Teddy is finally home, and i forgot everything!

[Mona A.]

Hey All,

 

Teddy came home yesterday and did great for his first day. He mostly slept on the car ride home and definitely recognized me when we went to the breeder (i met him during temperament testing a few weeks ago.)

 

He slept through the night and woke up at 5am whining/crying. I took him out to go to the bathroom, and then when we brought him back in, he was letting out the worst shreiking noise when we put him back in the crate. He had his snugglepup (rubbed on his brothers), chew toy, and my t-shirt. None of this work. Eventually we had to move him to the bed where he slept for another 3 1/2 hours straight very calmly.

 

Today i left him in his exercise pen with his crate attached, toys, snugglepup, my shirt, food, puppy pads. I came back to him whining. If i am in his visibility, he whines at the top of his lungs. Even if he isnt in his pen and is walking around my room. If i dont give him attention he cries.

 

I just put him in his crate...he slept for about 15 minutes and has been crying for the last 20 minutes. Does anyone have any advice on the crying/whining? Any and all advice is helpful. I've gone through books and other threads and have tried a lot of things. Not sure what to do now.

 

Thanks,

Mona
 

[Mimi Linna, Lilly and Lolly]

Hi mona.. i was you two wks ago. This is what I did... this is not what the books say. the first night I slept on the floor in the kitchen on a mattress.. she slept in the bed with me. the next night I put her in the crate and listened to her howl, cry, say she hated me and wanted to go back to her mom.. I took her put of the crate and she when she went to sleep I put her back in the crate..and let her cry for another hour and then she slept with me. I spent every minute of her awake time with her. If she was sleeping during the day, it was on my lap. I was down on the floor with her. The third night I threw my shirt that I wore that day in the crate and she cried for a bit and went to sleep.. the crate is in the bedroom next to the bed.. I would do the shhhhh, shhhhh, its okay I am here and had the sound machine on rain. she slept for 1.5 hours. there was one night she was up every 45 minutes. It is now week 2 .5 and she sleep for about 3 to 4 hrs every night. I put her in the crate and say night/ night.. and she may whimper but goes to sleep. every puppy is different.. but this worked for me.. potty training and leash training are our new things to work on... hugs

[Mimi Linna, Lilly and Lolly]

p.s teddy is beautiful..

[Steve Drury]

Hi Mona, He's a cutie. But if you give him attention when he whines and cries you are teaching him that it is an effective way to get what he wants. So you need to ignore unwelcome behavior and reward the wanted behavior. When he's whining and crying for attention you need to ignore him. (obviously not if he's crying for some legitimate reason) And when he's quiet and resting contently----THAT'S when you heap attention on him. He will learn crying gets him nothing----being calm and quiet gets him lots of attention. Both our girls are total people-dogs. They like us more than each other. The most tortuous thing we can do to reprimand them is turn our backs and ignore them. They get back in line pretty quickly when we do.

[Elizabeth & Cooper]

First of all - what a cutie! Congrats on having him home. I can totally related to what you're going through. The first full day I had Cooper home I thought I had made the biggest mistake ever. I tried to put him in his pen and he whined non-stop. I left him for 5 minutes and he had managed to escape (turns out some of the latches got bent in the box). I spent a LOT of time on this site and talking to other owners and everyone assured me it would get better. I actually didn't shower for the first two days (yah, I know... gross) because he'd cry when I'd go out of site. But, it DID get better every day. I had to take a step back and start off slower with the pen. I put all his toys and his food/water in it. I'd start by giving him treats in there and then when he'd fall asleep I'd try to put him in there with the door open. I never thought I'd have to go through these kinds of steps but I have to say that slowing down really sped things up. By the end of that first day he was getting up and going in there himself to sleep (I almost cried happy tears when it first happened) and then after 2 or 3 days he'd go in and not make a sound. If he'd bark I would shake my 'no bark' can which is a pop can with pennies in it. If he'd whine I'd try to just say 'you're okay' in a soothing voice but NOT let him out. It was hard but I didn't want him to think that he could whine and I'd come running to free him. One of the really important things I got from the site was to try to only let him out when he's quiet. Even if it's only for 30 seconds.

As for the separation thing, in my opinion you just have to be sensitive to him as he has just left all his siblings. The first couple of days he will whine and he'll want you near him as you're now his 'pack'. Take it bit by bit and just get him used to you not being in eye sight. You'll need to let him cry a bit but he'll get through it. I remember my first shower (in which I didn't even wash my hair - just hosed myself off) he cried the entire time. It was horrible. But, it's been a week and a half and now I can work from my home office and I'll hear the odd whine but it's SO much better.

I hope that helps. I'm no pro and the others on the site have far more experience than I do. BUT, I will say this. I've only been at this for 1.5 weeks but hearing what you're going through seems like ages ago which goes to show you how quickly these little guys grown and learn and become independent.

Best of luck and don't hestitate to keep on posting questions!!! I know this site has saved me!

Elizabeth (and Cooper)

[Elizabeth & Cooper]

A couple more things. Mimi Linna and Lilly reminded me of something. I eased into the crate thing at night by starting Cooper off in his small travel crate that I put on top of the big crate .This made him level with me so he could, in theory, see me. I could also put my finger in the crate if i needed too. I did this for 3 nights. Then, I eventually moved him to the big boy crate on the ground. If you can't do a similar setup maybe put the travel crate (if he came home in that) on the bed??? Worked really well.

Another thing - don't worry about forgetting everything. I read a bunch of books and thought I had it all figured out and within the first couple hours I realized a) I forgot at least half and b) what I did remember wasn't really working. Some of what you hear/read will work and other things will need to be adapted for your pup. For example the whole Cesar Millan 'tskkk' thing is laughable in Cooper's eyes. I have learned I need more assertive sounds to break his behaviour. You'll figure it out.

One of the final things I'll add is something the woman at the amazing pet supply store by me said. The best advice is to not listen to advice. I know that seems weird given that I'm giving you advice now BUT you'll quickly learn that everyone will want to give you their 2 cents. If you ask for it then that's awesome BUT once you get in a groove and get your own methods in place stick to them. If you listen to everyone and their dog (literally) it will drive you bonkers!

 

Okay. that's all for me!

[Jaime and Barley Barker]

I live near Pam Dennison who is a well-known dog trainer and I have attended several of her obedience classes. She recommended that we get a CD of harp music to calm one of our dogs who is often anxious. I started playing it for Barley when he was a puppy and would whine when I went put him in the crate. I found that with the harp music, he calmed down within 10 minutes. It's an idea to try!

[Melody & Bruin]

I am going to go now, checking out the harp music...BRB

[Melody & Bruin]

meditation music, I work in a hospital and this music floats through all the buildings, very soothing - I am going to try this for my little guy and ME!  Thanks Jaime

 

And Teddy is darling!

 

[Jaime and Barley Barker]

You are very welcome! I hope it works for you. Teddy is adorable, and so is your little guy.

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

I was one of the lucky ones, having a pup that never did whine or cry, ever. We brought her home at 7-1/2 weeks old and it was as if she knew we were 'the ones' from the moment I held her to take her home. Once home, she seemed comfortable with the crate immediately. I left the door open with food and water in the crate for her to go into at her leisure. We had a smaller crate for sleeping next to our bed the first 2 nights, but honestly, she was so settled in when we brought her home that she probably would have been ok with starting out in her big crate downstairs. That doesn't mean she wasn't attached to me, however. When she was out of her crate she was inevitably as close to me as possible, often laying on my feet while I did dishes. She wasn't much of a lap dog, but always wanted to be close. Now, I don't know for CERTAIN that this helped, but I THINK it did...we bought the CD "While You Are Gone - Music Pets Love" http://www.amazon.com/While-You-Are-Gone-Music/dp/B00004ZB78 , and played it in the car ride home with Lucy. She slept in my lap the entire way. We played it anytime she went into her crate (with the door latched) for nap times and at bed time and eventually, anytime we left the house. We used it in the car for car rides too. I swore by that CD those first weeks home. Now, I've read some reviews that it had the opposite effect on one or 2 dogs, due to the sounds of children playing on the 1st track, but for Lucy, it was nothing but soothing and sleep inducing.

Its worth a try. Good luck!

[BRADY GOOSE MOORE (Mini Doodle]

Congrats to you ... Teddy is precious!   Here's what I did with Brady first night in our home.  (Not what the books say but we've now had him for 8 weeks and I believe it was perfect for him).   Firstly, we didn't even have a crate until he was 3 days home.   First night I placed his 'soft bed' on the floor beside ours, put him in (on) it "goodnight Brady". (He immediately got out and started wandering around the room.  I picked him up and brought him into bed with me and he fell asleep right away.   He slept all night until about 5:30 a.m. (I didn't because I was worried he'd fall out and hurt himself!).  Night 2:   I did put him in his soft bed  & toy on floor beside my bed, 'goodnight Brady', got into bed with the light on and began to read (he wandered around the room - I ignored him...I read book, he sat and watched me, I got up, no talking and put him on his little bed again....we went through this a few times all with no talking and eventually he surprised me by falling asleep.   He slept until early morning...I woke up to find him looking around but in his bed - again  with 'no talking' carried him downstairs and out to pee and poop.  "Good pee,  good poop" - picked him up, carried upstairs and took him into bed with me where he slept for 2 to 3 hours!  This continues to be our routine even at 15 weeks .... I introduced the crate during the day very slowly by putting a treat in, leaving door open.  He'd wander in initially to get the treat and right back out.   A few days later he stayed in on his own for a little sleep and awoke to an open door.   I now put him in his crate at least once a day with p.butter filled kong and close the door while I putter around so he can see me from time to time but hear me constantly.  He actually loves his crate and often chooses it now quite often.   We also use the crate if we have to go out - but he has built up to longer stints in there very gradually.   Your little guy just sounds like he's missing his litter mates and Mom .... I think more cuddling might be the answer.  Maybe all he needs is more assurance that he's not alone?  

[Angel Schilling-Putnam]

What great advice! I wish I would have come across this several months ago. It sounds to me like the perfect blend of sleeping and crate introduction. Gradual, gentle and effective. My husband and I didn't want to enforce a super strict all-or-nothing regimen and your advice fits the bill perfectly! Please keep me up to date on other thoughts as things progress:-)