This is a long post...

[Emily, Jace, & Maggie Devers]

I have posted this two places already and I promise I'm not crying for attention! Lol, I accidentally posted it in the food group and it had nothing to do with food. I'm so sleep deprived.. LOL! But As most of you know we added a new member to our little pack this weekend, boy was I unprepared. But really, how prepared for a puppy who you know nothing about can you get?! Maggie is very vocal. She will "talk" to jace and I'm just gonna say it she WHINES! She's a big drama queen for sure. She does not like being out of my sight for a second! I understand that she doesn't understand the concept of being left alone yet and I sympathize with her but last night was rough. Almost as rough as I look today. She would pitch a fit about every 30 min from 10-12, then I got in the floor next to her crate, put my husbands Tshirt in there with her and stuck my fingers in the crate. She piped down and slept from 12-3:30 when I woke her up to take her to potty! How long do puppies typically do the whole "crying" thing? I never had to deal with that with jace so that part us new to me! She's doing so well with potty training. Day 3 and 0 accidents, not that she really gets the opportunity! The only thing that's worrying me is the poops so little. Like maybe 3 times in 24 hours... Is that normal? Her stool is a tad bit loose but she is on awful food right now and she's probably stressed... We have a vet appointment tomorrow just to get her checked up and tested for any intestinal parasites. Fingers crossed all comes back okay! All in all I am happy with Maggie, still a little nervous with her around jace, he likes to knock her over with his paw and nibble on her like he's grooming her. She's starting to love him, she cuddled up to him this morning! :) he allowed it for maybe 2 min. We're making good adjustment progress in our house. But like I just said, it's an adjustment for us all..

[Robin & Josie]

Hi Emily:

I copied my reply from your original post in the food group to here. First of all, I'm guessing that you don't have any children because rule #1 is NEVER WAKE A SLEEPING BABY!! Especially when their really little and they wake up on their own plenty. You need your sleep and you have to sleep when they do.

Having said that, my youngest child is 26, so it's been a while on the baby thing, and maybe that's not the rule anymore, but I would definitely say that it is for puppies!! No need to wake them to take them out. 

Josie was a couple of weeks older when we got her and the breeder told us that she was sleeping in her crate alone, through the night. Our challenge was to change "her" night to "our" night. They were putting her down at 9 and she was getting up at 5. That is a good number of hours, just skewed differently. We would take her out right before we went to bed at 11ish and she would sleep til 5ish or until one of us would get up to use the bathroom. She would whine a little, we took her out and put her back in and she slept until 7 or 8.

The first two nights were pretty rough. She did more than whine at first. I would say hysterical high-pitched barking was more like it. We learned to ignore her (and put in ear plugs) and after two nights of about an hour of that, she went right to sleep. At about 18 weeks, I think, we let her start sleeping with us and she sleeps until we are up for the day. On weekends, that could be from 11 or 12 until at least 9. Doesn't make a peep. When we go out, we leave her in the crate and she's usually very good. She has never had an accident in the crate either.

She still doesn't like to be away from us (or whomever her people of the moment are). In fact, if she starts wandering, that's our cue to take her out. She just doesn't go too far, as a rule.

They grow and change so fast, try and enjoy this time when she's really little! Great to hear that the two are getting along as best as can be expected at this stage.

Good luck!!

[Linda And Loo]

Emily, I read this twice and I had the same reaction Robin had, why did you wake her up to take her out? First nite we had Loo home, she slept until 5 and then she woke me up andI took her out to poddy and then back in her crate until 7 when we all got up! Where is Jace sleeping? I put Loo's crate next to RB's crate. RB did not like the whinning any more than we did. After a couple minutes of the whinning RB, barked at her a couple times and that was it. Loo slept until 5. Emily take a few deep breaths, relax and let her whine herself to sleep! It will not hurt her. Ear plugs might help, I liked that suggestion! Hang in there!

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Congratulations on your new addition!

A new puppy is a big adjustment for everyone in the family. Much bigger than most people realize. It sounds like Jace was a pretty easy puppy, and maybe you had some expectations going in. In our case it was Lucy, our first, who was the difficult one (although potty training was a breeze), but we didn't know any different since Lucy was our first dog ever. Oscar's temperament was so much more mellow, so we were pleasantly surprised when he joined our 'pack'. Potty training him was a bear though...not fun.

I'm not going to scold you for waking a sleeping puppy...lol. It does sound like you're on the right track with keeping her nighttime crate in your bedroom. What we did with both of our's was to have the crate right next to my side of the bed where they could see me, and if they fussed (and I was certain they didn't have to go potty), I just dangled my fingers through the top of the crate. That seemed to calm them and allow them to settle again. Those first few days though, were rough, with them wanting me to be within sight every moment. It gets better.

It sounds, too, like Jace and Maggie will be fast buds. I wouldn't worry too much about Jace knocking Maggie over, etc. Lucy did that to Oscar constantly with her nose. It was great fun for her, and it never hurt Oscar. As long as the puppy isn't yelping in pain and can get away and take shelter somewhere, like under a chair or behind a piece of furniture when she's had enough rough housing, it should be fine.

Good luck. In 4 weeks life will be a lot different than it is currently!

[Pilar, Sophie & Rico]

I have had 3 pups in my life and all three put me through hell the first few nights! Ear plugs is my recommendation and if you can't take it don't feel bad to place the crate in the last room of the house and close the door. I'm not a bad mommy I was losing my mind with lack of sleep and you gotta find what will work for you. It will get better. Congrats on her potty training. My Rico who is now 7 months did potty breaks twice during the night hours for many months! His personality is also different than my 1 1/2 year old Sophie. He's a mamas boy and needs to see me around. She's more independent. The best is that they will love each other and you'll enjoy them playing ( once she gets bigger) and know that all is worth it. Good luck.

[Emily, Jace, & Maggie Devers]

the only reason I woke her was because I was kind of afraid I wouldnt be able to tell the difference between her "get me out of here!!!" cry and "I need to pee" cry. LOL:) Debb, I didn't originally think I had expectations because I worked really hard to not have them, but I honestly did. It's kind of impossible when the only experience you've had is what you're basing it on! Robin, when I said whining I truly meant a shriek that will rip at your nerves, LOL:) we have the "wander" rule with Jace as well, but honestly she doesn't even have a chance to wonder because if she's not cuddling on the couch or bed with us, she's in her play-pen or in the crate sleeping! :)  I really want to thank everyone for the replies, they really make me feel a lot better:) I know that soon, everything will be the new "normal" 

[Jen W]

Hang in there! It gets so much better. My puppy just turned 1 this weekend which led me to feeling nostalgic for her tiny puppy days, even though I spent most of those first weeks unshowered, in tears and completely sleep deprived.

For me, Dory always cried at night until one night about 2 months in when I lost my mind and let her out of the crate, unable to take it anymore. I put her bed in the hallway outside my bedroom door and shut my door. She didn't make a peep and has been sleeping there ever since. I knew her having an accident was a risk since she wasn't in her crate, but that was a risk I was willing to take and it worked out. You really will just have to find what works for you.

I cannot related to your poop scenario though. Dory is the most prolific pooper in the world. It's astonishing really.

[Emily, Jace, & Maggie Devers]

btw, ear plugs sound like a fantastic idea if this doesn't resolve in a couple of days, I can't be sleep deprived much longer.

[Bob Johnston]

Do you have anything in the crate with her while she is supposed to be sleeping. Is the crate fully covered so no light can get in. Is there a floor or just the pan at the bottom of the crate. and last where do you have the crate in your house.

[Emily, Jace, & Maggie Devers]

Yes, there are two of my husbands ABU t-shirts, and a stuffed lamb that's about the size of her that she likes to cuddle with, we fully covered the crate the first night but she likes the front to be open so she can see us, she did a million times better last night with the front open of the cover open. There's a soft bed in there acting as the floor right now, and the crate is in our bedroom at the foot of our bed next to jaces.

[Bob Johnston]

if she doesn't seem to sleep well try taking the bed out it seems most doodles like the cold hard surface to sleep. you may want to try putting a fan in the room for white noise. it sounds like you gave covered all the other things that are normally an issue with puppies and sleeping.