Hi! We brought home our 8 week old puppy a week ago yesterday and although I was expecting interrupted nights I am struggling! We tried having him in his crate next to our bed but he howled and having him howl so close was unbearable! We moved him to the kitchen and put ear plugs in attempting to go with the tougher approach. After a couple of nights he was howling less and seemed to settle after 5-10 minutes after being taken out for his mid night toilet break. However, he started being sick in the night and has an upset tummy. Having taken him to the vet he is now on medication and special food to help his tummy settle. In addition to this he has a mild heart murmur which we are hoping to investigate in the next few weeks. Last night I put his crate in the living room and slept in there with him in an attempt to 'care for him' more during the night. He wouldn't sleep in his crate with the door closed without howling and so I let him curl up on his bedding on the floor beside me on the sofa. However he didn't sleep for longer than a 40-50 minute stretch at a time. I am exhausted and feeling that I should go back to the tough it out approach but am concerned that him getting stressed will be harmful to him and his heart murmur. Any advice would be truly welcome!
Oh my goodness, I could write your post myself (aside from the tummy/heart problems, poor pup ) Our pup came home a week ago today. The first night went amazingly well, only up to potty twice and settled back down quickly. I was thinking 'yay! we got a good puppy'. HA! Turns out he was just getting started, it went down hill from there to the point that he was up every 2 hours and taking nearly an hour to settle (I sat next to his crate, sometimes with my fingers through it but otherwise ignoring him) Wednesday night I ended up falling asleep on the tile in front of his crate because everytime I walked away he cried (I had been sleeping on the couch, which I was prepared to do). I was exhausted to say the least. Yesterday was the first day I had to work (I only work out of the house Fridays), I left on the verge of tears from pure exhaustion. As an aside, you can laugh at what made me cry.....first time I'd worn tie shoes around Remi....I tied one, he untied the other, I tied that one, he untied the first, over and over and over again. I walked out the door with untied shoes and tears in my eyes.....I can laugh about the craziness now, darn dogs. Today there might (I stress 'might', fingers crossed) be a light at the end of the tunnel. Yesterday when dh was home with him he popped him in his crate a few times, put some nature sounds music on and left him. He ended up settling himself before long (dh's not here to ask but I think he only let him cry for maybe 15min, if that), he never messed his crate. Last night I decided I wasn't going to jump up at every whimper. He woke up twice, I think, and whined for a couple of minutes, not very long or very loud/serious at all. He slept, and let me sleep! until 5:30!! Then out to pee, came back in and slept another hour. That was like a full nights sleep, I may actually be able to function today! (oh and when I got home from work dh thanked me for taking care of him all week, I don't think he realized how much work it actually is, lol) Hopefully your pup will turn the corner soon and you'll be able to sleep, I know how awful everything looks through tired eyes.
I'd like to help, but I'm not sure I can. I purchased my dog from a breeder who has been breeding extreme biddability into their dogs for 30 years. By the time they come to us they are trained to litter, and they have no medical issues at all. Ours slept thru the night after 9 weeks(10:30- 5:45) However, we treated the dog as if he was one of our kids. We waited 20 minutes before taking him out of his crate in our bdr, but he always calmed down at 12-15 minutes. We covered the crate with a blanket so it was a den and he could not see us, and we were quiet. I know that people HERE don't like to hear it, but we gave him full access to water until 8:00 PM(HEN WE OFFERED IT TO HIM), and then removed it. It is important to note that he sleeps in about 61 degrees temperature. He ate at 6 PM, and we didn't put him to bed until 10:00 PM after he poo'd one more time. We have kept this regimen now that he is 18 weeks old, and it has shown to work well for him. He should be on a quality puppy food as it will encourage his growth. The first week, I got up at 3:30, and 4:30 to take him out. He would whine. Gradually by 12 weeks we extended this to 6:00AM. By 13 weeks he was sleeping until 6:30 from about 10:15 PM. AT 12 WEEKS he starting whining and bothering me to go to bed after his last poo at 9:30-10:00. Now at 18 weeks, he goes to bed at 10:15, and sleeps to 7:15 at least. I have no idea how much longer he could sleep since I get up at no later than 7 PM. Taking him out consistently is very very important. Take him out in the morning as he get up, after he eats, before play,after play(sometimes during play), and any other time not more than every 2 hours. It amounts to being taken out every hour or so, sometimes more. Ours has only made mistakes we we have. At 18 weeks he peed on the floor 2 days ago. HE was literally mortified, and was depressed all the rest of the evening, even though all I did was quietly tell him I was disappointed in him. But truth to be told it was my fault. I fed him, watered him, and then forgot to take him out for 90 minutes. The food probably started pressing on his bladder and he couldn't hold it. He did come up to me, lick my hand, and give me the sad eyes several times and I didn't get the idea. Even so he was depressed at his action.
‘I know that people HERE don't like to hear it, but we gave him full access to water until 8:00 PM(HEN WE OFFERED IT TO HIM), and then removed it.’ There is a reasons lots of us don’t like removing water early in the evening and that’s down to pups getting dehydrated very quickly. The OP states her pup has an upset tummy and is on special food so limiting water could be very detrimental to him. Also, as he has a heart murmur, water again should not be restricted as could cause further complications. My girl hated the crate and I ended up getting her to sleep at the bottom of our bed. For us it worked amazingly as at that age she was sleeping from 11.30pm - 7/8am. She wanted to be close to us. This doesn’t suit everyone, but is something to bear in mind.
