SLEEPLESS NIGHTS for NEW PUPPY

[NS]

We just got our puppy last Thursday and are trying really hard to crate train him. During the day he will rest/sleep in the crate with minimal whining etc. We have had him for 5 nights and every single night he cries, whines, barks on and off the entire night and he poops in the crate. There is a chance he has Giardia because another puppy in his litter has it. (We are waiting to get the test results back) Does anyone have any suggestions for us? I thought puppies slept soundly and that when they were asleep their systems shut down so they don't poop or pee. The last 2 nights he pooped and peed before going in the crate and he still manages to make a huge mess in his crate. Now when he whines/barks we take him out in the middle of the night and sometimes he goes. I have no idea if he is whining cause he is lonely or if he needs to go to the bathroom. Any ideas??? Thank you in advance.

[BG and Gavin]

It is normal for you puppy to have to get up once during the night to go outside.  For the first week or so, I set my alarm to get up and take him out.  The next week I set the alarm for one hour later each night until by the end of the second week he slept through the night.  For crying in-between I would just coo softly to let him know we were there and wiggle my fingers into the crate.  Hopefully he does not have Giardia :(

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

If your puppy has Giardia, one of the most common symptoms is diarrhea.  If this is the case he may be whining because he is desperate to go out and go to the bathroom. I would contact the breeder because you just got him and they should be responsible for the vet fees, in my opinion. Think how you feel when you have the flu. You don't sleep through the night either. You also should do a search for Giardia, just in case, and make sure all the areas affected are being cleaned properly. Right now, on the front page, there is another discussion about Giardia.

If he doesn't have Giardia, he needs to still go out throughout the night. Where is the crate located? It helps to have it near you where your puppy can see you and hear you. If he is crying I would take him out with very little interaction, come back after he goes potty, put him back in the crate and just soothe him if he whimpers. I used to put my fingers in the crate so our dogs could smell them and know someone was there. Sometimes, a cuddle puppy or a shirt that smells like you also helps. Just make sure he isn't chewing the shirt...LOL. I also used treats as incentive when the dog went into the crate. One last thing...do you have lots of blankets, etc. in there with him. Sometimes, they get hot. Good luck and I hope he does not have giardia.

[NS]

Thanks for your response. We did buy the snuggle puppy and Bodi wasn't very interested in him, not to mention he peed and pooped on him. So I took him out and washed him. We take him out several times through out the night. Is it normal for puppies to only sleep in 1-2 hour increments at night? He also poops BEFORE he goes into the crate but still manages to poop 1 or 2x at night too. The crate is on our main floor and we sleep upstairs. We tried putting a blanket over the crate, we put the the snuggle puppy in the crate as well as; tshirts, soft blankets, we leave music on, turn off the lights and are using the divider to make the crate smaller. He is fine during the day but the nights are a different story. HELP........

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

Have you checked out the Puppy Madness group?  I've never had a puppy but i'm sure you'll find lots of helpful suggestions by searching the past discussions.  http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/puppymadness  There are 1500 members so you should be able to find something to help you out.  best of luck with the pup!

[BG and Gavin]

You will save yourself alot of heartache if you have the crate in your room.  They cry because they are away from the pack.  I did not do this the first night but learned after and it worked like a charm.  He may be pooing that much because he is sick.

[Adina P]

I second (or third) keeping the crate in your room if possible. Just being nearby and being able to see/sense you nearby should help a lot.  Plus you'll hear him if he starts to stir.  This is a very short period of his life...puppies sleep through the night MUCH more quickly/sooner than human infants.  It might also be temporarily worse if he does have giardia.  But once that is cleared up, he should be fine through the night.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

When we got our first puppy years and years ago, we kept her on a different floor than our bedroom at night. She cried for nights and it still makes me sad to this day that I let her cry. I didn't know any better and all the books I read said don't give in to the crying, etc. This was a big mistake in my book and I would never do this again to a puppy. Live and learn. When we got Fudge, I put her crate right next to my bed and it was a piece of cake compared with our first dog. Vern was even easier. They want to know you are there.....see you, smell you, etc. If it were me, I would move the crate to your bedroom. I also think if he is sick, he can't help going. You might want to join the Food Group and the Puppy Group also. What food is he on?

[Jen and Annie]

Puppies definitely want to be near their owner/pack. Dogs are very social animals and do not tend to bode very well when they are all alone. When we first got Annie, I looked into this - and apparently the whining is intended to 'call the pack' to let them know where the puppy is. It's like the puppy is calling for you to find him - he thinks he's lost, since he's not with the rest of the 'pack'. We have kept Annie's crate in our room from the time we brought her home.  She would whine for about the first 5 minutes of being in there but would soon fall asleep. And during the night if she woke up to whine, I would just stick a finger in the crate, say "Its OK" and she would go back to sleep.  We got Annie a little older, at 11 weeks - and the first few weeks home, we had to wake up once in the night to let her go potty.  By the time she was about 14-15 weeks, she was sleeping through the night.

As others mentioned - if the pup does have giardia, the accidents are probably a result of that. OR, the puppy is in a crate that is way too big for him to consider his sleeping space. If he is pooping to one side of the crate and sleeping on the other - the crate might be a little too big for him. Maybe move the crate divider so that puppy has just enough room to lay down, stand up and turn around in.

Stick with this pup - it will get better, I promise. Essentially you have what is the equivalent of a newborn in the house. Needs a little extra TLC for about another few weeks. Once the giardia clears up, and the pup is a bit older - he will sleep through the night.  I would say Annie

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

We kept Luna's crate RIGHT beside our bed for about the first week.  Anytime she cried loudly she wouldn't get any attention, but as soon as she quieted down a bit my husband would put his hand through the bars of the crate to give her some reassurance.  That worked REALLY well and she soon learned that being quiet was a good thing.  We let her out 1-2 times a night for about the first week, then after that she was okay to sleep through the night.  It sounds like your pup probably is sick if he's that desperate.

[Ginny Nightingale]

I also agree that you need to be closer to the pup at night and I suspect that the frequent pooping is because of some type if intestinal distress--hang in there! Hopefully, you did not change food and have the pup on the same thing the breeder was feeding--and if the stool is loose, the vet can give you something to soothe the intestinal tract even if Giardia test is negative. You can get suggestions from the vet about bland food for a few days too--chicken and rice for example.

Feed the pup three times a day but not after 6 and no water after 6. 

Just another thought if putting him right next to you is impossible--with my new pup, I put a big blanket over me and sat near him in the dark until he drifted off--then I snuck away and left the blanket behind--I don't think he knew I left....

[NS]

Thanks everyone for your advice!!  Most things I have read and the trainer we are working with said to keep him out of our bedroom. Many suggested using the divider which we are using, his current space is small. He really likes the crate during the day and in the evening when we are home. I am thinking of using the crate that was given to us by the breeder for our bedroom. In your opinion if we put a crate in our bedroom will I be able to retrain him down the road to sleep in a crate downstairs? I feel so bad for him, the last few nights have been hard on everyone. I am still waiting on the test results to see if he has Giardia.  Thanks again for all of your tips....

[Jen and Annie]

Maybe you could try to slowly move the crate out of the bedroom - say, 6 inches closer to the door every other night - then outside of the bedroom door, then at the base of the stairs, etc? I think that for a puppy, leaving his mom and littermates, and into a new home - then to be stuck all alone at night - it's just too much for them to handle all at once. I don't think that 'once in the bedroom, always in the bedroom' - and I think you could gradually move him out. You will most likely sleep better having him in there, becuase he will probably calm down - he will realize he's not been abandoned..