Hi everyone. Our new arrival has just come home to us. He is a 2.5 month old yellow lab. The breeder he was with has been brilliant, she began their crate training and house training. So he's pretty good at knowing his crate is his safe place and his bed, not a punishment or bad area. I feed him at about 4pm and then he maybe gets some training treats but no later than 6pm. His water gets taken up at 7/8pm (he has plenty of opportunities to drink through the day as it's always left down but just whilst we are house training I limit how much he has before bed). He gets let out and I ensure he goes to the toilet before bed at about 10.30. He gets into the crate and settles no problem. However, at around 3am he whines. The breeder told us all the pups cried at 3 for the toilet. I've been letting him out and he does a wee right away. The problem is, when we put him back in his bed he cries and howls for at least 30-45mins, and we ignore it, then quietens down. By going downstairs and letting him out for a wee at 3am, am I reinforcing that cries get him attention? I'm not sure what to do as I don't want to leave him needing the toilet as he's still only young but I don't want to show that cries get attention. Also, he has quite selective hearing. No matter how many high pitched play like sounds you make, he doesn't even turn around sometimes! Sometimes you can be shouting him to come and holding out treats and he'll just stare at you. At one point I was worried he may be deaf, but he does respond to toy noises and my other dog barking. Is this normal? He doesn't know his name yet so he doesn't respond to us calling him or even just trying to attract his attention. Finally, what is important to be teaching him right now? Obviously I am house training him and have also started "sit". And also, is it important to have learnt one command before moving on to the next? Or can they be learning different commands at the same time? He has great working lines in his family and although he won't be used for any work, id still like him to have those retriever qualities too. Sorry about the huge post! As a family we have always had dogs from pups but this one is my own dog, the first one where I am responsible for and I just want him to turn out to be as lovely and obedient as or current & past dogs have been. Thankyou in advance!
Most pups will wake up in the night as their bladders aren't very strong. I would set your alarm for 2.30am and take him out before he wakes up to go out. This will help not reinforce him waking up whining. Slowly put back the alarm 5 mins each day to lengthen how long he needs to hold his bladder. At this stage he may be preoccupied with his new environment hence not responding to you. When he looks at you say his name and if he comes closer treat him quickly - this will help teach his name. I would keep training sessions short but maybe train a few different things such as sit, wait, lie down. As Stacia asks above, how many times is he fed a day? They have really little tummies and can't process too much food at once. When I got Harley I fed at 7am, 11am, 3pm, 7pm. I wouldn't leave a pup with no food from 4pm until 7am the next day. Keep us informed as to how you are getting on
Thanks so much for your advice! Great idea for setting an alarm. I'll try that! He's very selective with his hearing at the moment. I suppose he is distracted easily, nothing you can do will get his attention. The breeder told us she fed him 3 times a day, 8am, 12pm and 4pm. My thoughts were to continue him on the routine she'd had him on, do you think I should change it?
When I got my pup at 8 weeks she was also on 3 feeds a day, but I changed this to 4 feeds and then dropped it back down to 3 when she was a bit older. I found she managed the smaller meals better.
I think it is too long for a pup to go from 4pm until 8am. I would add another one in and feed as Naya does.
I also fed Bailey four times a day at 8 weeks old, we also continued until he was five months on four meals a day as his tummy didn't cope too well with the larger meals. He is now on three meals a day. Good luck with the night time wee
Success on the nighttime wee situation! The past 2 nights he's slept from 10pm-6am Also, I've added in an extra meal as I think you're right. It is a long time to wait for food! Thankyou everyone ❤️
