Our lab puppy, Daisy, is 5 months old. She has slept in a crate in the living room since we brought her home, and most nights, she sleeps from about 9:30 to about 5:30, which is great. Sometimes even until 6 And then some nights, like last night, she started barking at 3:45, took a break from 4:30-5:20, and then started again. We did ignore her during that time, because we've been duped by her before…we panic and think she needs to potty, take her out, she pees, we put her back in, and the barking starts again: she just wanted attention. So, last night, we ignored the barking, and indeed, when I went out at 5:20, she peed and then was just happy to play. There was no potty emergency, and she wasn't hungry either. My general questions are 1) is there anything we can do about those nights when she just barks? I don't want to reward it by going in there. But the barking is obnoxious And 2) how long, in general, do you think a puppy/dog needs to continue to sleep in a crate? She does seem to like it in there, but I don't see us buying an even bigger size (we're in a medium-ish size now- she can stand up and move but it's not too big), just given our space. Ideally, we'd like to have her sleep in a dog bed and not have to have a baby gate up in the hall, etc. I fear that if we let her sleep out of the crate now, she'd tear up things she's not supposed to have, and/or stand at the baby gate and bark at us from there Maybe set up the dog bed in our room and see if that does the trick? I don't want her trying to jump up and get attention even closer to my face while I'm sleeping, either. Lol. I'd love some feedback and thoughts. I'm sorry if this doesn't make sense…I'm so tired today Angela
Shadow went through a phase of barking when he was an older puppy. It would only be a few times, but it was really annoying, because then, there we were, lying awake in the early hours, unable to get back to sleep. He did grow out of it within a couple of weeks, though, just from ignoring him when he barked. We had our security cameras on in the living room so we could film what was going on. Invariably, he was awake and bored and was trying to get his sister to play by waving a toy in her face and, when that didn't work, barking at her. Luckily, she also ignored him, because she's not a "morning person" Actually, with Shadow, I remember, a few times we did get up and let him out to see if he needed a wee, but without talking to him at all, just like when he was a young puppy. Going back to bed and closing the door gave him a clear signal that it wasn't his time to play with us yet. It may work, if you're not rewarding with any attention. I decrated my two at around six months. It really does depend on the dog, though. We did it after we fell asleep on the sofa one night and nothing had been destroyed by the next morning. We had an issue at nighttime with them being decrated, but you know your dog best.
I am totally jealous that your little one sleeps so long! In my opinion I would think that the crate at night will be necessary for a good while. Of course all dogs are different, but besides making sure there are no accidents during the night - if the puppy is bored or seeking attention while you are all asleep in other rooms, I would be concerned about puppy finding other ways to occupy time until you awake. (if you know what I mean)
Try the dog bed in your room for a night or two - it worked for us and she slept in much longer in the morning. We have not had one issue with de-crating over night, and we did it very young (12.5 weeks). Nothing destroyed, no accidents in the bedroom etc. Once and awhile I would be woken up when she was chewing on a toy in the early hours, occupying herself rather than waking us up!
You've nothing to lose by trying the dog bed in your room. I've never used a crate and have always had puppies in a bed in my room and don't have disturbed nights. I have thick curtains so the early summer sunrise doesn't break through. I think it's unlikely your puppy will bark if she's in your room and if she makes any noise you can just give a sleepy reassurance without getting up. Perhaps avoid leaving shoes, electrical leads etc within reach just in case.
Hi we've always had Bailey's bed in our room overnight, first in a crate but then just his bed, we did this when he was about 11 or 12 weeks. He's been good and slept well, apart from swiping an occasional sock and a couple of nights were he kept jumping on our bed (when he realised he could get up there) its worked well for us. Now he goes to bed when we do and wakes when we get up - times do vary due to my job. If he wakes before us (very rarely!) he goes and sits and stares at my OH until his eyes open...he then leaps on the bed ready to play!
There is nothing wrong with having a dog in your bedroom, if that's what you want to do. Although I do think it's also sensible to have a dog able to sleep alone if necessary (vet's, kennels etc). The 'does he need a wee' thing is the disadvantage to having a dog in a crate. It requires you to be really certain what the dog is making a noise about. I do think having a dog in a pen is better for this (I use crates, for all sorts of things, but not to put a dog in overnight unless I really need to do so). My new puppy, at 4 months, sleeps from 11pm to 7am without making a noise at all. She was in a pen at first, not a crate, and I never went to her when she was barking (and she barked quite a lot, but has now stopped completely). She also never had a wee or a poo in her pen - so the noise was never because she needed to go out to toilet. I have her in a crate overnight this week, because I'm in a holiday cottage, and she still sleeps 8 hours without making a noise. Not all 4 month pups would have the bladder capacity to do this, of course, but I'm really happy she is now completely silent in her crate.
I agree with JulieT, I have ummed and aahed about whether to have a crate for my next pup, but I'm going to use the pen again. ..
