Tonight is night 6 of having Murphy, so far he has spent every night in his crate in the kitchen , but has awoken nearly every hour howling and crying. He stops as soon as he hears me get up out of bed but then usually starts again when I get downstairs. I am letting him out to the loo every two hours and when he wakes between I just stand by his crate and he goes to sleep. I am tired and debating moving his crate to our room but feel that after 5 nights in the kitchen I feel like I'm giving up if I do this. don't know what to do.
Re: Admitting defeat? I was lucky enough to not have this....so can't give you first hand ....but if you are knackered and not making progress maybe it might be a short term solution to settle him with you in you r bedroom.Then you can deal with the separation issues of a little pup step by step during the day .....eventually getting him to sleep where you want.......he's winning ( for now ) because he is calming when he hears you get up.....result! I cry,mum comes!im learning with my first dog ,so not much experience,but im reading loads and I understand that nothing is forever.....you can train anything with patience and perseverance .....so don't feel like you have failed...if its what you have to do for now ,you can change it later ....during daylight hours,I feel your pain,I'm awful when I'm tired! X
Re: Admitting defeat? First of all, I am sorry you have had this problem. Most pups do settle in the first week, but a few just seem really distraught for days on end. I have been there and it is very upsetting. You have only two choices. Keep up what you are doing until she gives in ( and she will eventually) or bring her into your room at night for a few days to make her feel safe and settled, then move her down into the kitchen when she has settled in ( and feels safer in your house) and when you have caught up on your sleep. If you decide to stick it out in the kitchen, you need to stop going in to her so often. She needs one trip out during the night, set your alarm and go down to her at 3 or 4 am. She does not need to go out every two hours. If you decide to bring her into your room, decide how long it will be for, and move her out at after a few days, or when she can last all night without a wee. Pippa
Re: Admitting defeat? I don't think it's giving up if you have to break it down into smaller challenges for your little fella. It may be that you have to start with the crate in your room and then move him out when he's sleeping better. We were lucky, Riley was easy in the house (if you want to talk to me about recall that's a whole other story!) but I don't think you should ever feel guilty for making it work for you and your pup.
Re: Admitting defeat? Of course it's not admitting defeat - you do what you think is best for you and your pup, whatever makes it easier for both of you. I have experience of only 2 puppies - the one I had now, and one when I was a kid, so hardly experienced... I would be tempted though to try a bit longer in the kitchen, but not going down. I didn't go down to Charlie at all - in bed at 11am, up at 5am - he was dry overnight after 2 days...this is what my mum had made me do with my first pup, so I did the same again. Gosh, might be completely wrong though! But it seemed to work fine...
Re: Admitting defeat? I think I will give it one more go in the kitchen and see what happens, I think tonight he might sleep better because he is currently rioting. Whereas this time last night he was asleep. I am going to warn my neighbour that tonight might be noisy! Thanks for all your advice, I knew I would have a few sleepless nights but thought it would be better by now! I love this forum, it makes me feel like I am not alone and can face it all. Without it I reckon I would either be a nervous wreck or he'd have gone back and I would have felt like an ultimate failure for the rest of my life! X
Re: Admitting defeat? It gets better! Although I didn't have much trouble with the nights, had plenty of other frustrating moments! I think it got good, as in bonded with the pup and started to really enjoy it rather than just worry, around day 10....All good now, well, still have upsets, but I cope better.
Re: Admitting defeat? Right he was in bed and asleep at half 10, in his crate in the kitchen. The radio is turned up, and my bedroom door is closed. Alarm set to let him out at 2. Wish me luck!!
Re: Admitting defeat? Wooo. Don't know what was different about last night but he slept from when he went to bed until I woke him up at 2 for a wee. He then howled at 4 for half an hour- I gave in and went down and just stood next to his crate until he fell asleep, and then he slept until my fiancé went down at quarter to 6 to let him out for the loo and his breakfast. I don't know what woke him up at 4 but this was definitely the best night we've had so far. Thanks for all the support!
Re: Admitting defeat? Ah Im glad you have had a better night...we don't have Dexter in with us,he sleeps in his cage downstairs so I can understand you wanting to get it established.Big downside to that has been weekend lie ins together are a thing of the past.....we feel too guilty leaving him on his own downstairs ;D
Re: Admitting defeat? Glad you had a better night, well done. [quote author=Dexter link=topic=2043.msg17627#msg17627 date=1374219723] Big downside to that has been weekend lie ins together are a thing of the past.....we feel too guilty leaving him on his own downstairs ;D [/quote] When Charlie arrived, I issued the household with "the rules". Included were: No dogs on Sofa, no dogs on armchairs, no dogs in front room, absolutely no dogs upstairs. My old (and wise) dad patted Charlie on the head and said "don't worry, lad, you'll wheedle you way onto the sofa before the week's out"... He did: charlie on sofa by JulieTandCharlie, on Flickr And this was last Sunday morning (it is not my bed, my bedroom is still out of bounds - the final frontier...) snoozy pup by JulieTandCharlie, on Flickr
Re: Admitting defeat? Your bed might take a bit longer to crack but he'll do it. You've got no chance against that ball of chocolately goodness
Re: Admitting defeat? So glad you had a good night, long may it continue Sadly for Riley the rules have stayed in place for the most part. No sofa, no upstairs. Poor deprived dog :
Re: Admitting defeat? Ha ha ha!you too have matched your pet to your interior ......chocolate hairs are invisible on a chocolate couch!x
