New puppy crying at night?

Question

My new puppy settled in well at first but for the last two nights has taken particular exception to being in his crate for the nights sleep. He can sleep through without wetting the crate as he did this for the first three nights without complaint.

He is definitely anxious about being apart from us as he crys as soon as we go into another room without him. I have been strict so that he does not get into any other rooms and so cannot follow me about.

I haven't left the house without him yet and think I should probably start to do this very gradually so that he gets used to us not being around for short periods.

There is a lot of conflicting advice around saying that you should have them in the room for the first few nights but others saying not because they will then never want to leave. I tried leaving a radio on which had a small effect. I will also try the ticking clock.

I guess most the advice says to leave him to bark his way through it but my neighbours will hate me!

I think I should mention to the people that say I am being too strict that I have taken vets advice on this. If you allow your dog to follow you around all the time they do not understand why you stop it when you are unable to and develop separation anxiety. To the person with 8 dogs - I think they are happy because they are in a pack. This is one puppy on its own. Of course I want to pet him all the time and cuddle him but I've been advised that if I do not want a dog that is unable to be separated from me at any point then I should not do this.

I've read an awful lot of training manuals and am taking my responsibility very seriously I was just asking for some experiences from others as to what helped them.

If for some reason the question riles you then please do not feel you have to answer.

Answer 1

Great to hear he can hold it through the night - this is evidence that you are on the path to success!
Stick to what you have already been doing - you are doing things the right way.
He will eventually settle down once he realises that - 1) crying is not going to bring you running 2)he is safe and there is nothing to be afraid of.
To help him reach this conclusion as quickly as possible, do not respond to him during the night when he cries. Don't go down at all. When you go to bed at night - have a good game with him first to get him tired. Wait until he settles in his crate and even falls asleep before you leave the room. Make sure you withdraw food and water at about 8pm so that he doesn't get desperate during the night and cry because he needs to go wee. Leave some none edible chewy things in there so he can be occupied when he wakes up in the night.
Practice leaving him during the day in his crate by giving him a delicious chewing thing and then leaving him for a few minutes. Ideally, only leave him when he is settled and relaxed and in his crate. You want him to learn that when you leave him there it is a positive experience and eventually when he is in his crate it is time to relax and wait. Never let him out of the crate when he is crying - wait until he calms down, even if it means waiting until he goes to sleep and waking him up. He will quickly learn to be quiet.
If you are firm and strict as you have been he will soon understand.
If you had a new baby it would cry for up to a year before it slept through the night so your neighbours should be glad that you are a determined dog owner and they'll only have to put up with all this for another week or so!
Finally, well done for not letting the pup follow you everywhere. This is a hard lesson for a new pup to learn but you will be so glad you have taught it when you have a well adjusted and relaxed pet that doesn't destroy your house when you go shopping!!
Be strong and he will soon settle and understand the new house rules.

Answer 2

If the puppy is very distressed and clearly upset, then I will often suggest allowing it to sleep in your bedroom, but within an indoor kennel/crate. Then over a period of time move the crate in stages to the spot where you want the puppy to stay, for instance the kitchen.

If you decide that the bedroom is not the best place for the puppy, and their are some very good reasons why pups should not be allowed upstairs. Not least the fact that the bones are soft at this age and the pressure on the joints of the front legs whilst manoeuvring downstairs, can cause a condition called over- run. This is when the bone between the pastern and the forearm (see points of the dog) pushes over the forearm joint causing lameness and premature arthritis

The first thing you need to know about how to overcome this noise problem is you must ignore it, to go down and scold the puppy would be counter productive, irrespective of whether your appearance is positive or negative the fact that you appeared at all in response to the cries will have reinforced this crying instinct. If noise never elicits a response, then the pup will learn that this method of communication doesn’t work.

What never works is waiting whilst the puppy makes more and more noise then finally becoming annoyed or exasperated and going to the puppy. All that would teach the little horror was being especially PERSISTENT really works!

Punishment does NOT teach your dog to be quiet, any more than it would a baby crying. Punishment or anger would stress him more' and could create behaviour problems or affect your future relationship

You can help your puppy accept the separation more quickly by introducing the area you want the pup to stay gently and carefully. Feed favourite treats in this area, if you are using a crate then you can leave a stuffed Bone or Kong in the crate as you go up to bed

Answer 3

Basic Training of the Puppy - Read here https://tr.im/p7n73

The new puppy is certainly one of the most adorable and cuddly creatures that has ever been created. It is the most natural thing in the world to shower it with love and affection. However, at the same time it is important to realize that if you want to have a well trained adult dog, you need to begin the training process right away. The dog, like its related ancestor, the wolf, is a pack animal. One of the features of a pack is that it has a single dominant leader. Your new puppy is going to want that leader to be you, but if you do not assume that role from the very beginning, the puppy’s instincts will push him to become the leader.

The most important thing to remember about training the puppy during its first six months of life is that it must see you as the leader of the family pack. The essential thing is gaining the trust and the respect of the puppy from the beginning. You will not do this by allowing the puppy to do whatever it wants to do whenever it wants to do it. On the other hand, a certain amount of patience is required. Most people err in their early training by going to extremes one way or the other. Although you need to begin the basic training process at once, you can not expect your dog to do too much at first. Basic obedience training is fine and should include simple commands like sit, stay, and come. Remember that trying to teach the dog advanced obedience techniques when it is a puppy is much like trying to teach a five year old child algebra.

It is also important to restrain from cruel or abusive treatment of the puppy. You can not beat obedience into your dog, and it certainly is not going to engender feeling of respect and trust. House breaking is an area where this usually becomes a problem because of the anger that is triggered when the puppy fails and creates a mess inside the home. Although this issue must be addressed without anger, it most be addressed. If you allow the puppy to eliminate inside the house, it will continue to do so as an adult dog. The same thing is true of other destructive or dangerous behavior such as chewing and biting. Do not expect the puppy to grow out of it. You are going to need to train the puppy out of it, but you should do so firmly but with a sense of play and fun using positive reinforcement and lots of love and praise for good behavior.

Answer 4

I think you are being TOO strict. This is after all a baby creature with an inbuilt strong pack instinct. By leaving him alone for long periods while you are in a different room etc, you are making him fearful and insecure. Why bother having a pup at all if you don't want to spend every minute with it?
I have 8 dogs and spend most of the day with them when they were babies and some of them even slept in my bedroom. Mine are perfectly happy to be left for a few hours if I go shopping, or all day when I am at a poultry show. It's because they grew up feeling loved and secure.

Answer 5

When we first brought our puppy home, we wrapped a clock and a hotwater bottle in a blanket and put it in her bed at night, this is like a replacement of the mother and will help him settle in quicker. Start as you mean to go on, DO NOT allow the puppy to sleep in your room with you, as it will be very hard to break the habit later on, and cause him to cry even more.

Unfotunately there's not much you can do about him barking except ignore it or punish him with a stern "no" and a light smack on the rear. Do not give him any kind of positive attention, however small when he barks as this will just cause him to bark more. Once he realises it doesn't get him attention he should settle down.

Also, you could try taking him for a long walk just before bed time, that way he should be more tired and settle down easier.

Persevere and don't give in to him, as difficult as that may be. It will pay off in the long run, trust me.

Good luck, and here's wishing you and your 4 legged friend many years of happiness together x

Answer 6

Alot of puppys take a long time to settle in to a new home, i had alot of sleepless nights!! its up to you if u have him in your room or not but your right, he wont want to leave and will feel he is being punished when he has to go back out!!
i would have a word with your neighbours and explain the situation they may understand, and definitely start leaving him for short periods so he knows u are coming back.
Also i dont know if u are feeding him in his crate, if not then do as he will start to associate his crate with nice things! strange he was ok for the first few nights tho and has just started acting up, maybe something frightened him one night or something has changed?? Good luck he will settle down sooner or later!

Answer 7

i found that putting the crate right next to my bed at night made the dog less anxious as mine was the same. cos then you can pet it thru the bars to calm it and settle them like a baby... all without leaving ya bed. after a while you could let it roam the house during the night. I did with mine.. surprisingly it only messed a few times but thats when the puppy training pads come in!!

Answer 8

Theres not a lot they can do, complaining to the council takes weeks. Any noise pollution like that (it is usually parties/music) they will be asked to make a note of the times the pup is crying for a couple of weeks then a council official will come round to make a record of the noise himself. Months later if the noise conitinues, it will go to court. In your situation, it is not deliberate and hopefully in a few weeks the pup will be happier and quieter. Have you had him checked at the vet to make sure there is not something else wrong with him?I would do that if the pup does'nt settle in a few weeks. I would'nt worry about it, as for your pathetic neighbours, they cant even come to you face to face. Thats the trouble with flats, there is always someone that gives you hastle!

Answer 9

Your puppy will get used to ints new environment soon, but in the mean time try putting some of its normal biscuit food into a rubber kong (dog toy with a hole i it) and then sealing the hole up with a little smooth peanutbutter. This will keep him occupied for a while and he will probably tire himself out and fall asleep.
You could also try putting peanutbutter on any rubber toy witha bit of texture to make the peanutbutter harder to lick off.
Leaving your dog alone for short periods of time is a good idea leave it for about 10 mins then 20 then gradually build up to longer lengths of time. Do this gradually so it has time to adjust. Giving the peanutbutte toy will keep it occupied for a while. hope this helps
Try reading a book called I't's me or the dog' i can't remember the name of the authour, nut she had a great tv show too.

Answer 10

A hot water bottle will help too tho make sure its got a cover on it and the ticking clock will work as they think they are in the womb this way. My pup was the same and a vetinary friend gave me this advice and it worked and i was so glad, its just missing his mum which is easy to understand also give him a wee comfort for his crate too a furry toy which you can pick up from a good dog shop