saying. Apart from the length of time in the crate on most days, you also said that this week you haven’t been able to go home for lunch? If I’ve read that correctly then that is an incredibly long time for a pup to be stuck in a crate with no stimulus. Mental stimulation is more tiring for them than physical. Please please don’t think I’m having a go, I hope what I’ve said makes some sense.
Hi @Browneyedhandsomebuddy I completely understand and appreciate the passion dog owners have, I have the same passion for my Mia, hence seeking out advice on this forum. I'm not sure if you've read all my posts on this thread, but the issue resolved itself. The sleepless nights only occurred those two nights and she's been back to normal ever since. I probably should have waited it out another day before I made my initial post. I appreciate constructive criticism any day, but it's all about delivery, I feel. When the delivery is somewhat abrupt, the message can be lost and we get defensive. We've also decided to hire someone to do drop in visits, twice a day, so she gets that extra stimulation and play time. The problem we're facing now is her love for chewing on our bar stools and the corners of the wall. The moment she starts to put her mouth near or on the stool or the wall, I sternly say, "no" and I give her an elk antler to chew on (which she absolutely loves). I figure she wants something hard to chew on and this would be a similar replacement. When she started chewing on the rug, I would replace it with something soft. She has since stopped chewing on the rug, but has moved on to the bar stools and wall/crown molding. I watch her like a hawk, but my husband thinks I'm crazy that I watch her so closely. He'd give her free roam of the house if I wasn't there. This is how the chewing of the bar stool started. So now I am trying to break this habit, but it's not easy. I understand the concept of when your pup is doing something you don't want them to, you offer a replacement or distraction with something positive and acceptable.
Antler has been a god send to us! Also a kong. I’m still learning myself about unwanted behaviours but as with the last issue you had, it will pass, or you’ll find a way, probably on here, of getting around it, good luck!
