Hi Sorry bit of a story before the questions. Need a bit of advise, which I can't seem to find anywhere. We got a new puppy last week, 8 weeks old. For the first week we let her sleep in our bedroom to allow her to settle and us getting used to her toilet habits. She slept in a large box, lined with blankets. This was no problem, and she woke us up, or I was awake to make sure that there where no accidents. We have a crate downstairs that she used for the first few days, within her room. On Thursday I bought a bed for her as she was cold. She loves the bed and she slept in that at night in our bedroom for the remainder of her first week. Over the weekend, we moved her downstairs into her crate. Left the door open as I stayed downstairs until her toilet break at 2am. Then went to bed upstairs until 5:20 when she wakes up for morning outings. The first night she was OK and I made sure that she could go to the toilet. second night she could not settle and we let her sleep upstairs again. Last night we tried again to let her sleep downstairs. Her normal toilet habits are midnight, 2am and 5:30. I took her out to the toilet at 11 pm, then went to bed. She cried for about 5min. But she ended up having a small runny poo (and some others more solid ones). None where in the crate. My question is: when did you start to close the door on the crate at night? is the small runny poo from anxiety? and how do I change her toilet times. Am I better of changing the 2am one first? Thanks for your help Sven
Hi Sven and welcome to the forum We, too, had our young puppy in the bedroom with us for the first few nights, just to help in settle-in after being parted from his home/mother/siblings. After that he was in his crate downstairs, with the door closed, and that has never changed. Personally I would resist the temptation to bring the puppy back upstairs to your bedroom - if she realises that crying/not settling in her crate will result in you coming to fetch her then guess what she is going to do every night? As regards toilet habits, all puppies seem to vary greatly. The breeder that we got Harvey from suggested letting him sleep through without waking him for toilet breaks - admittedly it was 11.30-12 at night until around 5 in the morning for a while but he never once toileted in his crate. Others will need 3 visits each night until their little bladders are able to last a whole night. Dogs greatly dislike toileting in their bed/crate and will avoid it if at all possible. That is likely to be why she didn't toilet in her crate. It is up to you to make sure that she is never in a position where she feels that she has to go in the crate (otherwise this could become a habit). Change the toileting times gradually - eg move it forward by 15 minutes once a week (week 1 2am, week 2 2.15am, week 3 2.30am etc). The runny poo could be for a number of reasons. One cause is over-feeding - this often produces relatively firm poo initially followed by some looser poo. This seems to fit with your description - how much are you feeding her?
Hi Uncle Bob, thanks for the reply. Will try and answer in order. When you moved him downstairs into the crate and closed the door, presume he cried for a while? I am trying to understand the difference between shutting the door at night and leaving it open during the day and only shutting it for short period in the beginning. Given that she is not crate trained. She has a whole room to herself. Neither of us go to her when she is crying or barking. Always wait until she is quiet. Problem was that she literally did not settle at all and we had to get some sleep. Toileting I don't have an issue with as I just take her when she needs. Just wanted to know if extending by 15 in was per week or per couple of days. Your answer about per week is what we will try. Who knows she might last longer soon... Regarding her poo, I thought it was anxiety as she also did this on Saturday evening when we had a fire going for the first time, and a loose poo again last night after leaving her. We are in transitioning her food and currently feeding her on the low side of what is recomended. Split 4 times per day, changing to 3 times this weekend. Then again could have something to do with the treats given that we are training her...will monitor and see if same happens again tonight. Just concerned that if it is because of anxiety that she will just do it in the crate... thanks
I've just looked back at our Harvey diary (yes we recorded everything for a while just for reference! ). He spent 2 nights in our bedroom (in his crate) from 10pm to 5.45am with no whining or toileting. We then put him and his crate downstairs. He cried for 5-10 minutes and then settled. This isn't advice, as I'm not sure whether it is recommended or not, but I used to lie next to Harvey's crate for 5 minutes or so until he began to fall asleep. He slept from 10pm to just before 5am when he cried to be let out for a pee, then back in the crate until 6am. We had booked around 2 weeks off work and we worked a lot on house-training and crate training during this period. If all of this sounds annoyingly easy take comfort from two things: 1. I think it was just good luck on our part rather than having any particular skills (we are first time dog owners). 2. We did have issues in other areas to keep us entertained! With the extension of time on the toileting I think it is a matter of trying to find what works for you (and your puppy). You don't have to stick to a rigid timetable - if you think she is showing good progress you could bring the extension forward, if she's struggling then push it back. It isn't a race - it takes as long as it takes (and when you look back in a year's time you'll barely remember it!). Poo and food are pretty frequent topics on the forum - there is always something to question. Make any food transitions gradual, over a week or so, so it isn't too much of a shock for young tums. BTW what's your pup's name? Have you any pictures?
Hi Sven, I thought I would just add my experience for you. I brought Juno home from the breeder at 10.5 weeks and she was happy in her crate from the very beginning. Popped her in the first night after some practice, turned the lights out in the kitchen and she cried. We just decided then and there that she was not going to cry so I got her out the crate and my OH carried it upstairs. In the bedroom I popped her back in, turned out the lights and stood beside the crate talking softly to he with my hands on the sides. I then got in bed and continued to speak quietly to her. We ha a few little whimpers for a few minutes but then she settled without any problems. The door of the crate was closed. Being in the bedroom had the benefit of hearing when she started getting fidgety for a toilet trip. She was relegated to the kitchen after around 10 nights when she settled without any problems in her crate with the door closed. I listened out for whimpers but there wasn't a sound from her. By the time she was sleeping downstairs in the kitchen she was round to one toilet break around 5:30 when I used to come down for her, pop her on her lead, out the door, pee/poop, back in her crate, lead off, quick good night again and back to bed, with as little interaction as possible. On the runny poo problem, it could be caused by the change over to a new different as her tummy adjusts or it could be down to the treats used for training. For a young puppy I would tend to stick to using their ordinary kibble rather than commercial treats. A puppy really doesn't care - it's just getting something it loves
