Sleepy dog mom needs advice!

[Cammie Hensley]

One week in with Riggins, and for the most part he is doing pretty great. Our one issue is around bedtime. The first two nights we had him, he was up at 4:15am ready for the day. So we caught on and have done our best to not let him snooze too much before bedtime at night. For a few days he was sleeping from about 10pm to just about 6am (with potty breaks every 2 hours). It was awesome!

The last 2 nights have been 10pm-5am. He wakes up in his crate (which is next to our bed and he doesn't cry in at night at all!) and begins whimpering, chewing on his bedding, and chewing on the crate itself. When we get up with him, all he wants to do is cuddle, maybe gently mouth a toy, and sleep on our laps on the floor. He's doesn't need to potty, he doesn't want to play much, he just seems to want the company. I even tried sticking my fingers into the crate this morning to see if it would comfort him enough to hang out on his own. Nope.

What do we do?? We live in an apartment complex and are concerned his noise-making will wake the neighbors and so are trying to keep that to a minimum but would LOVE a little more sleep! Are we asking too much of a 9-week-old puppy?

[John Hillers]

We are having the same problem. Desmond slept all night 10-6 for the first couple weeks but now (3 months old) he is waking up at 4 and barks, cries, wines, howls until one of us gets up. I was getting up and laying down next to his crate with my fingers in it but that stopped doing the trick. Last night we just let him go hoping he would tire out and not wanting to encourage that behaviour but he went on for an hour and a half. Then it was actually time to get up. 

He finally got his 12 week shots yesterday so I'm hoping that I will be able to take him for walks before bed and wear his little booty out. 

[Kris and Sawyer]

We bought Sawyer the Snuggle Puppy. A cute stuffed toy that looks like a doodle and has a heartbeat sound you can turn on and off. It also has a warmer you can heat up. At night we warmed it up and turned the heartbeat on...supposedly mimics them still being with mom/littermates. He did fantastic. Never even had the crate in our room.

[Lynda Kamrath]

I've got to get one of these.  And I don't even have a puppy.  My first doodle had a playpen with a vibrator and a music box so at night I would just put him in bed, turn out the light and start the vibrator and music and he would be out.  It had a timer so it only went for about an hour.  Greatest babysitter and I didn't even keep it.   We have a small house, so I would give away the playpen when they were totally house trained, and get a new one with a new puppy.  I have crates and leave them with the doors open in the laundry room when we have rescue dogs, but do not use them in the house.  As soon as they are trained, they sleep anywhere they want in the house.

[Lynda Kamrath]

It is just adjustment time for you and your doodle.  I would suggest putting his bed somewhere else besides right by your bed and let him get adjusted to it before it is time for him to go to bed.  I don't use crates, but your dog will adjust his schedule so that it is more like yours.  You may have to put up with a night of crying, but try not to pay too much attention to it and hopefully your neighbors will not be kept awake by a howling puppy.  You do need to provide potty breaks at night and maybe each of you select a time you want to get up with the puppy and set your alarm.  Then wake him up even if he is fast asleep and take him outside for a potty break.  Afterwards, it is right back to bed for him and for you.  Do not play with him at potty time.  If he thinks he can get you to play with him (even a finger in his crate) he will be asking for it.  Don't be lured into play with him at night.  He will get it and so will you.  I know it is enticing to be playing with him to make him quiet and happy at night, but just DON'T do it.  We all go through this at some level with a new puppy, and they all grow into marvelous dogs.  So will yours!

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

Following this, as I am trying to stretch our guy to 6 am. Maybe we have too much snoozy time before 9:30-10ish bedtime, but when you are up at 5 it is hard to endure. He sleeps thru at 14 wks (always did, breeder prepped him well!) but is 6 am too much to ask in addition? It would mean so much to us. That would be 8-1/2 hrs without potty. Or does he need to be older for his bladder to endure? Aagh...

[Judi Kilpatrick]

Not much to add to the advice above except try to exercise him a lot in the evening before bed. I know he is too young to go outside for a lot of play since he hasn't had all of his shots but do lots of inside play. Have him chase a ball or any other toy that will hold his interest, I guess the point is to make sure he is very tired before he goes to bed so don't let him snooze too much in the evening.. The old saying 'a good dog is a tired dog' has been around a long time for a good reason. Good luck and keep us posted.

[Helga, Nimbus, Sierra, Clooney]

Exercise is important, but they also get lonely. Get a Snuggle Puppy or put a shirt with your scent in his crate. He'll feel like someone's with him. Good luck!

[Cammie Hensley]

Thanks for all the advice! We have a snuggle puppy, and while he hasn't decided it's a chew toy (yay!), he doesn't seem to care for it much one way or the other. We keep warming it and putting it in with him at night anyway, just in case. We are doing the timed potty breaks (waking him up, not letting him wake us up) and he does completely fine with this, no whining or anything when we put him back in the crate. No playing, just business and back to bed. 

Sounds like we'll have to really emphasize the exercise (he is just SO tuckered out by 9pm, we try to keep him up but he is plain grumpy!) and also try the t-shirt thing. Like I said, he really seems to just want to get some cuddles and attention in the morning, not like he's really ready to start the day. Wish us luck over the next few days, will keep everyone posted! 

[Michele Kiss]

If you take him out to go potty when he first wakes up and starts whimpering, could you just let him come in bed with you and get a few more Zzzzs then? 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

That is what I would do also, unless you never want him to do this.  For two of our dogs - both Springer Spaniels (hmmmm...), in desperation, we put them on the foot of our bed as puppies (had them 15 years apart) and they slept through the night and forever after. The second Springer  still sleeps on the foot of our bed.

[Cammie Hensley]

I'm sure he would LOVE snuggles in bed, but I have dog allergies, and as even doodles are not **truly** hypoallergenic, it's not an option to have him in bed with us. But, things have improved.

We now do what we can to keep Riggins awake until about 10pm (I cannot get over how grumpy he gets at about 9pm when we keep bugging him to keep him up. It's the funniest thing!) And we've put an old t-shirt in the crate with our scent on it that seems to help him. We still are taking him out every few hours or so, gradually extending the amount of time between potty breaks.

He is having some digestive issues, which keeps us getting up more often than we'd like in the night. But no accident yet (knock on wood!!), and we're getting a fecal test done to help us figure out how to help him!

[Elizabeth, Bailey & Bruin]

Nothing to add other than it does get better.  Bruin is finally sleeping better and he is 5 months old... Now I have him sleeping til 730 or so.  I work nights so I need my sleep during the day as much as possible..