Night time barking - puppy

[Whyisitallsostressful]

Hoping for help.

I’m so desperate for sleep that I’ve become slightly obsessive about googling puppies and sleep.

My confusion is that half the information seems to suggest that a puppy will bark to let you know they need to go out to toilet...
Whilst there is also a lot that suggests if you respond too quickly to the barking, then it becomes learned behaviour to bark through the night when they want your attention.

So where is the balance point? How do you make sure you’re not ignoring a bark to go out, whilst teaching them that it’s ok to wake up all night long?

Is there an optimum time to wait before going to them?

[MIssRant19]

My puppy is 11 months. We let him bark for a while and he seems to shut up. Say if your puppy is 4 months he can hold himself for 20 hours! Just times the age by 5( cool trick) It could be just attention barking ( mine does it lots) Good luck

[Whyisitallsostressful]

How long would you leave for the barking to go on before going to him?

[missbattenburg]

Say if your puppy is 4 months he can hold himself for 20 hours!

Your maths is wrong. The dog is 0.33 years old. 0.33 x 5 = 1.65 hours.

[missbattenburg]

OP, I would go for every bark at that age. No eye contact, no speaking, no fussing. Just straight out into the garden until he pees or for 5 mins then back to bed. So long as you make your getting up the dullest thing in the world and ONLY about peeing then your puppy should never associate barking = lots of lovely attention. He should just link barking = chance to pee.

[adaline]

They can't hold their bladder long at night when they're young - I think the general rule is their age in months + 1 = the number of hours you can expect them to go without needing the toilet.

I have to say, that was about right for us. He was still waking in the night until about 6-7 months of age to go to the toilet, but he soon stopped and now sleeps from 11pm-8am or later without needing to go out.

We had him sleep in with us and he never ever had an accident overnight - from day one he woke us to let him out. Toileting was on a lead - so he went out, toilet and back to bed. He got praise for going but otherwise he was told a firm "bed" afterwards.

He's never woken us in the night for anything other than the toilet and he's 16 months now.

[Whyisitallsostressful]

But if the rule is number of months + 1, then surely a typical night shouldn’t be:
Last pee: 11.30pm
Wake up: 2am
Wake up: 3.30am
Wake up: 5am.
Those times are vaguely approximate, but I can’t cope on that little sleep!

[Nettleskeins]

when animals sleep they produce a chemical that suppresses the production of urine. At least that is what I've been told...
So puppies whilst needing to pee often in the day, can go longer at night.

Just sleep next to your puppy for a week or two, and he will only bark when he needs a pee, not because he wants your attention. Reassurance equals sleep.

And then you will get a clearer picture of how long he can go.

There is no need to be sleep deprived.

[Whyisitallsostressful]

Will it not be difficult to stop sleeping next to her if I start that?
For the first 5 nights I slept next to her and then moved gradually away.
I just want to be in my own bed again and taking her up to our room isn’t an option.

[adaline]

Those times are vaguely approximate, but I can’t cope on that little sleep!

Yep, that's what we did for a good month or so. But no way was I getting up for the day at 5am. He was sent back to bed after each wee and expected to settle until we were ready to get up.

Puppies do need a lot of reassurance and work in the early months and yes, it is exhausting. You could go down the route of not waking up and letting them pee/poo on puppy pads but I'd rather not wake up to wee and poo in my house if at all possible!

[SophyStantonLacy]

how old is he?

[Nettleskeins]

Actually he probably won't even need to bark. A bit of whining/stirring will alert you. He is barking because you are too far away to hear him whining.

[tinkywinkyshandbag]

Why is taking him up to bed it an option? Our puppy is in his crate at night next to our bed. Our room is not big but there's just enough space. It's nice and cosy and we all sleep better. He does wake in the night for a wee. On a good night he goes from around 10.00 to 4.00am, then snoozes again until around 7.00am.

[longearedbat]

I used to take mine out once at night, usually about 4 hours after going to bed. She used to wake up and fidget, rattling the crate (not whine/bark though). However, she was in the room with me so it was easy to monitor. She never had a single accident, for which I was very grateful.
Why can't you have a crate by your bed? You can move it out gradually in due course when your pup is older and continent.

[bert3400]

Our puppy is 7months old and slept in a crate with a cover over it untill 4 months old . Never had to get up in the night, never had an accident in crate . I think the earliest she woke up was 5am for a wee but then went back to sleep. She's been really really easy

[Whyisitallsostressful]

She can’t be in our room because the children are really light sleepers and she would wake them, that’s why i’ve been sleeping downstairs with her.
I just didn’t know if there was a timeframe I was working towards.

[Malvinaa81]

My main worry with just leaving a puppy to bark is the neighbours- I just don't like the thought of regular disturbance- or complaints.

Some puppies are very quick at settling and not messing at night, and others less so.

The only consolation is that the dog will settle down in the end.

The being tired is just a fact of having a puppy, and something to strongly bear in mind before ever getting another one!

[tinkywinkyshandbag]

The thing with having him in your room is that when he stirs you will hear him, before he gets to the point of actually barking. Why not try it for a night and see how it goes?

[Whywhywhy1]

I just wanted to ask on this thread, if you start by sleeping next to the puppy in it’s crate, will he find it difficult to settle then when you decide to stop sleeping next to him? I am a soon to be puppy owner.

[Whywhywhy1]

Just a little bump in case anyone is reading this morning.

[missbattenburg]

@Whywhywhy1 you might get a better response if you start your own thread.

However, Battendog slept next to me in a crate for the first few days. I then slowly inched the crate across the floor - moving it a little bit each day - until it was in it's final resting place. It seemed to work perfectly.