My puppy cries all night long!!

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Lorna
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri May 10, 2013 8:48 pm
Location: Ireland

My puppy cries all night long!!

Post by Lorna »

Hi, My puppy is 6 weeks old, we got her at 5 weeks as her previous owner was planning on putting her to sleep if we didn't take her, she was feeding on her own and sleeping away from her mother so she wasn't too bad, the first two nights she cried a little but soon settled into her bed in the kitchen, but the last two nights she its crying so loud all night! I live in Ireland and its currently 3:10am and I'm still awake over her crying, I was told to ignore her as she's only looking for attention but its getting impossible to ignore! She's keeping my whole family awake and there starting to get stressed and annoyed too! Please help before it gets worse. Thanks in advance!!
tylerthegiant
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Joined: Fri May 10, 2013 3:41 am
Location: Phoenix, AZ

Re: My puppy cries all night long!!

Post by tylerthegiant »

I'm sure you know, but she's just a tiny little baby. She is used to sleeping with her mom and littermates. Is she in a crate, or loose in the kitchen with a bed? Have you tried may be putting a hot water bottle covered in a blanket near her or a ticking clock (to simulate a heartbeat-and only if she's being crated-because they could be dangerous to her if she had direct access to them). Sometimes that helps.

I don't mean to sound harsh so please forgive me, but she's a puppy, crying at night is only the first of many annoying, inconvenient things she's going to do before she gets to be a stable, calm adult. Sleeplessness stinks, but sometimes it's helpful to remember when you have a puppy that these "puppy adjustments" don't last forever.
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JudyN
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Re: My puppy cries all night long!!

Post by JudyN »

She's crying because she's scared and lonely, which is understandable.

Would you consider having her sleep in your room? If she slept in a crate by your bed you would be able to reassure her when she cried - you should also be taking her outside in the night as she's not old enough to go through without accidents. If you don't want her to sleep in your room long-term then when she is older you can gradually move the crate away from your bed and out of the room. An alternative is for you to 'camp' in the kitchen and gradually withdraw.

Or you might decide to just let her sleep on your bed, snuggled up to you :D
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emmabeth
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Re: My puppy cries all night long!!

Post by emmabeth »

Confidence is THE most important thing you need to teach a new puppy, so either you sleep where she is, or she sleeps where you are.

Once you have confidence you can teach anything else you like, but if you haven't got a confident dog, you will struggle with everything, and I do mean, everything, else.

The other HUGE benefit of sleeping in the same room as your puppy, is that you can hear her wake, and take her straight outside to toilet - this shaves WEEKS or even MONTHS off toilet training!

Once shes confident and happy, and clean overnight (and she won't be capable of being clean overnight for probably another four weeks) then you can begin to teach her to deal wtih being on her own for short periods and if you want to, build her up to sleeping elsewhere overnight.

Alternatively if you persist in making her sleep on her own, theres a really high chance she will learn that if she makes a noise, you will come back, even if she achieves that by screaming all night until morning, whereby she associates you coming back with her having put in a good 6 hours effort on the screaming front.. (and thats a brilliant way to set up a seperation anxiety howling/crying/barking problem) and/or she learns to toilet in her sleeping place over night, because shes got no other option.

Sorry if I sound ranty but I absolutely DETEST the old fashioned advise to leave a tiny puppy, in a very critical period for learning, to scream itself to sleep - this is THE most important time in a pups life for learning, the LAST thing you want her to learn good and hard is that being left alone is DREADFUL and she must scream and scream and scream for help (and it is help, its not 'im a brat and im seeking attention', it is 'i am terrified and desolate and totally alone and desperate!').
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Nettle
Posts: 10753
Joined: Sun Apr 13, 2008 1:40 pm

Re: My puppy cries all night long!!

Post by Nettle »

I agree - I grew up in the days when puppies were left to scream all night, and it is so much easier nowadays when you just have them in a crate in your room with you until they are developed enough to sleep alone. :)


People still tell me I'll 'ruin' the dog and it's 'giving in' but I don't and it isn't - it's treating a scared baby with kindness and forethought.
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

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Lorna
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri May 10, 2013 8:48 pm
Location: Ireland

Re: My puppy cries all night long!!

Post by Lorna »

Thanks so much for all the advice! I left her sleep in my room last night in her crate and she only cried once, I put my hand down to let her know I was there and she stopped right away, I heard her wake about 5 and brought her out to go to the toilet, she went back to sleep then till I woke at 8!! It was amazing, I couldn't believe she wasn't crying. I can't thank you guys enough!
gwd
Posts: 1958
Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2012 11:33 pm

Re: My puppy cries all night long!!

Post by gwd »

Lorna wrote:Thanks so much for all the advice! I left her sleep in my room last night in her crate and she only cried once, I put my hand down to let her know I was there and she stopped right away, I heard her wake about 5 and brought her out to go to the toilet, she went back to sleep then till I woke at 8!! It was amazing, I couldn't believe she wasn't crying. I can't thank you guys enough!
this totally made my day. seriously a big ear to ear smile.

i LOVE that you listened to the advice and didn't dismiss it as 'i'm caving in' or 'in MY day, puppies damn well learned to deal with separation' ........or 'NO!!!! i MUST have the puppy sleep in the kitchen'!

you have no idea how many times people ask (or post) for solutions and then, if the answer doesn't match what they were wanting to hear.......they dismiss the advice. ........THANK YOU for listening.

the best start in life you can give your puppy is for the baby to feel secure.......that sets up a confidence that makes everything else a walk in the park! all sorts of behavior problems and training issues can just be avoided and never even become issues if you're starting with a dog that trusts you and has self confidence. ......

hey, not to say that it's all going to be smooth sailing. ........but your baby is learning that you're someone to be counted on!

<standing up and starting slow clap of appreciation> :mrgreen:
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tylerthegiant
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Joined: Fri May 10, 2013 3:41 am
Location: Phoenix, AZ

Re: My puppy cries all night long!!

Post by tylerthegiant »

:D 8) :mrgreen:
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OnceInAWeil
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Joined: Sat Oct 20, 2012 4:20 pm
Location: AZ, USA

Re: My puppy cries all night long!!

Post by OnceInAWeil »

Lorna wrote:Thanks so much for all the advice! I left her sleep in my room last night in her crate and she only cried once, I put my hand down to let her know I was there and she stopped right away, I heard her wake about 5 and brought her out to go to the toilet, she went back to sleep then till I woke at 8!! It was amazing, I couldn't believe she wasn't crying. I can't thank you guys enough!
Awww, that made my day, too! Happy Mother's Day with your new baby :)
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